Top 6 Ways to Check Your Internet Connection Quality
A good internet connection is a necessity for most households in this day and age. It helps you carry out your professional, personal, and financial tasks. Once COVID hit, it became even more important as work and schools moved online. In this situation, Spectrum internet customer service or the like really came in handy and gave homes the fast internet speeds they needed. You and your family probably found themselves using your home internet connection much more heavily than usual. So, it became imperative that it stays at its top potential.
If you feel your internet connection is not performing well, then there could be a number of issues behind this. You need to figure out the root cause of this slow connection, and then move on to fixing it. There are a few ways you can check what the underlying issue exactly is. Otherwise, you won’t be able to resolve the problem. Here are a few ways you can check your internet connection quality and identify what is going in with your network.
Run a Speed Test
First of all, you should run a basic speed test. Simply open your browser, and go to a speed testing website. This will give you a complete picture of your internet’s health. It will show you upload and download speeds, as well as ping.
If any of these numbers are significantly lower than what you signed up for, then you should try to figure out what’s going on.
Check All Your Devices
The simplest way to check your internet connection is to try it on different browsers and devices. If one device is having issues, you should check others to see if it is having the same problem. If it isn’t, then your device or browser is the cause. If all devices and browsers have the same issue, then the problem is your internet connection.
Once you’ve figured that out, you can find out the underlying cause and resolve it. Often, it will be something quite minor, like a loose cable or outdated router.
Check Your Network Cables
If your internet is not performing well, then you should definitely check your network cables. See if any of your coaxial cables are loose or frayed. If they are, then you might need to tighten them or replace them completely. This isn’t too difficult, as you can find these cables at most hardware stores and online.
You should also check if they are plugged into the right ports. Sometimes, they may get mixed up when you clean around your router or restart it. Once they’re plugged in correctly and tightly, then your internet should go back to normal.
Confirm Your Bandwidth
You need to find out whether your provider is giving you the bandwidth you signed up for. You can do this if you use the bandwidth program from Measurement Lab or some other similar tool. Often, you may be holding back the bandwidth yourself. If someone is playing video games or streaming TV shows around the house, then these activities will take up considerable bandwidth.
Therefore, you should first check if any such activities are happening. These will make the rest of your devices slow, and may even impact game performance. So, take all of these factors in account, and then see whether you’re getting the bandwidth you need.
Confirm Backend Status
If your internet speed is slow on all your devices, and you can’t figure out the reason, then you should confirm whether your network is down. Do this by checking the relevant portal, and then check your internet status.
If the internet is down from the backend, you just have to wait till it goes back to normal again. This can take some time, especially if there are damages to repair. Check your provider’s social media pages or call them to find out the status of this problem.
Call Tech Support
Finally, if nothing else works, you may have to call support. Your provider will have a helpline number you should call up. There, you’ll be connected with the relevant representative, who’ll walk you through your problem.
In case this doesn’t work, you can lodge a complaint, and a tech support representative will come and try to figure your issue out.
In conclusion, there are many ways to check your internet connection quality. These ways help you identify any problems, and then get the right solutions to these problems.