A permanent Internet connection has become one of those services that we consider basic, like drinking water or electricity. In Europe we have one of the best fiber optic infrastructure in the world, so the connection in homes is on average very good.
But the speed that reaches our routers is one thing and the speed that is captured on the devices we use, like computers or smartphones, is another. The vast majority of them do not connect via cable to carrier devicessince they use WiFi. And this can be a problem when it comes to exploiting the maximum speed we have.
If we have the feeling, or if we have verified, that the speed at which we are browsing is not as high as expected, it is possible to perform certain actions that allow us to increase said speed. Yes indeed, We must be aware of the maximum speed at which our mobile can connect to a WiFi network since different protocols give us different speeds.
An Internet router on a desk.
iStock
Restart the router. The first thing we can do to improve the connection is to restart the router. This will eliminate connections from all devices in the house and eliminate any interference. Obviously, it’s not the same to walk through a house where there are three or four devices connected to one where there are dozens of them, many of which use streaming, for example.
Use the 5 GHz band. The vast majority of routers in Europe have the ability to create two different networks depending on the frequency of the waves. The 2.4 GHz network is the oldest, but also the most stable and the one that goes the furthest, but it is the slowest. If we are close to the router or there are not many obstacles between it and the mobile, it is better to connect to the 5 GHz network, since it is more sensitive to walls or other elements but also much faster.
Cambiar las DNS. Los routers proporcionados por las operadoras vienen preconfigurados de serie. Esto es cómodo porque no tenemos que entrar en los ajustes y realizar acciones que puede que no sepamos, pero también suele implicar que no están todo lo optimizados que deberían. Algo sencillo de hacer es cambiar las DNS por unas que sean fiables y rápidas tanto en el router como en el móvil.
Repetidor Wifi. En el caso de que la conexión no dé problemas cerca del router pero sí lejos es posible comprar un router en malla o, si no queremos gastar demasiado, un extensor de señal Wifi, que se enchufa de forma sencilla donde queramos tener cobertura y amplía el rango de acción de la red.
Usar cable Ethernet. La última opción es dejar de usar la red WiFi. Es un paso drástico pero si es necesario podemos comprar un adaptador Ethernet para el móvil y conectarnos por cable al router. Es cierto que deberemos estar cerca del mismo, en la misma estancia, pero la velocidad será la máxima que nos permita nuestra operadora, sin caídas por culpa de la red inalámbrica.
