Most items will alert you when an update is available. Avoiding updates is not recommended.

When using smartphones or consoles, be sure to exit an app completely rather than just minimizing it. If the app is running in the background, it can still cause your Internet speed to decrease.

Placing Internet-connected items in Airplane Mode will also fix this problem.

You can usually switch to the 5 GHz band from within your item’s Wi-Fi settings. Each router will have a different name for the 5 GHz band, so check your router’s manual or online documentation. Not all routers have 5 GHz bands. If your router only has the standard 2. 4 GHz band, skip this step. Since 5 GHz bands have less range than do 2. 4 GHz bands, doing this will often require you to keep your Internet-connected items within 10 to 15 feet of the router.

Mac users will need a USB-C Ethernet adapter in order to do this; you cannot connect a smartphone or tablet via Ethernet. Much of the time, users who are frustrated by slow Internet are more annoyed with the inconsistency (e. g. , some pages loading while others take too long) than with the speed itself. Using an Ethernet cable will address this problem. The fastest possible speed that you can get from your plan can be achieved by connecting an item (e. g. , a computer) directly to the modem (not the router) via an Ethernet cable. This will limit Internet access to include only the wired item.

Chrome and Firefox are incredibly fast web browsers for both computers running the Windows and macOS operating systems. Microsoft Edge is a minimal but relatively fast web browser for Windows 10 users. Safari 12 remains the fastest choice for Mac users.

Chrome — Open Chrome, click ⋮, select More tools, click Extensions, click REMOVE under an extension, click Remove when prompted, and repeat with other extensions. Firefox — Open Firefox, click ☰, click Add-ons, click Remove to the right of an extension, and repeat with other extensions. Edge — Open Edge, click ⋯, click Extensions, click the gear icon to the right of an extension, and click Uninstall. Click Ok when prompted, then repeat for other extensions. Safari — Open Safari, click Safari, click Preferences. . . , click the Extensions tab, select an extension’s name, and click Uninstall. Confirm the uninstallation when prompted, then repeat for other extensions.

This is especially important if you have a bandwidth-heavy service, such as YouTube, open in one web browser.

Google — For IPv4: Enter 8. 8. 8. 8 in the “Preferred DNS server” text box, then enter 8. 8. 4. 4 in the “Alternate DNS server” text box. For IPv6: Enter 2001:4860:4860::8888 in the “Preferred DNS server” text box, then enter 2001:4860:4860::8844 in the “Alternate DNS server” text box. [1] X Research source OpenDNS — For IPv4: Enter 208. 67. 222. 222 in the “Preferred DNS server” text box, then enter 208. 67. 220. 220 in the “Alternate DNS server” text box. For IPv6: Enter 2620:0:ccc::2 in the “Preferred DNS server” text box, then enter 2620:0:ccd::2 in the “Alternative DNS server” text box. [2] X Research source

Flushing the DNS cache will help resolve any website loading errors you might run into when you next open your browser.

You may notice some initial slow-down when visiting some sites; this is because the DNS library has to repopulate via the new DNS addresses.

You may notice some initial slow-down when visiting some sites; this is because the DNS library has to repopulate via the new DNS addresses.

You may notice some initial slow-down when visiting some sites; this is because the DNS library has to repopulate via the new DNS addresses.

You may notice some initial slow-down when visiting some sites; this is because the DNS library has to repopulate via the new DNS addresses.

If you’re using Ethernet, click Ethernet here instead.

Google — Enter 8. 8. 8. 8 here. OpenDNS — Enter 208. 67. 222. 222 here.

Google — Enter 8. 8. 4. 4 here. OpenDNS — Enter 208. 67. 220. 220 here.

Google — Enter 8. 8. 4. 4 here. OpenDNS — Enter 208. 67. 220. 220 here.

Flushing the DNS cache will help resolve any website loading errors you might run into when you next open your browser.

You may notice some initial slow-down when visiting some sites; this is because the DNS library has to repopulate via the new DNS addresses.

You may notice some initial slow-down when visiting some sites; this is because the DNS library has to repopulate via the new DNS addresses.

You may notice some initial slow-down when visiting some sites; this is because the DNS library has to repopulate via the new DNS addresses.

You may notice some initial slow-down when visiting some sites; this is because the DNS library has to repopulate via the new DNS addresses.