Introduction
If you love binging on Netflix while sitting on the toilet, you’ve likely had a moment when your streaming experience was suddenly interrupted. Home internet problems can be seriously annoying, whether it’s just poor video quality or a full-on outage. You can try fixing your network problems yourself with this home network solutions checklist.
First: turn it off, then turn it back on again
If you haven’t had any problems with your home network since its inception, then the chances are good that the problem lies with one of the devices connected to your router. Unplug everything from the router and plug them back in. If this doesn’t work, try rebooting each device individually by holding down the power button for about 10 seconds. When finished, plug the devices back into the router and see if you can access the internet now. If not, move on to trying a factory reset.
To do so on Windows PCs: hold down Windows Key + R at boot time and type in devmgmt.msc into Run dialogue box; expand Network adapters under Device Manager and right-click Intel(R) Gigabit Ethernet Adapter or whatever adapter is used by your ISP’s modem/router; select Disable device; enable it again; reboot computer (this step will not affect any settings saved through software changes).
Try doing this with all other adapters listed under the Network adapters section of Device Manager – they might need disabling as well!
Check your router
The first thing you should do is check your router. Your router is the main device in your home network, and if it’s not working properly, everything else will be affected. To check it:
● Make sure the power cord is plugged into a working outlet and turned on.
● If you have an old-school router with flashing lights, see if they are all lit up; otherwise, log into its web interface to see if those lights are flashing or not (if so, contact us). You can also look for any other new problems by doing a full audit of your home network (see “Check for unusual devices”).
Reboot your devices.
If you’ve tried everything else and are still having problems, it’s time to reboot your devices. This is one of the most effective ways to solve problems with slow internet, devices not connecting to the internet, and even problems with devices not connecting to each other.
Update your router’s firmware.
As you may know, firmware is the software that runs your router and keeps it connected to the internet. By updating this software, you can often fix bugs and improve performance.
To update your router’s firmware:
● On your computer or smartphone browser, visit [router manufacturer’s website] and look for the section labelled “Router Firmware.” You should see a list of available updates in alphabetical order (the most recent update will be at the top).
● Download the latest version of your router’s firmware file to your computer or mobile device by clicking on its name. Verify that you have downloaded it successfully by checking its size against what was reported by the downloader application.
Check for any new problems in your home.
Now that you’ve done all the above checks, observe new problems in your home. Have you added a new device recently? Are there any devices that seem to cause issues with other devices in the house?
If so, then it’s time to do some troubleshooting. If you think a specific device is causing an issue, unplug it from the power and router or modem and see if other devices work better.
You can also try moving a device closer to another one. In many cases, this can help improve signal strength and reduce interference between them.
Conclusion
The important thing is to stay calm and follow the steps this article has outlined here. Once you’ve checked all those items, you will most likely get your home network solutions in no time! Well, if all else fails, it is time to call in the experts.
