Slow Wi-Fi at Home? 7 Things to Check
Before you blame your broadband provider, it's worth knowing that most home Wi-Fi problems come from the network inside your house — and many are quick and free to fix. Work through these checks before you spend a penny on new kit or a faster package.
1. Restart the router
The oldest trick in the book, for good reason. Switch the router off for 30 seconds, then back on — it clears temporary glitches, re-establishes the connection and picks a clearer wireless channel. If yours hasn't been restarted in months, start here.
2. Check where the router lives
Tucked in a cupboard, on the floor, or behind the TV? Wi-Fi is blocked by walls, metal, mirrors and water (including people and fish tanks). Moving the router to a central, elevated, open spot — not boxed in — often makes a dramatic difference for free.
3. Test wired vs wireless
Plug a laptop directly into the router with a cable and run a speed test, then compare it to Wi-Fi in the same spot. If wired is fast but Wi-Fi is slow, the problem is your wireless coverage, not your broadband — which tells you exactly where to focus (and saves an unnecessary call to your provider).
4. Mind the distance and dead spots
Signal weakens with every wall and floor it passes through. Far rooms, loft conversions, garden offices and thick stone walls often need a mesh system or a wired access point rather than expecting one router to cover everything.
5. Reduce interference and use the right band
Microwaves, baby monitors, Bluetooth gadgets and your neighbours' networks all share the airwaves. Most routers broadcast two bands: 5GHz is much faster but shorter-range (great for devices near the router), while 2.4GHz is slower but reaches further. Connecting devices to the right band for where they are helps a lot.
6. Count your devices
A modern home can have dozens of connected devices — phones, TVs, speakers, doorbells, consoles — all sharing the connection. A big background update or someone streaming in 4K can quietly throttle whatever you're trying to do. Pausing other heavy use is a quick test.
7. Update or replace ageing kit
An old router simply can't keep up with a fast modern connection or a busy household, no matter where you put it. If yours is the free box from several years ago, upgrading the router (or moving to mesh) often transforms performance more than upgrading your broadband package would.
Still slow after all that?
If wired speeds are also slow, the issue may genuinely be your line or package, and that's one for your provider. If it's purely coverage, that's where we come in.
Need it sorted properly?
For homes and especially businesses, we can survey your space and design coverage that actually works — wired backbones, access points and mesh where needed. See our hardware support and remote support services.