Top 1. 0 Ways to Deal With a Slow Internet Connection. Sometimes, slow internet is the universes way of telling you to go play outside. Other times, its the universes cruel joke to destroy your productivity. Here are 1. 0 ways to troubleshoot, fix, or just survive a slow internet connection. This story originally ran in June, 2. Patrick Austin in August, 2. Check Your Speeds and Your PlanSometimes, your internet is slow because youre only paying for slow internet. Log onto your providers web site or give them a call and find out what plan you have. Then, head on over to Speedtest. If the numbers match up to what youre paying for, then your network is working fine and youre just paying for slow internetand the best way to speed it up will be to upgrade. Though some of the below tricks will help you eke out a bit more speed. If the numbers dont match, read on for a few ways to fix that problem. As I understand it, most internet service plans require you to pay for specific upload and download Read more Read. Stranglehold Torrent Iso Converter' title='Stranglehold Torrent Iso Converter' />Firearms manufacturer Sig Sauer is offering a voluntary upgrade to owners of its P320 line of semiautomatic pistols, which have been on the market since 2014. The ridiculously expensive Texas Instruments graphing calculator is slowly but surely getting phased out. The times they are achangin for the better, but Im. Troubleshoot Your Hardware. Before you go cursing your internet provider, give your modem and router a quick reset that is, turn them off and on again and see if that helps. Check the other computers in your house to see if their internet is slow, tooif the problem only happens on one computer, the problem is that computer, not your router or modem. Run through these troubleshooting steps to see if its a hardware problem. Then, once you fix your router or modem or replace it, youll be browsing speedily once again. Check out our complete guide to knowing your network for more router tips, too. Youre zooming down the information superhighway getting things done when your usually trustyRead more Read. Fix Your Wi Fi Signal. If youre using Wi. Fi, you might find that your router and internet are fine, but your wireless signal is weak, causing a slowdown. In that case, you may need to reposition, tweak, and boost your router with a few tricks. There are more than we could share in one paltry paragraphin fact, we have a whole top 1. Wi. Fi, so check that out if you suspect wireless signal is the problem. Turn Off Bandwidth Hogging Plugins and Apps. If your hardware seems to be in working order, see if any other programs are hogging the connection. For example, if youre downloading files with Bit. Torrent, regular web browsing is going to be slower. You should also try installing extensions like Ad. Block Plus or Flash. Block, which will block some of the bandwidth hogging ads, animations, and videos that can use up your connection. File syncing services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or One. Drive might be moving data in the background, which can eat up your bandwidth and slow down your internet connection. Quit or pause those applications if you find them moving files. Computers often download necessary updates in the background, while youre doing something less web intensive. You can configure your PC to notify you before downloading any updates, and schedule installation when youre not using your computer, either in the middle of the night or when youre off at work. These fixes probably wont solve all your issues, but they can at least help make a slow connection feel more usable. Dear Lifehacker, My favorite private Bit. Torrent tracker, Demonoid, has apparently gone down forRead more Read. Try a New DNS Server. When you type an address into your browserlike lifehacker. DNS to look up and translate that into a computer friendly IP address. Sometimes, though, the servers your computer uses to look up that information can have issues, or go down entirely. Check out our guide to finding the fastest and most secure DNS servers for more information. If your default DNS servers arent having problems, then you probably wont find too much of an improvement with an alternative serverbut it might speed up your browsing by a few milliseconds, at least. Every millisecond counts when youre browsing the web, and if youd like to eke a bitRead more Read. Optimize Your Web for a Slow Connection. Troubleshooting slow internet can take awhile, and in the meantime you still need to browse. Or maybe youre at a coffee shop or on a plane, and theres nothing you can do about your slow speeds. In that case, its time to optimize your web for a slower connection use mobile or HTML versions of your favorite sites, disable images, and use features like Opera Turbo. In fact, we recommend setting up a secondary browser on your laptop for just such a situationit can really make a difference when you need to work on a slow connection. Google has its own Data Saver extension, which employs the companys servers to compress browsing data before it reaches you. If youre in a pinch and really need to get online, you can always tether to your smartphone, turning it into an access point for your laptop or other wireless device. While theres usually no data limit when youre browsing in your home or at a coffee shop, tethering via your smartphone could eat up your data cap. You should employ the same data saving tips when using your phones tethering service. Optimizing your web browser with mobile or HTML versions of web pages is useful when data is not only hard to come by, but potentially pricey. No matter how fast your home network may be, we all get stuck using slow, unreliable Wi Fi orRead more Read. Work Smart. If you need to get work done on your slow connection, you may have to prioritize tasks differently than if your internet were super fast. So, separate your tasks into bandwidth heavy and bandwidth light ones. Get the light ones done when youre on your slow connection, and group all the bandwidth heavy tasks together so you can do them if and when you get faster access and if you cant get it at home, see if you can borrow a neighbor or relative just for those tasks. Similarly, work outside your browser whenever possibleif youre doing basic writing, do it in your favorite text editor instead of in your browser. Biometrics Fingerprint Recognition Pdf Writer on this page. If you plan your work ahead of time, you can at least make the best of a bad situation. Dear Lifehacker. Im going home for the holidays, and my parents have a very slow connection. Read more Read. Call Your Internet Provider. If youve gone through all the necessary troubleshooting steps and your internet is still slow, then its time to call your internet provider and see if the problem is on their end. Remember dont just assume theyve done something wrong, and treat your customer service representative with respect. Youre much more likely to get good results. Dont forget, they can probably hear you bad mouthing them while youre on hold. Check out our guide to getting better customer service for tips on cutting the line and getting your way. You might want to see if you can get a better deal on your internet, while youre at itespecially if theyve been giving you the wrong speeds all this time. Find a New Provider. If your ISP cant help you maybe they dont provide the speeds you want, or maybe youre just sick of their horrible customer service, its time to find a new ISP. You might have trouble in this endeavor, however, due to the stranglehold ISPs have on the market, stifling competition and giving consumers few options from which to choose. That may mean a switch to a different type of provider might be in order, like cable, DSL, satellite, or fiber. You should do a little research before you pick up the phone. Check out our guide to choosing the best provider in your area, and make sure they provide the type of speeds you want. Dear Lifehacker, My internet has ticked me off for the last time and Ive been thinking ofRead more Read. Use Your Time Productively. If youre lucky, you can get your internet speeds back up to snuff quickly and stress free. But, if not, you can at least try to put a good spin on it As long as your work isnt too bandwidth intensive, slow internet could actually make you more productive.