Understanding your home internet performance

What affects internet performance?

Four main factors contribute to internet performance:

1. Your internet connection

The network delivering your service plays a role in how consistently your connection performs.

2. Your Wi-Fi setup

Router placement, building materials and signal interference can all affect Wi-Fi performance throughout the home.

3. Your devices

Different devices support different technologies and performance capabilities. Older devices may struggle to achieve the same results as newer ones. 

4. Household internet usage

Internet demand increases as more people stream, game, video call and download content at the same time.

Why speed tests don't tell the whole story

Speed tests provide a useful indication of internet performance at a specific moment in time. So strong speed test results don't always guarantee the best user experience as they don't measure:

• Wi-Fi coverage

• Device limitations

• Application-specific performance

• Congestion within your home network

How to improve internet performance at home

Simple changes can often improve performance:

• Place your router in a central location

• Keep devices updated

• Reduce physical barriers around the router

• Limit unnecessary background downloads

• Restart your modem or router periodically

Key takeaways

• Internet performance is influenced by multiple factors.

• Wi-Fi plays a significant role in your online experience.

• Speed tests don't always identify the cause of performance issues.

• Optimising your home setup can improve results.

Frequently asked questions

1. Why does my internet feel slow even when speed tests are good?

Speed tests measure raw connection speed at a point in time but don't account for changes in Wi-Fi signal, device performance or application side specific issues.

2. Does router placement matter?

Yes. Positioning your router centrally and away from obstructions can improve Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home. If your router sits at one end of your home, the signal strength (and therefore speed) will be lower at the other end.

3. How many devices can use the internet at once?

A lot! But, your experience does depend on the activities being performed and the capabilities of your internet service and home network. Activities like high-quality video streaming and large downloads is more demanding than browsing and checking emails. When multiple devices are using the internet heavily at the same time, they place more demand which impacts your experience.