Having problems with your home network? Experiencing ‘choppy’ playback on BBC iplayer or simply not getting a connection to the web? Check out my 5 top tips for solving problems and keep your home network up and running.
1. Check your broadband router. Get to know what the various lights on your router stand for and which are lit during normal operation. If you can’t connect to the internet, the first thing to check is the router. Are all the lights flashing that should be? If in doubt, switch your router off, wait for 30 seconds, and switch on again. Remember if you reset your router, you may need to do the same with your laptop or PC in order to restore connectivity.
2. Check your broadband router settings. These settings are stored in web pages. To see them, you will need to type your router’s ip address into your browser. If you don’t know what this is, click ‘Start’, then select ‘run’ and type cmd. Press ‘enter’. In the displayed window type IPCONFIG. The router’s ip address will be displayed as the ‘default gateway’ and will look something like ‘192.168.1.1’. Type this number into your browser. You may be asked for a username and password which you should find in your router manual, or alternatively leave them blank as it is often the case these settings are left clear by default. You should then see a setup screen for your router.
You will probably see a summary of your router details on this initial screen. Check to make sure you internet status is showing as connected. If not, switch off the router and turn it on again.
3. Check your traffic. Think of your network connection like a motorway. The less cars on it, the faster you can go. On the other hand, if it is full of slow moving large lorries, then your pace will be reduced to a crawl. Same on your home network. If you are copying large files from one computer to another, or downloading a large file from the web, then your broadband speed can be significantly impacted. Remember also that different parts of your network run at different speeds. Your wireless connection will always be slower than a cable connection.
4. Keep your wireless secure. Always make sure your wireless connection has a password set to protect it, and preferably that it is using WPA2encryption, rather than the older WEP system. You can check your wireless settings and set/reset your wireless security password by logging onto your router set up pages.
5. Time your uploads. Your broadband connection receives information from the net much quicker than it can send it. It can take a very long time if you are uploading a large file, Worse still, this can also impact on your downloading. Every so often, your broadband connection needs to send an acknowledgement for each part of a file that is being received. If your connection is busy sending a large file, this can interrupt or delay the sending of these acknowledgements and hence slow down your download
So, the next time you experience poor network speed or choppy playback when streaming from BBC iplayer, check whats going on with your network. It’s not so difficult…..