So, you’ve decided to watch a video on the internet. You go to ____________ (YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, etc… take your pick) and click on a video. Instead of enjoyment you receive a frustrating experience with the sputtering video or frequent stops for “buffering”.
What’s going on? Chances are your connection speed has slowed to a dial-up pace even though you’ve paid for DSL or some other high speed service.
Yes, this does happen on occasion with any (or all) service providers. So, the first thing one should do is test the connection speed. How? Well, here is a small list of sites to help you with that task. For most of them all you have to do is click one (test) button.
Speakeasy – Speed Test
Bandwidth Place Speed Test
Bandwidth Speed Test – Free Broadband Speedtest
WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR.
If the reported download speed is less than 750 kbps your connection (high speed or DSL) is running slower than it should.
THE FIX?
Shut down your computer and disconnect your modem for about 5 minutes. Then replug your modem so it can start up and reboot. Restart your computer and do a speed test again.
Often this will fix the issue. Data speed from the internet to your computer is continually in flux. Sometimes when the speed falls it doesn’t rise again until you reset it. (Yeah, I know… bloody inconvenient.)
However, if this fix doesn’t work there may be another issue involved and it may be time to call your service provider. BTW… WiFi is generally slower than when a computer is directly connected to a modem.
Hope that helps.
