Having a stable and reliable internet connection is important, especially when so much of our lives depends on the online world. But choosing a home Internet service involves many factors, including how much you want to pay, what speeds are available in your area, and most importantly, whether you’ll actually use all the bandwidth you’re paying for. It will be. .
Unfortunately, it’s very easy for home internet providers to oversell you on the type of internet plan you need. But with some key information, you can decide whether you’re paying for the speed you actually need, or if you could save money by cutting back on your internet plan.
How to choose the right internet speed
When considering home internet, it’s easy to default to the most expensive and fastest plan available. Sure, speed sounds nice, but just because you can reach that speed doesn’t mean you need it. To choose the perfect home internet speed, you need to look at two main factors.
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How many devices do you want to connect?
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What are you going to do with your home internet?
The first factor obviously changes over time as you add more devices to your home. However, in general, you would estimate the number of devices per person in the household to be between her 3 and 5. This provides plenty of space for smartphones, game consoles, computers, and other smart technology your family may use. You may not feel like you need the fastest speeds, but many of the lower options don’t support the number of devices you can connect at once, so keep that in mind.
The second factor is equally important. If all you plan on doing is surfing the web, watching Netflix, and messaging people on Discord and other social apps, lower speeds are probably fine as long as they support the number of devices in your home. there is no. However, if you work from home, play online games, or need to download large files quickly, you should choose faster speeds. We’ll talk more about all of this later, but for now, keep these two factors in mind whenever you’re looking for new internet options.
How much internet speed do I need to stream online shows?
If you often watch Netflix, Hulu, or other streaming services, you’ll need decent internet speeds, especially since many of these companies are starting to offer 4K and UHD video. The amount of bandwidth required by these services varies, but a good starting point for regular streaming is at least 100 Mbps.
This is much higher than the 25 Mbps recommended by Netflix for 4K Ultra HD content, but given that most people have multiple devices connected when watching TV, the potential Helps level out certain bandwidth drops. If you don’t plan on watching in 4K, slower data speeds are fine, but they can cause buffering and slow loading times when you have multiple devices connected.
Of course, you can also slow down and watch everything in standard definition. It might save you money in the long run. However, if you have a large number of devices connected at once, you may end up suffering from buffering and other issues.
What speed should I use for gaming?
Games are a completely different story. If you play online games often, you’ll probably need to download large update files regularly. Many services like Xbox, PlayStation, and even the PC Store are now more optimized for download speeds than they used to be, but it’s really nice to have something a little more controllable, especially when there are other people in the house. is.
We recommend keeping at least 150 Mbps for most gaming needs, but 200 Mbps is a much better speed overall. This gives you enough room to store large files, not just the games themselves, even if the rest of the house is watching her Netflix or YouTube or downloading their own stuff. .
Why does it matter how many devices I own?
After all, the number of devices on a network doesn’t necessarily or proportionately slow it down. That means it won’t be halved or slowed down just because he has 4 devices on the network instead of 2. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the internet speed you choose will be the speed at which your network can send data. This means that data can only be sent to all devices on the network at that speed.
Therefore, if you have 4 devices connected and your internet speed is 100 Mbps, you may experience a hang. There isn’t always additional bandwidth available to share, as all four devices are trying to get their share of that bandwidth. . This is why I mentioned being aware of the number of devices connected to the internet. As the number of devices increases, more things are happening on the Internet at the same time, which can create bottlenecks and make your speeds seem slower than they should be.
How can I make sure I get what I paid for?
One of the easiest ways to check if you’re getting the internet speed you’re paying for is to run a speed test. There are several, some better than others. One of the most used, Ookla’s Speedtest is easy to use and trusted by many.
As frustrating as it is, it’s important to remember that an overwhelmingly low speed test doesn’t necessarily mean your internet provider will take action. When internet providers advertise their plans, they use two very important (and sneaky) words in their marketing: “Maximum.”This means the plan offers speed to Whatever you choose. However, this does not guarantee that you will get it all the time and at all times.
Therefore, we recommend running some speed tests to check the health of your internet connection. First, run the test when you notice peak internet activity in your home or area. This gives you an idea of how well your network is performing during the busiest times of the day. These peaks vary, but most often occur when kids get home from school and people get off work.
Next, run a speed test during “dead” hours of the day. This ensures that you know where your internet is at its peak when it’s not under heavy load. If you see a big difference (like paying 100 Mbps and only getting 2 Mbps), that’s a big problem. If this is the case, it may be worth considering changing your internet provider or getting your home service checked to see if there are any issues.
How does internet speed affect Wi-Fi?
The speed of your home internet connection has a huge impact on your Wi-Fi. However, the speeds supported by your Wi-Fi router also have a big impact. That’s why you should always be aware of the types of Wi-Fi your router supports (Wifi 6, Wifi 6e, etc.) and their speeds. If you’re paying for home internet at 1 Gbps downstream, but only have a router that supports up to 500 Mbps, you’re not getting the most out of your internet service.
Therefore, you should always look for the right Wi-Fi router that will support your home internet speed. Otherwise, you’ll end up paying for something you don’t use.
Which is better: Ethernet or Wi-Fi?
This is a very subjective question, and many people would be quick to say that wired is better (technically it is), but Wi-Fi has come a long way, especially in recent years. I am. So it all depends on the type of home you live in and whether you have the space or know-how to run Ethernet throughout your home.
Using Ethernet is very convenient if all your devices are right next to your router/modem. You’ll need to choose the right Ethernet cable depending on your internet type and speed, but it will cause less interference than Wi-Fi. However, if you have a large home or rent and can’t run Ethernet in your attic or other obscure location, Wi-Fi is still available as long as you invest in a good router or mesh network for your home. Very good. .
Always consider what you plan to do on the Internet and how many people will be connected at once. And you can always review it later. If your internet speed isn’t working or you’re experiencing a lot of hangups like buffering or slow loading times, you can always increase the speed to the next margin and see what happens. Make sure to take advantage of any sales your internet provider may be running at the time.
