Improve Your Home Internet

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With so many of us working from home, it may be time to upgrade our home internet. If you're experiencing slow or unusable access to the internet try these tips.

  1. Check your speeds at https://www.8x8.com/resources/tools/voip-test and document the results.
  2. Restart your modem, then recheck the speeds.
  3. If the speeds remain in single digits (below 10 Mbps up or down), or more than 75% of your advertise speeds, then connect one computer directly to your modem with an Ethernet cable and recheck your speeds. TIP: Need an Ethernet cable or two? Choose your Cat6 color and length at monoprice.com.
  4. If the speeds improve then you need better wireless (see Upgrade Your Wireless below). If the speeds remain poor then call your internet provider and ask if them if you need a new modem.
    • If yes, see if you can rent a new modem from your provider. Renting a modem ensures that you always have a quality, up-to-date modem that is supported 100% by your provider. 
    • If your modem is up-to-date then continue to step 5...
  5. Tell the provider you're considering moving to a different provider with better speeds for the money and see if they will increase your speed for free. If not, continue to step 6...
  6. Ask how much it is to upgrade your internet speed/package.

Plug-in!

Skip the WiFi and connect your Mac directly to the modem/router provided by your Internet Service Provider:

  1. Monoprice.com sells Cat6 Ethernet patch cables as long as 100 feet.
  2. You might need a USB-C to Ethernet Adapter (contact us if you're not sure).
  3. Connect your Mac directly to your router.
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Upgrade Your Wireless

Which wireless system to install in your home is a hotly debated topic! Everyone has a strong opinion, there are a confusing array of reviews, small homes often (but not always) need less than large homes, and yesterday's solution will be replaced tomorrow with something better.

With those caveats in place, today we're recommending Ubiquiti's AmpliFi solution:

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