Bittorrent Lots Of Seeds But Slow Downloads On WifiThere are numerous ways to improve it, but theyll only take you so far. When using the internet wirelessly, you often have to lower your expectations a little bit. Wi Fi is one of the most useful and important parts of using a computer, and yet its also one ofRead more Read. Lets take a look at what you can expect under ideal circumstances not the maximum theoretical speeds each wireless technology can provide Using 8. Around 5. 0 8. 0mbps downstream, depending on the quality of your reception. Unless you have an internet connection capable of exceeding those speeds, you probably dont have to worry about slowness. Using 8. 02. 1. 1n Around 2. Although 8. 02. 1. MIMO, speeds in this range are pretty common. Using 8. 02. 1. 1g Around 5 1. Its probably time to upgrade your router if you have a faster connection. Before you assume you arent getting the speeds you pay for, make sure your expectations are correct. Try the same, slow download or run a speed test from a computer thats hard wired via gigabit ethernet, preferably and compare the results. If that machine provides the speeds you expect, you have a Wi Fi problem. If thats happening in a part of your home prone to bad reception, move somewhere else. If you want to try and improve your Wi Fi reception to avoid these sorts of issues, however, try these tips. Dear Lifehacker. For reasons unknown to me Physics Global warming Witchcraft, my routers Read more Read. Its Not Your Connection, Its Someone Elses. Just because a speed test reveals your connection is capable of certain data rates doesnt mean youll always get them. For example, if your connection provides 2. Youre not the only one connecting, so thats a lot of bandwidth. Major sites do have crazy amounts of bandwidth and can match your speeds on numerous occasions, but many will not. This doesnt mean theres something wrong with your connection, but that the server youre connecting to cannot match your speeds. Wii Homebrew Channel Installing Wads To Sd. How can you tell If your speed test looks good thats one sign. Personally, I like to have a reliable server I can connect to and download from at a specific rate. I test those speeds to find out if I can max out my connection or not. Web hosts tend to work well. So does Usenet. If you dont have a good place to check outside of a speed test, keep an eye out for generally reliable sites with downloadable content. When you come across one that provides consistently fast downloads, just give it a try when you think your connection isnt performing at its peak. When youre ready to take your data into your own hands and run your own blog, own your own photos, Read more Read. Um. You Left Bit. Torrent On or Other DownloadsIf you have multiple computers or a NAS in the house, you might forget youve left a bandwidth hog like Bit. Torrent running. Bit. Torrent seeds uploads files youve finished downloading to a potentially unlimited number of people for an indefinite amount of time. Downloading, at least, will stop when the file arrives. In the event you dont have files adding themselves regularly through automation, you dont have to worry about a drain on your downstream connection. Uploading, however, can take a big hit if you forget to turn Bit. Torrent off. There are dozens of NAS Network Attached Storage enclosures on the market that you can pack withRead more Read. You can solve this problem simply by checking anytime your connection seems slow, but if you regularly forget that wont help much. Fortunately, most Bit. Torrent clientslike our favorites for Windows, OS X, and Linuxprovide bandwidth caps and scheduling. Using caps allow you to always limit the amount of your upstream and downstream connection that Bit. Torrent can use. Just give your client a numbersay 1. Scheduling takes that a step further by applying those caps or stopping all traffic at specific times during the day. If you only want Bit. Torrent running while youre at work, you can limit its activity or stop it altogether by setting a bandwidth schedule in your clients preferences. Using either method, youll avoid surprise drains on your internet connection. While you have a few choices of Bit. Torrent client on Windows, u. Torrent is hands down the bestRead more Read. Of course, Bit. Torrent isnt the only thing that bogs down your connection. Lots of other apps can run in the background and slow things down, either briefly or for quite awhile. Apps often automatically update themselves. App Stores and programs like Steam can causes a big bandwidth drain when downloading several updates, for example. Be sure to check on everything capable of utilizing your connection in the event a slowdown occurs. And if you want to learn to impose some limits, read the next section. Your Router Isnt Doing Its Job. Routers are tiny little computers that manage your network. Sometimes they require a bit too much of themselves and cause problems. Thats why many routers require a regular restart. Sometimes you can easily fix this problem, but other times you may just have a bad router. Unfortunately, routers often dont fail by completely dying. Rather, theyll stop working well and you wont notice immediately. If your router turns into a declining dud, youll probably want to get a new one. Dear Lifehacker. My router sucks. My connection goes wonky once every few days, and I have toRead more Read. That said, sometimes you can fix issues with your router by adjusting its settings and learning how it works. Most good routers allow you to change the Wi Fi channel to help avoid interference. In some cases, you can even boost its transmit power to reach a bit further though this can cause more trouble than its worth if you push it too far. You can read up on how to change either of those settings here. Often times, a small adjustment to your channel make a big difference. Youve picked your router and set up all the basics, so now its time to optimize yourRead more Read. A good router also has Quality of Service Qo. S settings, which can prevent bandwidth hogs from, well, hogging bandwidth. If people in your household tend to slow down a connection for any reason, you can cap their usage based on their IP address. You can also limit bandwidth based specific applications. To learn how to use Qo. S, read our networking night school lesson. Theres a Problem With Your Line or Modem. Lets not forget one of the most common issues your ISP. When you rent a modem from them, you usually end up with crappy, used hardware.