Does Upgrading Modem Increase Internet Speed

How Of import Is My Wireless Router to My Internet Speed?

Aug 24, 2022 Share
Equipment Guides, FAQ, Internet Speed Guides

Your internet speed is only as fast as your plan. If your Internet service provider advertises 400 Mbps, that's the maximum bandwidth you will ever see unless yous upgrade to a faster plan.

Notwithstanding, your router handles everything on your side of the modem, so its performance can affect your wired and wireless connections.

Nosotros'll explain what signs you should look for in a dull router, how older routers tin affect your speed, and what you should do to improve your internet speed.

Why is my router slowing my internet connections?

Considering your router sits between your modem and your devices , it tin bottleneck your connections. Think of information technology equally a modest computer dedicated to routing network traffic to and from your devices . If it'south overloaded like a traffic cop during rush hour, connections dull to a crawl. If the router is old or low quality, your connections may be slow.

In both scenarios, the router becomes your chokepoint, not the internet connection itself. Upgrading to a program with a higher bandwidth won't help if your router tin can't handle your current network load. Yous'll need to either reboot, reset, or bandy information technology out for a better model.

For case, if you recently upgraded your internet program to a 400 Mbps speed but still use an N300 router, your wireless connections automatically lose 100 Mbps of bandwidth. Why? Considering the router simply supports up to 300 Mbps. Your wired connections, however, may not be affected.

Find out how much speed you demand if yous're not sure how fast your connexion should exist. Otherwise, you tin can enter your zip code below to find a faster internet plan in your surface area.

How can I tell if I take a slow router or tiresome internet?

You can unremarkably tell if your router is slowing down your cyberspace speeds by running an internet speed examination . Hither'south how:

Pace one: Connect a computer to the router or wireless gateway using an Ethernet cable.

Pace 2: Open a spider web browser and load our speed test .

Footstep three: Click the Starting time Speed Tes t button and tape the results.

Step 4 : Unplug the computer from the router.

Step 5 : Unplug the router from your modem.

Pace 6 : Connect the calculator to the modem using an Ethernet cablevision and rerun the exam.

Step vii : Compare the results.

Your router is probably your chokepoint if your speeds are much faster from your modem than from the router.

Remember, you ran these tests using a wired connection, so technically, you should come across virtually of the bandwidth delivered by your net connection. If the speed examination results from your router and modem aren't dramatically different, then the next stride is to test your wireless devices.

Keep in listen that Wi-Fi is mostly slightly slower than a wired connection.

Only if you lot encounter a dramatic departure in your wireless connections compared to your wired tests , you may need to troubleshoot your Wi-Fi network . Y'all may have the router located in a bad spot, or neighboring Wi-Fi networks may interfere with your connections— again, many factors can cause slow wireless speeds.

Consult our guide on speeding up your internet if connections are slow.

Does former equipment affect my internet speed?

Older routers, network equipment, and fifty-fifty the aging wireless devices you use tin affect your Wi-Fi speeds.

For example, if you have a program that supports just 100 Mbps, old routers and network equipment likely won't bottleneck your connections. Nonetheless, if you lot have a gigabit plan simply your erstwhile router supports simply 300 Mbps, then your wireless connection volition seem slow as snails.

Old smartphones, tablets, and other devices can slow you down, as well, even if you have the fastest router and net plan on the planet. Newer devices with budget Wi-Fi radios can make the internet experience extremely slow too.

Check the device's supported Wi-Fi standard

Engineering science and how we use it are constantly changing and improving—max Wi-Fi speeds have gone from 300 Mbps in 2009 to 9.six Gbps in but x years. And w ired connections have jumped from x Mbps to 40,000 Mbps over the final few decades.

Wi-Fi standards are one main reason why dated equipment might not perform likewise as newer equipment. At that place are three main Wi-Fi standards to be aware of if yous think your router or wireless device is causing slow wireless connections:

Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n or Wireless-Northward )

This specification appeared in 2009 and uses one 2.4 GHz wireless ring. It supports a theoretical maximum wireless speed of 450 Mbps using three streams (3×iii).

Pro tip:

The manufacture uses the term "theoretical" because supporting hardware can theoretically hit the advertised maximum speed, but in most cases it never will due to interference, range, and other factors. A "stream" is a line of information between the router and the connected device. For instance, i wireless connection could have 3 outgoing streams and three incoming streams of 150 Mbps each, totalling 450 Mbps in one management.

Wi-Fi v (802.11ac or Wireless-Ac)

This specification arrived in 2022 and pairs the 2.four GHz band with an additional 5 GHz ring for faster speed capabilities. It as well adds beamforming, which establishes a straight line of advice between the router and the client device.

Wi-Fi 5 Moving ridge 1 routers can handle speeds of up to a theoretical 1.3 Gbps (ane,300 Mbps) using three streams (iii×3).

Wi-Fi 5 Wave 2 launched in 2022 and increases the speeds to 3.47 Gbps (3,470 Mbps) using 4 streams (4×4). Wave 2 also introduced MU-MIMO technology to better communicate with multiple devices simultaneously.

The Wi-Fi 5 specification actually supports upwardly to vi.9 Gbps (vi,900 Mbps) using eight streams (viii×8).

Wi-Fi half dozen (802.11ax or AX WiFi)

This specification arrived in 2022 and is the latest standard. Wi-Fi 6 uses both the 2.iv GHz and 5 GHz bands and can reach max speeds of up to a theoretical 9.6 Gbps (ix,600 Mbps) using eight streams (8×viii).

The principal goal of Wi-Fi 6 is to meliorate handle network efficiency every bit opposed to just faster speeds. Many Wi-Fi half-dozen routers can easily handle dozens of connected devices, making them platonic for smart home devices.

None of this is to say that all routers more than a few years old are bad—Wi-Fi 4 routers tin yet be perfectly serviceable for some homes, and Wi-Fi 5 routers are currently commonplace in nearly homes.

But if you lot've upgraded your internet plan or added more devices to your network, an older router will accept a harder time juggling the extra work than a newer model.

Get the most from your cyberspace

Are you getting the maximum speeds from your internet plan? Run our speed test to run across how the results compare to what you're paying for.

Tin a new router speed up my internet?

A new router can speed up your Wi-Fi. What a new router tin can't practise is increment the speed of your net program. For instance, if you have a 100 Mbps cyberspace plan, even the fanciest router on the market tin can't make your internet speeds go over 100 Mbps.

But if you're using old equipment that's preventing you lot from fully utilizing your 100 Mbps program , replacing that router is bound to help make your wireless connections faster.

Keep in mind that a new router may not increase your speed on the wireless devices yous use. If y'all buy a Wi-Fi vi router, simply yous're still using a telephone that supports Wi-Fi 5, then your wireless connexion won't magically increase. The phone will withal support merely a theoretical 866 Mbps, which is higher than about cable-based cyberspace plans.

Pro tip:

Do y'all need faster internet speeds to match the latest routers? Enter your null lawmaking below to run into if faster plans are bachelor in your area.

Author - Rebecca Lee Armstrong

Rebecca Lee Armstrong has more than six years of experience writing nigh tech and the cyberspace, with a specialty in easily-on testing. She started writing tech product and service reviews while finishing her BFA in creative writing at the University of Evansville and has found her niche writing nearly domicile networking, routers, and internet access at HighSpeedInternet.com. Her work has besides been featured on Top Ten Reviews, MacSources, Windows Cardinal, Android Central, Best Company, TechnoFAQ, and iMore.

Editor - Cara Haynes

Cara Haynes has been editing and writing in the digital infinite for seven years, and she's edited all things internet for HighSpeedInternet.com for five years. She graduated with a BA in English language and a modest in editing from Brigham Young University. When she's not editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands like Pluralsight. She believes no one should feel lost in internet country and that a good internet connectedness significantly extends your life span.