How to Reduce Network Congestion (& Stop It From Coming Back)

 

When your Internet works properly, it flows smoothly and steadily to your device of choice. But like traffic getting jammed at a busy intersection, Internet data can also become clogged and congested under the right circumstances, leading to slow download speeds, constant media buffering, and other issues.

The good news? Once you know the causes of Internet slowdowns, you can take steps to avoid or mitigate them. Let’s explore how to reduce network congestion with a few different methods.

 

What is Network Congestion?

 

Imagine a road that everyone likes to travel down during rush hour. Outside rush hour, things are fine, and traffic flows smoothly. But when too many vehicles all try to use the same road, everyone has to slow down to avoid getting into an accident.

The same principle can be applied to Internet traffic. With an active Internet connection, traffic data flows from one source to another. The width of the “road” (such as an Internet cable or even a wireless connection) is the network bandwidth – the bigger the bandwidth, the more room the connection has for more data.

But in some instances, an Internet connection can become congested – just not with vehicles! Instead, an Internet connection can become congested with online traffic data bits. If too much data flows down a connection at once, everything slows down for everyone, leading to slower downloads and uploads, spotty streaming, and so on.

 

What Causes Internet Congestion?

 

Network congestion is very common, partially because there are many reasons why it can occur in the first place. If you’re experiencing congestion in your home network, it could be due to:

• Low bandwidth for the number of users in your own home. Every user and connected device in your home (Every iPad, smart TV, smartphone, laptop, streaming device, security camera, smart speaker, and more) is taking up a portion of your personal bandwidth. Without enough bandwidth, all the devices using the Internet in your home might jam the connection and slow down the Internet for everyone using it. For example, if your home has five occupants and everyone tries to stream a separate show, they'll simultaneously pull a ton of data from the network all at once! As an analogy, this is like everyone in your family having a car and trying to access the same road at the same time. Or everyone trying to drink from the same straw at the same time.
  
• Using the Internet during peak hours. In most places, this is in the evenings and on the weekends, which is when people are most likely to be surfing or streaming entertainment. When everyone in your town is online at once, local providers could struggle to deliver data promptly to each user, leading to Internet fluctuations [KT1] and slower speeds.
• Outdated hardware. If your computer or router hasn’t been updated in a while, it might take longer to receive data from the local network. That, in turn, could cause a data traffic jam in the ether and lead to congestion for everyone.

 

How Can You Fix Network Congestion?

 

Network congestion can frustrate your online experience for lots of reasons. But you can’t really ‘fix’ network congestion. There will always be a high demand for the Internet, whether it is coming from inside your home or from people outside your home who you have no control over. But you can take steps to lessen the impact.

 

Use the Internet at the Right Time

 

The first (and easiest) thing you can do is simply be online when others aren’t. If you want to watch an episode of a show, for instance, watch it in the afternoon instead of the evening.

However, this fix isn’t always practical. You might only have time to be online when everyone else is, whether that’s in general or in your home. Still, you can strategically use this solution for large downloads (e.g., queue a large file download to occur in the middle of the workday while you’re away so it’s finished when you come home during peak traffic time).

 

Check for Viruses

 

Download a good antivirus software and scan your computer or phone for malware. If it finds a bug, let it wipe the virus from your device. If this works, then you might not have had network congestion at all. Instead, a virus might have been stealing resources from your device, making it operate more slowly all around. Also, consider checking for a router virus if your devices are clean but you still experience network issues.

 

Update Your Router

 

Your router’s firmware is the built-in software that allows it to interface with devices and transmit Internet information. Like many other devices, that firmware needs to be updated regularly. Without those updates, your router may not funnel traffic to your device and back very efficiently.

Normally, your router should download updates automatically whenever it’s online. But if you changed this setting before, or you think it missed an update by accident, access your router’s settings and manually check for updates. There should be instructions for how exactly you can do this in your router’s manual or on your ISP’s website.

 

Increase Your Network Bandwidth

 

You can also try to increase the network bandwidth in your home. Remember, the higher the bandwidth, the wider the “road” Internet traffic can travel across.

There are a few ways you can accomplish this, such as:

• Purchasing a new router with a higher bandwidth capacity
• Using a VPN on your device, which could optimize your browsing by bypassing network congestion in your area, but the additional encryption steps might outweigh the benefits
• Placing your router [KT2] in a more accessible location – this doesn’t actually increase the bandwidth it offers, but instead makes the bandwidth more available to your devices
• Upgrading your Internet plan to a higher speed could help by increasing the overall amount of available bandwidth

 

Choose a Better Internet Provider

 

Some Internet providers offer faster speeds and better bandwidth by default. If your current Internet service provider hasn’t provided you with a great experience, switching to a different ISP may be a wise choice – and it may lead to lower network congestion immediately after your new service comes online.

 

Switch to Superior Internet Today

 

All in all, switching to an Internet provider with faster speeds, improved service, and other perks just makes sense – especially if you’re experiencing network congestion all the time. Shentel’s high-speed cable Internet is perfect for streaming, gaming, and the rest of your favorite activities (even during prime time). Check out our Internet plans today!