Your Internet Connection Speed Posted on March 27th, 2020 by Paul Hanson

With everyone sheltering at home, we thought it would be useful to share a few tips to get the most out of your internet connection at home.

Know your internet connection speed and plan.  If you’ve just always had the 10Mbps connection from Comcast, give them a call, you may be able to get a free upgrade, and it may not even require a home visit.

Most people will be connected via WiFi at home, and in many cases the speed of your wireless will be greater than your Internet Service Provider (ISP), however if you live in a crowded apartment complex, or if you are in a big house with only one access point, you may want to look at using a wired connection if possible.  Many routers have to cater to the “weakest” device, so even though you might be close to your access point, another family member out back in the tree house streaming Netflix can make your connection worse…  Also, wireless can be very susceptible to interference, so that frozen lasagna that you have in the microwave for 15 minutes could bring your internet connection to its knees.   Many of the difficulties we struggle with to bring you reliable internet access on campus can cause issues at home too.

Ok ok, so your wireless is good, what else can I do?

Well, if you are a Gustavus employee with Crashplan, or a student with another backup service, consider putting limits on what it can use, or a schedule, or pausing it before meetings.

https://support.code42.com/CrashPlan/6/Troubleshooting/Use_the_Code42_app_with_limited_bandwidth

While in a Meet/Hangout/Zoom/Skype call,  if you are getting breakup in the audio, try to decrease the video quality in the settings or stop sending video all together.

Lastly, if you are still having trouble, tell your housemates to stop watching Netflix and read a book for 30 minutes so you can finish your important meeting.

The Gustavus Internet Connection misses you!