The mobility of the internet has been significantly widened by smartphones. While the introduction of WiFi allowed users to connect their devices wirelessly, the advent of smartphones has brought almost all the essential features of the computer to the palm of the users. Whether one wants to make online money transfers, bill payment, send emails, voice/video calls, or watch movies/news/TV shows, play games, etc. all these activities can be carried out using smartphones and with the help of the WiFi internet.
Yes, of course, a cellular internet data plan can also be used; however, it may be quite expensive considering the amount of data that can be consumed, especially by video streaming and online gaming. The only issue that a user generally experiences with their WiFi internet on phone is the lack of speed. Well, if you ever face such an issue and wonder “Why is my WiFi so slow on my phone?”, you would want to go through this guide to know the possible reasons with their solutions.
Guide to Fix Slow WiFi Internet Speed on Your Phone
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Position of Router
The position of your WiFi router is very important. If you have placed the router in a location where your phone is not able to fetch the signal properly, you may face speed issues with your WiFi on phone. Typically, a WiFi signal has a range of up to 230 feet, and the more it crosses this range, the slower it becomes. Therefore it is recommended to try to keep your WiFi router in a center position of your home, office, or any other location. This way your area will be able to have a proper range in every corner.
Another thing you will need to ensure is that your WiFi router is not being blocked by any large physical objects such as Statues, Floors, Walls, and Doors. To know whether or not your phone is receiving a proper signal, you can check the WiFi icon on the status bar of your phone.
- When the icon bar is full, it means you have a strong signal.
- When the icon bar is empty or almost empty, it means that your signal is weak or no network at all.
Even after repositioning your WiFi router if you are experiencing speed issues with your WiFi on phone, you may want to go to the next solution.
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WiFi Congestion
Congestion is another router-related issue that can also be responsible for making your Phone internet slow. Routers are known for broadcasting their signal on a specified channel, and if your neighbors have their router tuned to the same channel, this can lead to congestion, which can lead to sluggish performance of the internet. This kind of congestion is generally found in apartment blocks with a lot of routers. In such a case, it is recommended to switch to the other channels. There are numerous software available online that can help you find the best channel for your router.
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WiFi Noise
A WiFi network is also susceptible to noise that comes from the different appliances in your home. These appliances mainly include cordless phones, microwaves, wireless doorbells, etc. Such appliances can affect the signal from a router functioning on the 2.4GHz band. Modern routers can run on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Comparing to 2.4GHz, a 5GHz band is less prone to interference from the noise of appliances. If your router supports the 5GHz band, make sure that you are on it to avoid the interference. However, when doing so, make sure that all your connected devices support 5GHz, or else they will no longer be able to connect to the internet. In such a case, the solution is to get a dual or tri-band router, which allows switching between the two. If you wish to stick to the 2.4 GHz band, make sure that there is no interference from the appliances at your home.
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Your Phone is Connected to a Slow Network
Another most common cause of a slow speed internet connectivity is that your device is connected to a slow network. The speed usually gets degraded when other applications and devices are consuming the bandwidth at the same time. Activities like video streaming, playing video games, downloading large size files, installing operating systems updates requires a lot of bandwidth, which can slow down the general internet use significantly. To overcome this situation, you can either go for a higher speed plan or you can avoid carrying out activities like this when everyone in your home is using the internet.
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Your Phone is Slow
The slow internet speed on your phone can also be a sign that your device is slow. Your WiFi connection might be working perfectly, the mobile data might be having strong signal, and you might be on the fast network, but perhaps the problem with the slow internet speed could be occurring because your phone is unable to keep up with the job you are asking it to do. The virus or malware in your phone, or outdated apps or operating system can affect the performance of your phone adversely. Such factors are more than enough to interfere with the speed of your internet.
So, now as you know about the common solutions to fix slow WiFi internet speed on your phone, you can easily overcome the problem whenever you experience it.