If you find that your home network seems slow or unresponsive, here are some initial steps you can take:

  • Move close to your Wi-Fi router in order to ensure a strong signal strength.
  • If you’re close to your Wi-Fi router, use an ethernet cable to connect your computer to it for best results.
  • Reduce the number of devices connected to your home network.
  • Reboot your internet/Wi-Fi router to allow any new updates to be applied.
  • If using ZOOM, you can use your phone for the audio and the internet for video.
  • Ensure you have no pending Operating System updates or device updates on your computers.
  • For additional help, you can follow the steps outlined by this PCMAG article.
  • Call your home internet service provider, they will work with you over the phone to determine what the issue may be.
  • Increase the speed of your home network. In general, you will need upload and download speeds of at least 2 Mbps for services like Zoom and Canvas to work. You can check the speed of your internet connection using this site: https://www.speedtest.net/

If you do not have access to internet access or you are unable to increase your bandwidth speeds,  you can turn on your Smartphone’s “personal hotspot.” If you have good cell coverage, you can use your phone’s data plan to provide your laptop with an alternative high-speed data connection.

If after trying all of the above, you are still having issues, or the solution requires hardware or upgraded bandwidth for Wi-Fi services, among other things, students can request additional Financial Aid for the upgrade of their home network.

Please keep in mind that your computer can be the cause behind some of the issues attributed to slow network behavior. Please use the following guidance to troubleshoot your computer if you experience slowness with your PC or Mac.