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Troubleshooting slow Internet is tricky

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Jim Rossman

Troubleshooting slow Internet connections can be tricky.

Most people who complain to me say the speed comes and goes. That’s the tricky part.

This isn’t intended to be an all-inclusive answer. Just a few things to check.

There are four places the slowdown could occur — your computer, your modem/router, the wiring in your house or between your house and your Internet service provider.

The first thing you should try is to power-cycle your modem and router. This works at my house.

Take a look at the back of your modem and router. They may be in one box or two. On each box, one of the wires in back goes to a wall plug.

Unplug the modem and wait 30 seconds. Then plug it back in and see if the connection speeds up.

Of course, it helps to know the Internet’s connection speed at each step.

My two favorite speed tests are at and Run the tests when the slowness is happening.

It also helps to know what your speed should be on a good day.

You’re paying for a specific level of service. Check your bill. For instance, my DSL service at home is called Elite and it’s 6 megabits per second down and 768 kilobits per second up. The down and up refer to which direction the traffic is flowing. Down is from the Net to your PC. Up is from your house to the Internet.

Those speeds are just a guideline. Some tests will be faster or slower.

If the speed tests return lower numbers than you’re paying for, it may be time to call your ISP. They can usually run some tests to see if the problem is yours or theirs. They may send a technician out who can check the connection where it enters your house.

If the problem is theirs, they’ll fix it.

But if the problem is your modem, wiring or computer, odds are you’ll be responsible for the fix.

Finally, you need to be sure your computer isn’t infected with a virus or worm that could be slowing everything down. If you think your computer is clean and the speed is still slow, run the speed tests on other computers in your house or borrow a laptop from a friend or relative and run the speed tests to see where the problem lies.