It's a common mix-up: your plan speed is the speed coming into your home, and Wi-Fi is how that speed travels wirelessly to your devices. Wi-Fi almost always measures slower than your plan, especially far from the modem or through walls. That's normal, and usually fixable.
Why Wi-Fi slows down
- Distance and walls. Every wall, floor and door weakens the signal. Brick, concrete and mirrors are the worst.
- Interference. Microwaves, cordless phones, baby monitors and your neighbours' Wi-Fi all compete on the same airwaves.
- Old devices. An older phone or laptop can't reach modern speeds even on a fast connection.
- Too many devices at once. Lots of streaming and downloading together shares the available Wi-Fi.
Get the best signal
- Central and high. Put the modem in a central, open spot, up off the floor, not in a cupboard or behind the TV.
- Clear the area. Keep it away from microwaves, fish tanks, and other electronics.
- Use the right band. Modern modems offer 2.4GHz (further range) and 5GHz (faster, shorter range). Stay on 5GHz when you're near the modem.
- Wire the big stuff. Use an Ethernet cable for TVs, consoles and desktops where you can, it frees up Wi-Fi for everything else.
- Cover a big home with mesh. For double-storey or larger homes, a mesh system keeps every room fast. See our modems & Wi-Fi options.
Quick test: if a wired device is fast but Wi-Fi is slow, the connection is fine, it's a Wi-Fi coverage issue, and the tips above will help.
Check what you're actually getting
Run a speed test right next to the modem, then again where you usually sit. A big drop between the two points to Wi-Fi coverage, not your plan.