Do you curse at your internet provider when the movie you are streaming suddenly turns to blurry quality, as if you’re stuck in the 1900s? I admire your patience, if you don’t. I really did that, and it was frustrating. Then I said ‘no more’, and found a way out of the mess. I found some simple tricks that helped to improve the streaming quality.
Do you want to know what those are? Let me share with you comprehensively.
- Get a Fiber Internet
Trust me, this is going to change your life.
When you compare the most used types of internet connections, the fastest one is fiber internet. And that is for a reason: the fiber optic cables use light to transmit the data from one place to another, and light is the fastest thing on planet Earth. That is exactly why you see internet plans in at least gigabit speeds from top fiber internet providers like AT&T, Kinetic, and Google Fiber.
And that is exactly why you will have a super-improved streaming experience on a fiber internet connection. 4K streaming works seamlessly with this type of connection.
To get fiber internet, you need to find relevant internet providers in your area. Then contact them for the availability of plans. In my two cents, any 1 Gigabit plan would be fine for most households, so do get that.
- Place Your Router Close to Your Sofa
Once you have a fiber internet connection, the next step you should take is to rearrange the router placement.
This is a step that will further improve your streaming experience. Why is it necessary? Let me explain.
Even when you have fiber internet at home, it doesn’t solve all the problems. The thing is, fiber optic cable is attached to your router, which further disperses the signal wirelessly. These wireless signals are highly prone to external interference, and your electrical appliances are the culprit here because they create an electromagnetic field around them when turned on.
To avoid such hassle, make sure to place your router either close to your device on which you will be streaming, or else place it in a raised position, so that the signal avoids the interference naturally being away from electrical appliances. That way, you will have zero dead zones around your home, and all of the people in your home will enjoy better streaming.
- Use an Ethernet (If You Stream on a Laptop)
This might not work if you prefer watching content on your phone rather than your laptop because it doesn’t have an Ethernet port.
So, if you watch it on your desktop or laptop computer, then instead of relying on the wireless signals, use an Ethernet cable. Why does it help? It cuts the problem at the root level. No more wireless signals, no more interference. It is just that simple.
When you are connected wirelessly, you don’t know how many devices are sucking up the bandwidth, and dropping your streaming quality from 4K to mere 480p. You need to avoid that.
When your laptop is connected via an Ethernet cable, it skips out all the devices and provides internet only to you. So, it is that.
On top of that, it is more secure and secures you from hackers in the long run of the things.
So, if you have only one laptop to watch your favorite shows, and nobody else lives at your place, then sure, go for an Ethernet cable.
- Change Your WiFi Password
Next up is changing your WiFi password.
As I mentioned earlier, when you are connected to the internet via your WiFi router, chances are that there are more devices using the same network than you know. This slows your internet connection to a great extent.
For example, once my neighbor asked for my WiFi password because he had a laggy connection, and he was about to hop on an important client meeting. After a week, I saw my internet connection getting way too slow. I logged into my device’s portal and found that three of my neighbors’ devices were connected to my internet, and they were the culprits.
Then what I did was change my WiFi password. It was a hassle because I had to reconnect all of my devices all over again, but it got rid of the unnecessary devices, including my neighbors’.
To change your password, watch this guide on YouTube. And I recommend changing your WiFi password once every month. It will significantly improve your overall streaming experience.
Next time your connection drops, don’t panic. Instead, follow the tricks mentioned above and you’ll never have to stream with the pixelated screen again!
