View source for The internet seems slow

== The internet seems slow ==
If you are using the internet and it seems slow, there are a number of things that could be causing the slow down.

Try  closing your web browser and then re-opening it, and disconnecting from  the internet and then reconnecting again. (Doing this resets a lot of  things that might be causing the internet to run slowly.)

* '''Busy time of day'''  Internet service providers commonly setup internet connections so that  they are shared between several households. Even though you connect  separately, through your own phone line or cable connection, the  connection to the rest of the internet at the telephone exchange might  actually be shared. If this is the case and lots of your neighbors are  using the internet at the same time as you, you might notice a  slow-down. You're most likely to experience this at times when your  neighbors are probably on the internet (in the evenings, for example).
* '''Downloading lots of things at once'''  If you or someone else using your internet connection are downloading  several files at once, or watching videos, the internet connection might  not be fast enough to keep up with the demand. In this case, it will  feel slower.
* '''Unreliable connection'''  Some internet connections are just unreliable, especially temporary  ones or those in high demand areas. If you are in a busy coffee shop or a  conference center, the internet connection might be too busy or simply  unreliable.
* '''Low wireless connection signal'''  If you're connected to the internet by wireless (wifi), check the  network icon on the top bar to see if you have good wireless signal. If  not, the internet may be slow because you don't have a very strong  signal.
* '''Using a slower mobile internet connection'''  If you have a mobile internet connection and notice that it is slow,  you may have moved into an area where signal reception is poor. When  this happens, the internet connection will automatically switch from a  fast "mobile broadband" connection like 3G to a more reliable, but  slower, connection like GPRS.
* '''Web browser has a problem'''  Sometimes web browsers encounter a problem that makes them run slow.  This could be for any number of reasons - you could have visited a  website that the browser struggled to load, or you might have had the  browser open for a long time, for example. Try closing all of the  browser's windows and then opening the browser again to see if this  makes a difference.