ISPs put in place data caps to limit how much data you can transfer when carrying out online activities.

For example, the data cap could be 250GB or unlimited, depending on the monthly fee you pay.

If you use internet data beyond your ISP-imposed data cap, you might be liable for a fine, penalty, or higher cost.

How exactly does a data cap affect your internet speed? Well, it means you cannot use the internet beyond a specific limit.

Once you reach your data cap, the ISP may turn off the service curtailing your internet usage.

So you should check if the arrangement with your ISP comes with a data cap. That will help you know how you use your Wi-Fi and whether you can improve your internet speed.

Viruses, malware, and spyware could slow down your internet speed by curtailing your browser.

Even though working in the background, they may monopolize the internet connection, frustrating your efforts to use it for other purposes.

Spyware delays the internet connection by imposing keystrokes and monitoring software.

That also applies to viruses, which multiply at a very high rate, reducing your commuting power and internet speed.

Therefore, scanning your computer for viruses could significantly improve your internet speed. Additionally, avoid emails from entities and individuals of whom you have no knowledge.

If an email has a suspicious attachment or link, don’t download or click on it. Always install updates for the operating system and browser to maintain a high level of protection.

Also, don’t go to unfamiliar sites to download media files, games, and applications.

They may contain viruses that could drastically slow down your internet speed.

As much as they are necessary, cordless phones may affect your download speed. That’s because the radio waves produced by a cordless telephone creates interference for the Wi-Fi network.

The reason is that both cordless phones and Wi-Fi networks operate on a similar radiofrequency.

Thus having a cordless phone and Wi-Fi router running at 5 GHz can only lead to interference that slows down your internet speed.

You can reduce interference by placing your cordless phone further away from the router. Also, you may change the frequencies for the cordless phone and wireless router.

However, that isn’t a permanent solution, given that the cordless telephone may produce some level of interference. So what should you do? Well, get rid of that cordless phone.

That will eliminate all possible interference and increase your internet speed. As an alternative, use mobile phones around your house.

For the appropriate devices, improving download speed may mean connecting your device using an Ethernet port.

That includes your laptop, desktop, and gaming consoles. But why is Ethernet better than Wi-Fi in terms of internet speed?

First of all, Ethernet is much faster than Wi-Fi. With 802.11ac – the fastest wireless networking standard – you get a maximum internet speed of 866.7 Mbps.

On the other hand, a Cat-6 Ethernet connection can provide up to 1Gbps of internet speed. So, Ethernet is faster and also more consistent than Wi-Fi.

Ethernet also comes with much less latency compared to Wi-Fi. Latency refers to the length of time or delays for traffic to move from a source device to the destination.

In gaming, latency may mean the reaction time. Compared to Wi-Fi, Ethernet has very little latency, if any.

Ethernet is, therefore, faster and more responsive than Wi-Fi. And, Ethernet doesn’t have any wireless interference, given that it is a wired internet connection. So whenever you use a PC, Ethernet is always the better option.

To increase your internet speed, you may have to update your router’s firmware. That simple move can help the router perform better, repair unwanted bugs, and support faster internet speed.

You might be required to use a mobile app or a PC to update your router’s firmware. However, there are necessary steps you must take to download and install the firmware.

Visit the vendor’s website and download the updated firmware. Usually, the firmware will come in a ZIP file, which means you have to unzip it before copying the firmware.

Then, log into the web interface for the router as you did during the first setup, and look for the update option.

You will find a button that leads to browsing a new firmware file. Click on it, followed by Upload or Update, and hold on until the process runs to the end.

When running an update, make sure you do not interrupt the process at any given time.

Also, follow the instructions provided by the vendor on flashing the router. Before running the upgrade, save them on a file beforehand to not end up with default settings.

The settings you choose for your router has a significant bearing on the internet speed. You can determine that right from the time you buy and configure your router.

That’s because the setting you choose determines whether you will stream audio or video files. So, the settings should help you prioritize certain types of traffic.

If you have a Wi-Fi router running on the 802.11n standard, you have to be careful about the encryption type you do. If you encrypt your router to MPA or WPA, you will limit your router to 54Mbps.

For higher speed, you should remove the encryption of encrypting the router to WPA2. Another important setting is the channel width, which you can measure in megahertz (MHz).

As such, you may want to choose a higher speed rating. For instance, 40 MHz is faster than the 20 MHz ratings.

To prioritize audio and video traffic, you may use the Wi-Fi Multimedia or WMM feature. With that, your network will load internet phone calls, music, and streaming.

Alternatively, you may configure service quality (QoS) to prioritize certain things on the network.

If you want faster download speed without changing your router, then you should upgrade your broadband bundle. ISPs usually offer broadband in graduated levels with the fastest costing more in terms of a subscription fee.

So, it would help if you liaised with your ISP to go through available options as far as upgrading your broadband is concerned.

Instead of mobile-based internet, you may want to upgrade yours to super-fast fiber-optic broadband. When it comes to internet speed, fiber-optics rank higher than satellite or mobile broadband.

It is the best for individuals looking for fast downloads of audio, video, games, and software over the internet.

Thus, watching internet TV is more rapid, downloads quicker, and gaming pithy only that you should be ready to pay more for advanced broadband.

Your browser stores your browsing history in the form of a cache. That’s why the sites you regularly visit usually load faster, albeit with only a few updates.

Because of that, you don’t have to wait for long to see your favorite webpages.

While the cache improves your internet browsing experience, it may cause problems such as slowing down the download speed.

So you may want to manually clear cookies on your browser or use an appropriate extension. A good example is Booster, which works for Google Chrome. Its work is to extend the cache duration without affecting your internet speed.

The stretching relieves the browser of the work that goes into hosting a local cache. It is installed on your computer’s hard drive, thus promoting faster cache loading time.

As it does that, it ensures that the web page represented by the cache displays the latest information.