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Technology

Internet Rush Hour: How to Survive the Speed Slowdown

Updated August 28, 2023

September 13, 2019

Internet rush hour can cause major speed delays. Find out how to maximize internet availability and pick up the speed.

You've endured rush hour traffic in the car, only to encounter "internet rush hour" when you get home. When everyone is competing to stream videos, play games and browse online, you may find it difficult to accomplish anything online because your wifi speed slows down.

What Causes Internet Rush Hour?

Traffic crawls during normal rush hour because there are suddenly too many cars on roads that weren't designed to handle the volume. Similarly, internet infrastructure is built to handle only so much network traffic. A sudden spike in demand can cause slowdowns.

During internet rush hour — from about 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, when people are unwinding from work and school — there are typically too many bandwidth-heavy connections for the network to handle without delays.

So what can you do navigate the traffic? Here are some quick ways you can increase your wifi speed to keep from getting stuck in a virtual jam.

Turn Off Unneeded Applications

Applications can be quietly running in the background of your devices, using data without you even realizing it. Check to see which apps are the culprits. Open up “Task Manager" or “Activity Monitor" on your computer and click on the network tab to see what items are using data. Stop applications you don't need from running in the background to help improve speeds. 

You can also try closing apps on your phone or even disconnecting from wifi temporarily while you're using other devices.

Power Down Extra Devices

The more devices competing to use your wifi, the slower the connection. Even unused gadgets connected to the internet are consuming small amounts of bandwidth. Having tablets, phones, smart TVs, wifi speakers and computers all connected to the internet at once can significantly reduce internet speed. Pick your must-have devices and disconnect the rest to improve speed during internet rush hour.

Check Your Home Network

Two main factors can contribute to slow wifi speeds — the network connecting your home and the one within.

Start by making sure you have fiber-powered home internet that offers better speeds and reliability than 5G home internet or phone internet.

Within your home, you may experience slow speeds because the signals sent from your router tend to have a short range. Any objects surrounding it can potentially block the signals. This situation is made worse during rush hour when many devices all over the home are trying to access the router at once. One way to speed things up is to make sure you have an up-to-date router, like Cox Panoramic Wifi, so that you're getting a strong, fast signal.

Next, consider moving your devices closer to your router or relocating the router to a more central location. A mesh network adapter or tools like Cox Panoramic Wifi Pods can also help deliver high levels of connectivity to areas that suffer from lower internet speeds.

Use an Ethernet Cable

Beating internet rush hour may call for the added support of an ethernet cable, especially if you're competing for wifi within your own household. For faster speeds and a more reliable internet connection, you can use an ethernet cable to plug in any devices within reach of your router. Doing so will also help save bandwidth for the devices that are still using your home wifi.

Schedule Big Downloads for Other Times of the Day

Downloading large files, streaming high-resolution content or taking video calls during peak hours can prove frustrating if there's a slowdown. You can avoid long buffering times by scheduling around internet rush hour and saving those activities for another time. Download files overnight while you sleep or while you're out doing other activities.

If you have a household full of video streamers and gamers, you can decide who gets priority access during internet rush hour, so that your network doesn't get even more bogged down.

Internet rush hour may only last for a few hours every day, but if that's when you plan to hop online, making a few small adjustments can improve your experience. And remember — traffic eventually clears. 

Learn how to tackle some of the most common wifi problems. Read The homeowner's guide to improving wifi.

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