How to check and increase bandwidth

A bandwidth hog is a term used to describe applications or files that consume a lot of data to run. For example, if you installed a music downloading app on your device and it took up more than 10% of your bandwidth, it would be considered a bandwidth hog.
Top bandwidth hogging apps typically include:

• Video conferencing applications like Skype or Microsoft Teams
• File backup applications, such as Dropbox
• Social media applications, such as Instagram or TikTok
• Video and music streaming applications, like YouTube and Spotify
•  Home security applications

Between working from home and surfing the web, your computer is used for a number of reasons. That’s why it’s important to monitor internet usage on your home network by checking on which applications are taking up your bandwidth and how much data they need to run. Learn how to keep track of your data usage on your computer below. 

To find out which applications are bandwidth hogs on your PC computer, follow these steps:

1. Click on “Settings” on your PC
2. Select “Network & Internet”
3. Click on the “Data Usage” tab
4. Under the “Overview” tab, you’ll see a list of all your applications and the total data usage from the last 30 days
5. Select “Usage Details” to view the data usage for each of your downloaded applications

Follow these steps to monitor and manage your application bandwidth on a Mac computer:

1. Select the following: “Apple Menu” > “System Preferences” > “Screen Time”
2. Click on “App Usage” in the sidebar
3. Click “Apps”, then select a specific app or select “All Apps” to view the data usage

Apps  offer a convenient way for you to access a variety of resources directly on your mobile phone. You can download an application for basically anything these days, including all your social media accounts, your favorite stores and podcasts. However, each of these apps use data that may consume your available bandwidth. Find out how you can track and monitor your mobile data usage. 

Check which applications are consuming your iPhone’s data with these steps:

1. Go to the “Settings” application
2. Select “Screen Time” to see app usage details
   

1. Go to the “Settings” app
2. Click on “Battery”, then tap on “Battery Usage”
3. Select the “App” tab and see which apps are consuming the most amount of data

Here are a few ways you can increase bandwidth for your home internet:

1. Set limits on your applications
Applications for video games and streaming tend to consume the most amount of bandwidth. If you’re working from home or need to pick up the speed, you can set limits or block specific applications during certain times on both your computer and smartphones.

2. Use Parental Controls
If your kids are using the internet, you can utilize parental controls to limit their usage on specific sites. For example, online gaming and social media can be bandwidth hogs. Set limits or block certain sites from being used at specific hours.  Cox offers advanced security features, such as parental control, with their Panoramic wifi plan.

3. Scan for malware
Malware, like Trojan horses and spyware, can sneak into your devices and consume your bandwidth for malicious purposes. Make sure to install security tools that can scan and prevent malware from reaching your network. Customers that have Cox will benefit from advanced security features that help protect against malware with their Panoramic wifi subscription.

4. Reserve bandwidth
Quality of service (QoS) is a tool you can use to reserve bandwidth for specific applications. For example, if you have a video call scheduled for a specific time, you can configure QoS to reserve the bandwidth required to run that application. The bandwidth will only be reserved when that application is in use and will be available when it’s closed.

6. Upgrade your internet plan
Applications aren’t the only  thing that can be consuming your bandwidth  users and devices can also consume your data. If you have a household with multiple devices connected to your network and more than one user accessing the internet, it may be time to upgrade your internet plan. Providers like Cox offer Panoramic Wifi. This internet solution not only gives you coverage throughout the house, its dual-band router automatically chooses the best route  for your devices to help improve performance. With this type of plan, even the bandwidth hogs can’t slow you down.