Home Internet Troubleshooting Guide

As we navigate teaching and learning from home, here are some tips to help diagnose your home Internet connection.

Many factors can affect the performance of your home Internet connection.  Here are a few things to check to see if it improves your connection.

  • When was the last time you restarted your device?  It is a good place to start, shut down your Chromebook, laptop, PC, etc.  and turn it back on.  That sometimes clears up any issue with the device running slow

  • Are other devices on your home Internet consuming your Internet bandwidth?  Family members streaming video on sites such as YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, etc.  Your home bandwidth is limited and other devices may be using up the limited capacity. 

  • How far are you from your WiFi router?  Getting as close as possible to the WiFi router will give you your best performance.  You may want to consider a whole home mesh WiFi system for better coverage and a stronger signal.  The IT staff has had good personal experience with the Netgear Orbi RBK50 system (base station and satellite access point) but there are many other home mesh WiFi systems as well.  The router/WiFi  system you may be using could be many years old and the technology is sub par now.  

  • 2.4Ghz vs 5 Ghz.  Many newer modems have a 2.5Ghz signal and a 5 Ghz signal (often indicated in the name of the WiFi).  2.4Ghz is slower but has a longer range.  If you are further away from your modem, try the 2.4Ghz, if you are close, use the 5 Ghz.

  • Reboot your router/modem.  Most people's router/modem from their cable company is one unit.  It is usually a black box with lots of lights on it and the coaxial cable plugs into it.  Unplug the unit's power cable and wait 15 seconds.  Then plug the unit back in and try your Internet again in about a minute.  

  • Run a Speedtest. Download speeds of less than 5Mbps are going to present some challenges.  Try running the speed tests in various locations in your home to find the optimal location.

  • You will find you can achieve the fastest speeds possible with a wired Internet connection.  You will need a USB adapter and Ethernet cable to try this.  The adapter plugs into USB and the Ethernet cable plugs into your router/modem.  This is a sample USB adapter and cable.  

If none of these solve your Internet issue, you should call Internet Service Provider.

Internet Service Provider Troubleshooting Pages:

If you are having issues with your district issued device, you can put in a Help Desk Ticket and choose Submit a Ticket from the top right of the screen.