Virgin Media regularly offers advice on how to speed up broadband without too much fuss or any extra expense. Just recently, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) urged customers to switch off their routers and give things a reset. This takes minutes and often clears bugs of issues that may have built up over time.
If that hasn’t made surfing the web feel any faster then it might be time to find the tape measure. In a new email sent to customers, and seen by Express.co.uk , Virgin is now saying another top tip is to follow the ‘one metre’ rule.
“Move your Hub at least one metre away from objects such as televisions, wireless speakers and cordless phones. These devices have their own signals and can mess with your WiFi,” Virgin advised in its message to users.
By moving things away from other objects, you are far less likely to suffer any annoying interference and that should help to keep speeds up to scratch.
There are some other things to try as well with Virgin telling users not to keep their router in a cupboard or lay it down flat on the floor. Both of those things might sound tempting as routers aren’t the prettiest of devices and hiding them away means they don’t clog up rooms or look messy. However, this is seriously bad news for speeds,” Virgin added.
“Don’t keep your Hub in a cabinet, keep it out in the open so the signal is free to roam.
“Keep your Hub upright, with the front lights facing into the room. This makes sure the signal goes outwards, rather than into the floor.”
If your router is near a fish tank or microwave oven it’s best to move it as these household items can also mess with speeds and always try to get the router as high off the ground as possible.
Of course, none of these tips will make the physical speeds coming into your home any faster as you’ll only get what you pay for. But making some of these simple changes and rebooting your router once a month can certainly help to make sure your Wi-Fi keeps pace with your digital needs.