7 reasons why WiFi on phones is slow

Since smartphones are the primary way most people connect to the Internet, getting the fastest Internet speeds possible on mobile devices is more important than ever.

But that doesn't always happen. There are many issues that can slow down the WiFi speed on your phone. Let's take a look at the main reasons why your phone's Internet connection is so slow and how you can increase your WiFi speed.

1. The location of the router is not suitable

One of the main reasons why your phone's WiFi is slow is because you have misplaced your router.

Depending on the specifications and design of the router, the signal can have a range of up to hundreds of meters. But the further you go, the slower the WiFi speed. WiFi signals can be blocked by large physical objects such as walls, floors, and doors.

So if you're farther away from the router - in the farthest bedroom in the house, for example, or even outside - the speeds you get may be much slower than you expect.

There is a quick way to test this. The WiFi icon in your phone's status bar gives you a rough indication of the signal strength.

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When the symbol is full, you will have a strong signal. This shows that the slow Internet speed you are experiencing has another cause.

When this symbol is empty or has only a few lines, your signal is weak. Other WiFi devices such as laptops will also be affected at these long distances. As you move closer to the router, signal strength - and Internet speed - will improve.

If the weak signal improves as you get closer to the router, that indicates a problem with the placement of your router. Experiment with different router locations to see if you can get better WiFi coverage throughout your home.

If your speed doesn't improve as you get closer to the router, or if WiFi is slow on your phone and other devices don't, you may have other issues to fix.

2. WiFi is congested

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Another router problem that slows down your phone's Internet connection is congestion. Routers broadcast on a specific channel, but if your neighbors set up their routers on the same channel, congestion can happen and reduce everyone's performance.

This can be a common problem, especially in apartment buildings where a lot of routers are crammed into a relatively small area.

To fix this, you need to use software that can help you find the best channel for your router. The article recommends WiFi Analyzer application on Android. It's harder to do on an iPhone, but AirPort Utility for iOS still works. Both apps are free.

3. WiFi interference

WiFi is also susceptible to interference from other devices in the house. Devices such as microwave ovens, cordless doorbells, and cordless phones can interfere with the signal from routers running on the 2.4GHz band.

Most modern routers can operate on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The latter is a lot less noisy. If you have a recently purchased router that supports this feature, you can drill down into your router's settings to enable 5GHz broadcasting.

However, before you do this, you need to make sure that all your connected devices support the 5GHz band, or they won't be able to connect anymore. Many modern routers are dual-band, which means they can broadcast on both bands simultaneously.

If you are using 2.4GHz, make sure you don't have any other devices near the router that could cause interference. And brace yourself for possible disruption if you're streaming Netflix while you're standing in the kitchen making popcorn in the microwave.

4. You are connected to a slow network

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One of the most obvious reasons why your phone's WiFi is slow is because you're connected to a slow network.

At home, your speed will suffer when other apps and devices are hogging bandwidth. Streaming movies, downloading video games, or installing operating system updates will all slow down your overall Internet usage.

On a public WiFi network, the speeds you get can vary widely, and you can't expect to get super-fast service from something you don't have to pay for.

There are many public WiFi hotspots, and your phone may randomly connect to one of them. The network will even be automatically connected once you move to closer or better range. This means that while your favorite coffee shop may have great WiFi, there's no guarantee that you'll actually be connected to it all the time.

A good way to solve this problem is to set WiFi network priority on Android or iPhone. This forces your device to stay connected to one of your chosen networks whenever you're in range, and only use other free hotspots as a last resort.

5. You're Using a Slow VPN

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If you are wondering why the Internet on your phone is suddenly slow, it could be because you made a change on your phone. One reason for this could be that you've started using a VPN, which gives you better online security and privacy.

But did you know that your choice of VPN can significantly affect your Internet speed? Free VPN apps are notorious for providing terrible performance. If you're using a VPN and your Internet speed is slow, try disabling the VPN temporarily to see if that improves your experience.

Most of the fastest VPN providers have apps for iPhone and Android and offer a free trial period so you can test it out. These services will give you much better speeds than you would get from a free alternative, along with enhanced privacy and security benefits.

6. Poor mobile coverage

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Slow internet on your phone isn't just due to slow WiFi. When switching to mobile data, you should expect your connection to be faster. But this is not always true.

There are many things that can affect your phone signal. You'll see this often in crowded places, such as at a sporting event or concert. When tens of thousands of people are trying to connect to the same cell tower at a time, performance suffers.

And there are other potential factors as well. Your distance from the nearest tower, whether you are indoors or outdoors, and even the weather can affect it.

So you can own a 5G phone, but the 5G coverage is too poor for you to benefit from it. Several issues can cause 4G phones to experience slower 3G connections; Other causes may even cause you to lose your Internet connection completely.

Additionally, smaller mobile service providers may have more limited bandwidth, which means you may never get the best speeds on those networks. Contact your service provider if you are experiencing problems. If there is no solution, it may be time to change to a better provider.

7. It's your phone that's slow

In the end, 'turtle internet' telephony might just be a sign of a slow phone. Your WiFi connection may be great, mobile data coverage is perfect, and you're on a fast network, but your phone may not be able to keep up with what you're asking.

The resource requirements of applications and websites are always increasing. So even if your actual Internet speed is good, you may still feel it slow. For example, your phone's hardware may be taking time to render a web page or having trouble processing the graphics in an online game.

You can see this on older phones and especially low-end Android phones. But even if you have an up-to-date, high-end device, your choice of apps can still have a bad effect. Too many apps downloaded and synced in the background can consume a lot of available bandwidth.

Old or poorly written apps can slow down your phone. Make sure to update apps, uninstall apps you don't use, and keep an eye on apps that are allowed to run in the background.

It may even be time to consider whether to buy a new smartphone.

As you can see, there are many reasons why the Internet on your phone is slow. Fortunately, most of them are easy to fix. It's usually a hardware problem, so you may need to make tweaks to your router to resolve the issue for your other devices.

Micah Soto

Update 14 April 2022