Helpful Tips to Improve Your Internet

Got slow speeds, or worse — no internet connection at all?


Before you pick up a phone, try these simple tips and tricks from Connected Nation’s IT guru, Ryan Johnson, and the Town of Prosper, Texas’ tech expert and IT whiz, Leigh Johnson.

These tips provide quick explanations about how things work, why they sometimes don’t, and how to fix them. They will hopefully get you back onto the information superhighway in a flash.

NO CONNECTION, NO PROBLEM

More often than not, the problem can be corrected by “power cycling” your devices. Start by unplugging the power from your broadband modem, waiting about 60 seconds, and then plugging it back in. If this doesn’t work, continue the process with your wired or wireless router and then your desktop or laptop computer.

Internet at the Speed You Want

Make sure you know what connection speed of your router can handle. Put the model number into Google and request the specification or contact your provider.

That’s Not All You Should Know

What's that mean?


How fast is high-speed internet? The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines the basic broadband speed at 25 Mbps download/3 Mpbs upload
Commonly Used Terms:

Bandwidth – the width of the band, the amount of data measured in bits per hertz, a range of radio frequencies used to transmit a signal

Broadband – high-speed internet (these terms are interchangeable)

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) – it’s the family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over older copper telephone lines

Ethernet Cable – a commonly used category 5 or 6 cable, consisting of 8 copper wires, used as part of wired network

Gigabit – one gigabit is 1,000 megabits

Gbps – gigabits per second

ISP – Internet Service Provider

LAN (Local Area Network) - a group of computers and peripheral devices that share a common communications line or wireless link

Modem – this device connects directly to the internet

Mbps - stands for “megabits per second”; it’s the amount of data that can be transferred within one second and is most commonly used to quantify internet speeds