Is your internet slow on your Windows laptop, but not on your phone? Here is how to fix it

Is your internet connection super fast on your phone but acting like a lazy turtle on your laptop? Can you stream HD videos smoothly on your mobile device without buffering, but have a hard time even opening a website on your laptop browser? What is the reason for such a derogatory treatment of different devices by your Internet?

In this article, we will discuss why the internet is so fast on your mobile but not on your laptop. Also, we will discuss methods to speed up your Internet connection.

Why is the internet slow on your laptop compared to mobile?

The main reason for slow internet on a laptop could be bandwidth hogging by the very mobile phone you are comparing speeds to. Other causes include network resources consumed by apps and processes on your device, hardware problems, outdated network drivers, or restrictions imposed by your Internet service provider.

How to fix slow internet on your laptop

To get your laptop to match the internet speed you get on your mobile phone, give it maximum bandwidth, update your network drivers, close processes that consume a lot of network resources, change your DNS, check for network problems, hardware or stop Windows Updates. If all else fails, you should go for a fast internet package or replace your network card.

Now let’s take a look at how to apply the above fixes to speed up your internet connection.

1. Make Sure Your Internet Is Really Slow

Are you assuming that your laptop has a slower internet speed than your phone? If so, you should test your hypothesis by measuring the speed of the Internet. To do this, disconnect all devices except the one you are testing. For example, when you test the Internet on your mobile device, all devices, including the laptop you want to test later, should not share the same connection.

Go to the same speed test website, such as Ookla Rapid Testand run the test from both devices. Also, test your Internet connection on a different laptop to eliminate an issue with your Internet Service Provider.

• If the internet speed is almost the same on either device but still seems slow on your laptop, it’s an operating system level issue.
• If the internet is also slow on the other laptop, it’s probably a restriction from your ISP.
• If your laptop’s internet speed differs significantly from your mobile device’s, it may be a hardware issue.

Identify which scenario your problem fits into and apply only the relevant fixes:

2. Rule out hardware problems

To rule out hardware problems, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you use both devices at the same distance from your router? If not, take your laptop to where your mobile gives you the best speed. A speed test at different locations can also be helpful.
• Are there any physical objects or instruments that transmit radio waves near where you use your laptop? If so, remove their interference.
• Have you rebooted your router since you encountered this problem? Do it if you haven’t already.

3. Rule Out ISP Problems

Is the Internet speed slow on all the laptops you have at home? If so, it could be your ISP that is to blame. To counter this, change DNS settings on your Windows device. If the speed improves, keep the DNS unchanged, but if it has no effect, report the problem to your ISP. If you can switch to a different ISP, you should.

4. Disconnect other devices

Every device that connects to a network consumes bandwidth. As the number of devices increases, the available bandwidth for devices that are already connected decreases. Another reason for slow internet on laptops could be the load on network resources imposed by other devices, including the phone you’re comparing against.

You should disconnect other internet connected devices and see if that helps improve your laptop speed. Proceed to the next solution if it doesn’t help.

5. Close unnecessary background services and processes

Your Windows device runs two types of processes or services; operating system processes that Windows needs to run; and third-party processes or services that, while useful, put a strain on your network resources. So you need to close them for better speed. Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Right click on Windows Beginning button and select Task Manager.
2. First, go to the processes eyelash.
3. Click on the top of the Grid column to order the processes according to their network consumption.

   

4. Right-click the useless processes hogging your resources and click Final task.

   

5. Then click on the startup apps eyelash.
6. If you think a task is unnecessary, right-click it and click Disable.

   

7. Once this is done, press Win + R to open the To run application.
8. then write “msconfig” and click okay.
9. Go to the Services tab on the System configuration window.
10. Check the box to Hide all Microsoft services.

    

11. Click disable all to disable all services or selectively disable services you no longer need.

6. Disable Windows and App Updates

To keep our system free of viruses and to access all new features, it is necessary to update the operating system regularly. However, if updates overwhelm your resources, they’re not doing you any good. So you should temporarily disable them and see if that helps. our guide on how to stop windows updates will show you how to do it.

Also, while disabling services, as described above, will likely stop third-party app updates, you may need to disable individual app updates if they’re overloading your network. How can you check that? Periodically monitor network-intensive processes in Task Manager and disable any application update-related processes you find running.

Also, you should disable automatic updates from the Microsoft Store as we have previously skipped disabling Microsoft services. To do this, open the Microsoft Store, click your profile icon in the upper right corner, and select Application Settings. Tap the switch next to app updates to turn it off.

7. Update network drivers

Have you ever wondered how your device interprets the signal from your router or modem? It is network drivers that make hardware to software interaction possible. If your drivers are out of date, you’re probably not getting the best communication, which means you’re missing out on some potential speed.

To update network drivers, follow these steps:

1. Right click on Windows Beginning button and click Device administrator.
2. Expand category network adapters.

   

3. Right click on the driver you want to update and click update driver.

   

If you don’t know which one to update, you can simply update them all.

8. When all else fails…

If you’re experiencing this issue only on a portable device, you’ve eliminated hardware and your ISP as the culprits, and none of the above solutions worked, do the following:

1. Use an Ethernet connection for faster speeds.
2. Get a faster internet package.
3. Install a new wireless network card in your laptop.
4. Change the wifi channel of your router.

Speed ​​up the internet on your laptop

If your phone has blazing-fast internet, but your laptop is having trouble downloading a small file, you might be feeling discouraged. After reading our article, you should now have a better understanding of why you get different internet speeds across devices. In addition, now it will be easier to fix slow Internet and eliminate this discrimination.