The internet is a wonderful tool that people use for just about everything. We use it for research, shopping and even socializing. While the internet of the past was only used on a huge computer that stayed in our home or office, the internet of today is available virtually everywhere from computers to cell phones. Most people cannot leave their house without being connected to the internet in some way, whether it is on your phone, tablet or pocket computer; so how can you make sure that you are always connected no matter where you go?
1. Turn Wi-Fi on When Connections are Available
The first step in ensuring that you are getting the best signal and the best connectivity is to connect to a wireless network whenever possible. It is a known fact that cellular data is picking up the speed but it is still much slower than hotspots that can be found in coffee shops or bookstores or even at your home. You will also save money if you are on a data plan that charges you whenever you go over your data limit since when you are on a Wi-Fi network, your cellular data should not be in use.
2. Disable Wi-Fi When Not in Use
Wi-Fi offers mobile device users ways to get connected to super-fast internet but what happens when you go to leave the hotspot? Your device will continue to attempt to connect to that network until you are far out of range. This will dramatically slow down your connection speed since it is trying to connect to both Wi-Fi and your cellular network at the same time.
3. Disable Cellular Data
At the same time, you should also disable the cellular data when it is not needed. This will keep your device from attempting to connect to the 3G or 4G network when you want to connect to Wi-Fi. You do not need to disable this feature on most cell phones but all versions of the iPad that have the cellular data option will continue to attempt to connect even if it is already connected to a Wi-Fi network.
4. Close out Programs and Browser Windows
You would be surprised at how many programs run in the background that can slow your connection speed to a virtual stand-still. The best way to speed up your device’s internet connection is to simply close out all open programs. Each device is different in how to accomplish this. With Android devices, you may need to go all the way into your settings unless you have an app like Advanced Task Killer, where you can get a widget on your home screen that will automatically close any open programs.
On Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad and iPod, you just need to press the home button twice and a window will pop up on the bottom of the screen. This window shows all of your open programs. To close the programs, hold down an icon like you would on the home screen to delete the program; the same little “x” will show at the corner of each program. Press the “x” on each program until the window is empty.
5. Restart
Your mobile device is a computer. You may not think of it as a computer because of its size, but it is, and like a computer, your device needs to reboot once in a while. When you see your connection becoming slow, simply restart it. Just turn it off, wait a few seconds and then turn it back on. You will be surprised at the difference it makes.
Whether you simply disable what you don’t need, connect to a different network or just need to restart it, these little things will keep your device running most efficiently. And better yet, running at the speed you want.
