Tag: wifi

Why Is My Wi-Fi Down? 5 Common Reasons, and How to Fix It

Laurent

This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

There’s really never a good time for your Wi-Fi to go out: Whatever you’re using the internet for at the time (streaming TV, gaming online, working from home or some combination of it all) comes to an abrupt and frustrating halt. An internet outage could also knock your Wi-Fi security cameras, smart light switches and other connected devices offline even when you’re away — not ideal.

While there’s not much you can do about an internet outage when you’re away from home, troubleshooting and resolving the occasional service disruption can be fairly quick and simple. Here are the most common reasons why your internet might go out and how to fix the problem, if possible. Spoiler alert: It’s not always the fault of your internet service provider. (For more Wi-Fi tips, check out why your router may be in the wrong place, and how to find free Wi-Fi anywhere in the world.) 

Most common causes of home internet outages

Here are some of the top causes your internet may have dropped — we’ll dive into solutions for each below.

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1. Modem/router malfunctions

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2. Inadequate speeds or equipment

3. Hacking or network issues

4. Bad weather

5. ISP service outages and network congestion

Narrowing down the exact issue can take a bit of investigating and troubleshooting. Start by verifying the connection issue isn’t specific to a single website, server or device. 

If you’ve lost your Netflix connection halfway through a show, check to see if other streaming services are still accessible and working. If so, the problem likely lies with Netflix and not your internet connection. If you’re having an issue connecting to other streaming services, it could be that the smart TV or streaming device is to blame. Try streaming on another device, if possible, to verify that an

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How to share your online relationship in excess of Wi-Fi in macOS Ventura

Laurent

World-wide-web Sharing has prolonged been Apple’s way of permitting you just take an world wide web connection applied by your Mac and share it with other individuals and devices–also identified as a hotspot. This is practical when you really do not have a Wi-Fi gateway you can use or there is a restriction that will make your Mac the sole unit with an internet hookup. With the reorganization of tastes in macOS Ventura, you might have to hunt down this attribute if you want to configure it think about this a how-to information for Ventura regardless of whether or not you’ve earlier set up a macOS hotspot.

Generally, you share a relationship coming in more than ethernet by way of Wi-Fi, and which is what I explain in the techniques below. However, you can also share Wi-Fi around ethernet and other combinations.

Configure an previous Wi-Fi configuration dialog in a new spot in Ventura.

Here’s how:

  1. Open System Configurations General Sharing. (This is exactly where all the System Choices Sharing solutions migrated to.)
  2. Click on the information i icon to the ideal of the Web Sharing item.
  3. When prompted, authenticate with Contact ID, via a Check out, or by moving into a password.
  4. The dialog that seems should really be common if you’ve utilised this element formerly. It is a extremely marginally modified variation of what is developed in to macOS for quite a few yrs. From the “Share your link from” pop-up menu, pick your ethernet adapter.
  5. In the “To personal computers using” checklist, check out the Wi-Fi box.
  6. Click on the Wi-Fi Selections button at the base of the dialog.
  7. Enter a name, decide a channel (see suggestions beneath), and set Protection and a password (see additional advice down below).
  8. Simply click Okay and click on Finished.
  9. Click on the switch subsequent to Online Sharing to allow this link sharing.
  10. Read through the warning and click on Get started.

(Apple has not rethought this message for quite a few, several years. It ends with the odd assistance for residence end users, the most probably to

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Slow Wi-Fi? This Might Be the Problem

Laurent

This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

Is your internet suddenly moving super slowly? It might be due to an outdated router or a less-than-ideal router location. Your connection issues may need only an easy fix, like upgrading to a mesh network or simply restarting your modem and router. But if you’ve already attempted many of the tried-and-true methods and your internet speeds are still subpar, the issue might be something your internet service provider is intentionally doing: bandwidth throttling.

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Yes, you read that right. Your ISP could be making your Wi-Fi slower on purpose. Because of a 2019 Supreme Court decision in which the court declined to hear an appeal on net neutrality, ISPs can still legally stifle your internet, limiting your broadband if you’re streaming more TV than they want and serving slower connections to websites owned by their competitors. 

Shopping for a faster internet speed?

We’ll send you the fastest internet options, so you don’t have to find them.

One solution to slow Wi-Fi (if it’s caused by internet throttling) is a virtual private network
. Basically, ISPs need to see your IP address to slow down your internet, and a good VPN will shield that identity — though this comes with some limitations and downsides, which I’ll discuss below. We’ll walk you through how to tell if throttling is to blame and, if not, what to do about fixing your crummy Wi-Fi. (You can also learn more about how to get free Wi-Fi anywhere in the world.) 

Read more: Best Internet Providers of 2022

Step 1

First, troubleshoot your slow internet connection

So your Wi-Fi is slow and you think your service provider is throttling your connection. Before you jump to those conclusions, it’s important to run through the usual troubleshooting list: Check that your router is centrally located in your home, reposition its antennas, double-check your network security and so on. If you want to read about more ways to optimize your Wi-Fi, check

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Your Router Is in the Wrong Spot. Here’s Where To Move It for Faster Wi-Fi

Laurent

This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

A reliable internet connection at home is pivotal — but Wi-Fi can be frustratingly finicky. Despite paying monthly fees to an internet service provider, and even if you’ve had a router professionally installed, you may still find yourself spending too much time watching your phone, laptop or streaming device grind away as it tries to stay connected. 

That’s a massive headache if you work from home, if you’re trying to install smart home gadgets, or if you just want to unwind with some Netflix at the end of the day.

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The good news is there’s an easy way to optimize your Wi-Fi network and address these issues, and it’ll only take you a few minutes. 

There are a lot of factors that determine internet speeds and while there are a few tricks or guidelines you can follow to improve the overall wireless speeds and coverage in your home, one of the most crucial factors is the location of your router. And note, the best place is not always where the technician set it up. So keep reading to learn about the best place in your home for your router and other tricks for faster Wi-Fi. You can also check out our picks for the best Wi-Fi routers, the best mesh routers and the best Wi-Fi extenders.

Find the right router for your space

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First things first: It all starts with choosing the right router or other equipment. Not all routers are the same and the size and layout of your home will determine what type of wireless network you need.

For most apartments and smaller homes (under 1,500 square feet), a single wireless access point should suffice. That said, if your router is several years old, you may want to consider upgrading to a newer model with support for 802.11ax, or Wi-Fi

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All Those Wi-Fi Passwords You Used Can be Recovered. Here’s How

Laurent

When you originally set up your home Wi-Fi network, you likely didn’t give your password much thought after connecting your phone and laptop to the internet. That is, until a friend or family member arrives and wants access to your Wi-Fi.

And maybe you don’t remember the password, and didn’t write it down. Is it that super long number on the back of your router? Or did you change it to something more personal?

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Lucky for you, there’s a way to find all your Wi-Fi passwords in a single place — your computer.

Read more: Best Password Managers for 2022

As long as your Windows or Mac computer has connected to the network before, that Wi-Fi password is permanently stored in your settings. It may require a bit of digging on your part, but all of the passwords are there, saved, and ready to be shared with anyone who wants to connect to Wi-Fi.

Here’s how to find the passwords to all of the Wi-Fi networks you’ve ever connected to on MacOS and Windows. For more, discover 17 essential settings for customizing your MacBook or how to get the most out of Windows 11.

How to find Wi-Fi passwords in MacOS

Every password you’ve entered and saved on a Mac is stored in Keychain Access, the password management system for MacOS. And that includes Wi-Fi network passwords. 

To start, use the search feature to open the Keychain Access app and do the following:

1. Click on System under System Keychains in the sidebar.

2. Next, click on Passwords at the top of the window.

3. Find the Wi-Fi network you want the password for and double-click on it.

4. Finally, check the box next to Show password and enter your password when prompted.

Keychain Access app pop-up on MacBook

Find all your stored Wi-Fi passwords in the Keychain Access app on MacOS.


Screenshot by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

The password field will then show the password you used to log in to that Wi-Fi network. You can double-click in the password field to select the password and copy it to your clipboard,

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There’s a Sneaky Reason Your Wi-Fi May Suddenly Be Slower

Laurent

This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

Is your internet suddenly moving super slowly? It might be due to an outdated router or a less-than-ideal router location. Your connection issues may need only an easy fix, like upgrading to a mesh network or simply restarting your modem and router. But if you’ve already attempted many of the tried-and-true methods and your internet speeds are still subpar, the issue might be something your internet service provider is intentionally doing: bandwidth throttling.

CNET Home Tips logo

Yes, you read that right. Your ISP could be making your Wi-Fi slower on purpose. Because of a 2019 Supreme Court decision in which the court declined to hear an appeal on net neutrality, ISPs can still legally stifle your internet, limiting your broadband if you’re streaming more TV than they want and serving slower connections to websites owned by their competitors. 

One solution to slow Wi-Fi (if it’s caused by internet throttling) is a virtual private network
. Basically, ISPs need to see your IP address to slow down your internet, and a good VPN will shield that identity — though this comes with some limitations and downsides, which I’ll discuss below. We’ll walk you through how to tell if throttling is to blame and, if not, what to do about fixing your crummy Wi-Fi. (You can also learn more about how to get free Wi-Fi anywhere in the world.) 

Read more: Best Internet Providers of 2022

Step 1

First, troubleshoot your slow internet connection

So your Wi-Fi is slow and you think your service provider is throttling your connection. Before you jump to those conclusions, it’s important to run through the usual troubleshooting list: Check that your router is centrally located in your home, reposition its antennas, double-check your network security and so on. If you want to read about more ways to optimize your Wi-Fi, check out our suggestions.

If you’ve run through the laundry list and your Wi-Fi is still chugging slowly, move on to

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