How to speed up your connection?

If you are using the telephone line to access the Internet, you are not alone. Those that use these “dial up connections” still manage to vastly outnumber those with faster connections such as cable and DSL. Most dial up users today have 56K modems, and are still unhappy with the connection speed they are getting. To help you out, here are a few tips for achieving a higher connection speed.

The first thing you will need to do is find out how fast you are currently connecting to the Internet. Using your mouse, move the cursor over the icon of the two computers that appear on the bottom of your monitor when you are connected to the net. A small pop up message will appear and tell you the speed of your current connection. Because of FCC rules, the maximum connection speed to expect with a 56K modem is 53K.

Keep in mind that Internet connection speed can be affected by the amount of traffic on the Internet, which means you may connect at different speeds at different times of the day. If you usually see connection speeds of less than 40K, you should check your communication settings.

Click My Computer, then Control Panel, and then go into Modem or Phone/Modem Options. Find your modem, highlight it, click on Properties, and make sure that your modem is set at the highest speed possible. You should also find your modem in the Device Manager. Highlight the name of your modem, then right click and choose Properties. Make sure the port speed is higher than the default.

If you’ve checked your settings and are still connecting at slow speeds, the next place to look is the telephone line. Connect your computer directly to the wall jack with the shortest new telephone cable that is possible. In trouble shooting connection problems, splitters used to connect the telephone line to a fax machine or another device can sometimes slow down the connection.

Cables that are overly long and old can also cause problems. If you are still having problems, unhook the cable from the computer then plug it into a regular telephone. Pick up the receiver then listen quietly. If you hear any snaps or pop sounds, you should notify your telephone company and tell them that you have line noise.

If you’re still not connecting faster, you should call your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Many ISP’s have different telephone numbers for different types of connections. If you are dialing into the wrong telephone line, you may never reach a good speed until you change your dial in number. Your ISP can also give you other helpful information that should help you with your problem. If you call your ISP and still have poor speed, you should switch ISP’s.

If you use the Internet a lot and have a lot of trouble with your dial up connection, you should ditch it and switch to high speed. If you can afford the extra cost, broadband can give you a faster connection without any hassle.