Slow connection

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Slow connection

Zoom problems with frozen screen, poor quality audio, or getting disconnected?

Summary

We’ll consider these areas/issues:

The connection into your home (from “the Internet” to your “router”)
- You might be paying for slow broadband (check this)
- There might be a problem (temporary or permanent) with the connection to your house (check the speed you’re actually getting)
The connection from your “router” to your “device” (computer)
- You have a slow/cheap router (check what router you have and what routers your provider can provide)
- You are too far from your router (distance and/or location)
- Too much demand on your router/broadband (others using it)

Broadband Speed explained - what does Zoom need? / how to check

Minimum speed requirements for Zoom

For 1:1 video calling – 600 Kbps (or 0.6 Mbps)
For group video calling (more than 2 people on the call) – 1.0 Mbps

Jargon: Mbps = megabits per second / Mb = (1,000,000 bits) / Kb = Kilobits (1,000 bits)

Check your speed

Check your Internet bandwidth using an online speed test, such as nperf, Speedtest, or Comparitech

Note: Your download speed will always be faster than your upload speed – to reflect what most of us do most of the time (downloading videos to watch, emails to read, web pages to browse etc)

Jargon: “Speed” and “Bandwidth” – these are similar terms, but not the same. Most of us can happily ignore the difference. For others – either look it up on Google

What else can affect your speed?

The number of devices and programs that are accessing the internet via your router at the same time
The number of other people sharing the router in your household
The number of households sharing the line to the exchange (peak times)

“We’ll guarantee an average speed 30 Mbps!”

When you see the average speed advertised with a broadband deal, it’s referring to the “average download speed available to at least 50% of the supplier’s customers during peak hours, from 8-10pm for residential users and 12-2pm for business users”. So it doesn’t guarantee what speed you’ll actually get at any specific time. And if you’re in a very remote area you could fall well short.

Taken from https://www.broadband.co.uk/guides/broadband-speeds-explained/

Types of broadband - Standard / Superfast / Ultrafast / Fibre

‘Standard’ broadband packages can average 11 Mbps download / 1 Mbps upload. They use “ADSL” technology (standard copper telephone line). Though it can be far less if you live a long way from the nearest telephone exchange.

Super (66 / 17 Mbps) and ultrafast (300 / 27 Mbps) broadband packages use more efficient “fibre optic cables” to transmit data, which means they can reach faster speeds, though they’re not available in all parts of the country. According to Ofcom (May 2019), 10% of premises in rural areas were unable to achieve 10 Mbps or higher.

“Pure” Fibre optic packages – (a fibre connection all the way from your house to the exchange) can provide speeds up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps). However, only about 10% of homes in the UK can have this.

The speed figures above are from one example provider, but others are similar

What to do if your connection is slow

Watch this great 2 min video about WiFi connectivity

Short term solutions – right now!

In order of ease to do …

Move closer to your wifi router/hub

Stop other internet “action” during your meeting

- Ask anyone else in the house to stop using the internet (e.g. watching Netflix, browsing the internet, watching videos on their phone, video calls, online games etc)
- Turn off any other programs on your device that might be using the internet (email, browser etc)

Using your phone? make sure it’s using WiFi rather than mobile data

Turn off your video when you don’t need it . You can turn it back on during introductions or if you have a question.

Turn off “HD video” – it’s probably already off, but check (click the “up arrow” to the right of your “video” button and uncheck the “HD video option” detailed instructions towards the end of this article

Mute Audio when not talking: click on the microphone icon to mute / unmute

If you’re in an important meeting, and you’ve tried the solutions above, try using …

- Zoom – on a smart phone but via data (e.g. 4g) rather than wifi
- Zoom – dial in on a smart phone or landline (Note: relies upon the Host having allowed this option and it being a paid account).

For this second option, you can click on the “up arrow” to the right of the “microphone icon” and choose “Switch to Phone Audio”. You’ll be given a list of phone numbers you can call as well as the Meeting ID and passcode which you will be asked for and can enter using your phone dial pad.

Longer term things to try

BEST: buy an “ETHERNET” cable – connect your computer/laptop directly to your router/hub with an “ethernet” cable – you can get these fairly cheaply and run the cable for many metres (I use a 20 metre cable).

	this shows you are connected WIRELESSLY to your router
	this shows you are connected via a cable or “ETHERNET”

See the download speeds I get in my house - with an Ethernet cable vs wirelessly

The router is on the middle floor, in the hallway. Download speeds are in Mbs.

WIRED	anywhere in the house using my cable	70
wireless	right next to the router	53
wireless	top floor	37
wireless	downstairs kitchen	14
wireless	downstairs front room	11

Try changing your “Broadband Micro Filter” (see image). They are very cheap (£3 – £5).

Move your WiFi router – Try moving your router to a more open, central location within your home. Watch this video for more details (its the same one as above).

Consider WiFi extenders (e.g. if your signal next to your router is great, but awful in your office)

Consider upgrading your router – If it’s old or damaged the signal may be compromised. Talk to your Internet provider.

And these tips taken from Zoom’s help page …

Upgrade your WiFI router firmware. Check your WiFi router vendor support site for firmware upgrade availability.
Use a WiFi extender such as Amped Wireless or Linksys to increase the distance and strength of your WiFi signal
Use a higher powered/long-range WiFi such as Amped Wireless router or adapter to increase the WiFi signal on your PC or Mac