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Working from home and attending classes online may be an advantage for most but it became more complicated to some because of slow internet connection.

Here are some tips and tricks from tech enthusiast Juan Carlo Villanueva to get the most out of your internet connection at home.

Choosing your ISP

Generally, you should stick with “hard line” connections and should treat wireless connection as a backup only because it tends to be unstable since it has more points of failure than copper or fiber connections.

Fiber is the most consistent and fast connection as it has no signal degradation compared to DSL/VDSL/COAX.

Do a little research in your area to find out which ISP (Internet Service Provider) has less service interruptions.

It is a good sign when they have a new cabinet/facility within a 100-meter radius from your house, regardless of which ISP it is.

The newer the facility, the less internet issues to the user.

Also take note on how quick the ISP responds to repair requests.

You should be prepared for these instances as no ISP is flawless and breaks down from time to time, more importantly for online jobs, where the internet is mission critical.

Image source: Daria Shevtsova (Pexels)

Get the right plan

You don't need a 50mbps connection if you are living alone and your job only requires you to send and receive emails.

We have to be practical about this. As of writing this article, ISPs in the Philippines have doubled their speed for their base plans, that's 10mbps, and would accommodate two to three persons with moderate internet use.

Choose the plan that gives you more speed for the least amount of money.

Image source: Andrew Neel (Pexels)

Invest in networking device

ISPs usually provides a modem with WiFi capabilities. Having the ISP-provided router do all the functions of a modem, switch and a wireless access point may result into an unstable connection.

One possible solution is to buy your own router/access point, this strips down the ISP-provided device to function only as a modem.

In layman's terms, the ISP device now only feeds the internet; and the router will distribute the internet thru WiFi or Ethernet.

Again, buying the router or access point does not have to be expensive. As long as it's from a reputable brand, even if it's cheap, it will vastly improve your internet.

Image source: Andrea Piacquadio (Pexel)

Find the right spot

Most people overlook where they should install either the ISP-provided modem or the router they purchased.

In any living space, the router should be in the center and topmost portion of the house.

The closer the router to the ceiling, the better. This will vastly improve the coverage of your WiFi signal.

This might be a hassle as you might fiddle with extensions and mounting screws, but it's well worth the effort for greater coverage.

Image source: Andrea Piacquadio (Pexel)

Secure setup

It may be daunting at first, but the process of setting up your router is crucial as it may be stolen easily by anyone.

It should be straightforward, all you have to do is to access the web interface or the control panel of your router (usually accessed through is 192.168.1.1 or consult the manual), log in with your default admin and password, change SSID or your WiFi name and password, and for added security, change your login credentials for the router's web interface.

Image source: Andrea Piacquadio (Pexel)

Bonus Tip: DNS

DNS or Domain Name Server is the server of which your internet relies on to search for the webpage you are looking for.

In other terms, if the internet is the library, DNS is your librarian. And there are several free DNS services that can improve speed and security of your browsing experience.

We recommend changing the DNS of your router, which is found usually on DHCP settings.

The top DNS servers today are Cloudflare, Google Public DNS, Quad X and Open DNS.

There should be a noticeable increase in responsiveness of your connection.

Take note, this does not increase your Internet speed.

Image source: Andrea Piacquadio (Pexel)

Monitor your connection

There's always an explanation if your internet is not functioning properly.

Perform a speed test from time to time, so you will know if the internet is not functioning as it should.

Before calling for repairs, do basic troubleshooting first and check for viruses on your computer that might affect your internet connection.

Eliminate all problems on your end, and that might just solve the issues you are experiencing. If not, then it's time to call for repairs.

Image source: Andrea Piacquadio (Pexel)

Enjoy your connection!