Network congestion, outages and damaged equipment can all cause your Internet connection to slow down. We've narrowed down six reasons for slow Internet speeds and possible fixes later down in the guide.
Most of the time, a slow connection is due to Internet congestion. The cables that make up the NBN have limited capacity, like lanes of traffic on a highway. The more connections you have at the same time – or cars on the highway – the slower everything moves.
During peak hours, when large numbers of people are online at once, your connection will slow down simply because other people are clogging the network with their uploads and downloads.
If you're on a Wi-Fi connection like most people, the further you are from your modem, the weaker your signal. Wi-Fi signals can become weak and patchy due to distance or blocking objects (like walls) between you and the modem. Weak signals mean slow or unreliable connections.
Outdated or damaged modems and cables may not support fast signals. Outdated software or network drivers can lead to compatibility issues between your device and your hardware.
Internet data flowing to and from your house works a bit like a water pipe. The more people using your connection at once, the slower it will be for everyone. If 50Mbps of data gets pumped into your house and there are three people streaming video, they have to share that allowance between them, meaning each one only gets a fraction of it. The more data-intensive each user's activity is, the worse the impact on your bandwidth.
Background applications can act like another user and hog your bandwidth, slowing down your connection. Programs like Windows Update or game launchers may automatically download patches or updates without asking you, hurting your Internet speed.
Having too many devices with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth all looking for the same signal can cause interference and prevent that signal properly reaching any of them. It can be caused by devices in your own home or even your neighbour's house if they have Wi-Fi on the same channel as yours.
While there are plenty of potential causes for slow Internet, you don't have to sit there and accept it. There are a lot of ways make your Internet faster, which we'll cover in detail down below.
If you have an ADSL connection and are experiencing slow broadband, this might be due to the limits of your connection type. ADSL generally won't exceed 10 or 12Mbps no matter how good your hardware is. If you're already getting around that, these tips probably won't improve your connection. Sorry!
To find out how fast your Internet connection is right now, you can run a speed test. This will give you an idea of your average download and upload speeds in Mbps.
The next step is to compare this to the average or expected speed for your specific connection. If you know what NBN speed tier you're on, you can compare it to the ACCC averages or your provider's typical evening speed for your plan (which should be published on its website or provided with your plan).
If you aren't sure what plan you're on, it should be listed on your most recent Internet bill or your online account with your provider.
Are you happy with your internet speed?
45% of Australians are somewhat satisfied with their broadband speeds, according to our consumer sentiment tracker (November 2023). Tasmanians had the highest number of people very satisfied with their internet speed (32%). Somewhat surprisingly, 29% of people in regional locations were extremely satisfied with their internet speeds compared to only 25% in metro areas.
Once you have your actual connection speed and your expected plan speed, compare the two. If your actual speed is significantly lower, try the steps in the next section to fix it.
This table gives a rough idea of what can be considered good or bad speeds for different NBN speed tiers.
| NBN speed tier | Poor speeds | Average speeds | Good speeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBN25 Basic II | 0–15Mbps | 15–22Mbps | 22–25Mbps |
| NBN50 Standard | 0–30Mbps | 30–40Mbps | 40–50Mbps |
| NBN100 Fast | 0–60Mbps | 60–85Mbps | 85–100Mbps |
| NBN250 Superfast | 0–110Mbps | 110–150Mbps | 150–250Mbps |
| NBN1000 Ultrafast | 0–250Mbps | 250–500Mbps | 500–1,000Mbps |
Just as there are many causes for a slow connection, there are plenty of possible fixes. Here are six steps that might help:
Run a speed test on several devices in the same room to see if all of them have the same issue. If only one of them is having problems, then the issue is likely with that device. See our device-specific fixes further down, though you could always try turning your modem on and off again as a hail mary. Quick resets help sometimes.
If the Internet is slow on all your devices, the problem could be with your modem. First, look for any damaged cables or loose connections in need of replacement. Second, consider whether your modem might require an upgrade.
Older modems might not be capable of processing signals fast enough for modern connections. Similarly, not all NBN-capable modems support all speed tiers. For example, your modem might work just fine with an NBN 50 plan but struggle mightily with an NBN 100 or NBN 250 connection.
These days, most people connect to their modem via Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi can be a pain to deal with, so here are a few ways to improve your signal:
Move your modem or device
Wi-Fi signals weaken rapidly with distance. The further you are away from your modem, the weaker your signal is. Make sure you position your modem as close to your devices as possible. You also want to make sure you have the clearest line of sight possible. Walls, ceilings and doors will all weaken your Wi-Fi signal as it passes through them.
Reduce interference
Wi-Fi signals weaken rapidly with distance. The further you are away from your modem, the weaker your signal is. Make sure you position your modem as close to your devices as possible. You also want to make sure you have the clearest line of sight possible. Walls, ceilings and doors will all weaken your Wi-Fi signal as it passes through them.
Change your Wi-Fi channel
Wi-Fi signals weaken rapidly with distance. The further you are away from your modem, the weaker your signal is. Make sure you position your modem as close to your devices as possible. You also want to make sure you have the clearest line of sight possible. Walls, ceilings and doors will all weaken your Wi-Fi signal as it passes through them.
When all else fails, connecting your device with an ethernet cable will get around your Wi-Fi woes, since you'll be connected straight to the source of your connection rather than relying on Wi-Fi signals floating around. It'll also improve your connection's reliability.
When your connection is running slowly on a single device, try doing these:
Sometimes, the problem isn't at your end but your provider's. Contact your provider and let it know what your issue is. It could be a faulty line running into your house or an issue with the way the network is configured at its end.
Either way, it may be able to fix the issue, provide advice or at least identify the problem for you.
A Domain Name System (DNS) server effectively translates domain names like "finder.com.au" into IP addresses – numbers that your device can actually use. If your provider's default DNS server is struggling or has been hacked, it can drastically slow or break your connection.
On Windows 10, you can change your DNS server by going to your network connections, selecting "Properties" for the one you're using, then double-clicking on "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)". Select the radial option reading "Use the following DNS server addresses".
You can enter any DNS server you want, but there are a couple reliable ones. Google's has a good reputation: enter 8.8.8.8 (primary) and 8.8.4.4 (secondary). Cloudflare also has a decent DNS server at 1.1.1.1 (primary) and 1.0.0.1 (secondary).
If you feel like you've done all you can, consider upgrading to a higher speed tier on the NBN. This should improve your average connection speed. Compare plans from different providers below to get the best one for your needs.
Want faster speeds? Look for plans with higher typical evening speeds than the result you got from your speed test.
The way the NBN was implemented in Australia means that the majority of broadband connections still incorporate outdated copper wire. This older technology simply isn't capable of handling speeds much faster than what an ADSL connection can deliver, significantly lowering Australia's average Internet speed.
At the time of writing, Australia's average speed ranked 62nd on Speedtest's global list, just behind Uruguay but ahead of Montenegro.
More people are online at night time than at any other time of the day. With more people online, Internet congestion gets way worse – think of rush hour on a road. Network cables have a limited capacity, so the more users there are, the slower everyone's traffic moves.
In Australia, peak hours are between 7pm and 11pm, so you can expect your connection to slow down between those times. Why these hours? They're around when people are getting home from work or school and settling in for entertainment or study, using the Internet in the process.
Not necessarily. All a Wi-Fi booster does is extend the range of a modem's Wi-Fi signal. This can improve your Internet speed if there's a good distance between you and the modem or there are lots of walls and such in the way. It may also help boost a signal from a modem that has extremely poor signal output.However, if you're not that far away from the modem and your modem has an okay signal to start with, a Wi-Fi booster probably won't help.
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Kind of useless, my ISP has acknowledged the congestion and just said that there are no plans of an upgrade. They’re just leaving it as is, only problem is. the congestion isn’t just peak hours of the night its from about 8am-2am through the week, and pretty much all hours of the weekend. I’m on the maximum priced 100/40 plan and their offer to fix it, is to discount me $20 from one bill….
Hi Christopher,
Sounds quite frustrating. What kind of speeds are you seeing for uploads and downloads? If you can’t reach a solution past a $20 credit with your provider I would recommend contacting them via their Facebook or Twitter. You’re much more likely to get a speedy response, and hopefully, resolution that way.
All the best,
Brodie