How to improve your nbn speed

Due to a wide variety of factors, sometimes your nbn® speed might not be as fast as you were expecting. The nbn relies on cutting-edge fibre technology and there are a number of ways you can make sure you’re getting the most out of the nbn connection you have at your home or business.

Sometimes factors that are temporarily reducing your speed might be out of your control, such as a network outage, internet congestion during peak times and the number of people currently accessing that same site or online service. If internet speed is a concern for you, below are a few actions you can take that might improve your current speed.

Before you start

Before you test your options, you should check how fast your internet speed actually is. It might be wise to run a speed test a few times on your device and note down the average upload and download speeds you’re getting. If you’re using a laptop or desktop computer on a WiFi network, plug your computer directly into your router or modem instead and then try the speed test again to see if you got a similar or different result.

1. Turn it off, then on again

Sometimes even the worst computer problems have an easy solution. Try restarting your device and turning it on again to see if there’s any improvement. Occasionally this can be the cause of slow internet and other problems with a device, especially if the problem is out of the ordinary.

2. Ensure you have the right speed pack

If you ran a speed test, compared it with the maximum speeds of your plan and found it’s reasonably close, then you actually might need a faster plan than you currently have. There are a number of speed packs available on nbn plans and it’s important you have one that will best suit your needs. If you love binge-streaming Netflix or are a serious online gamer, then you’ll probably benefit from a faster speed pack than someone who just shops online and checks social media.

You can also read more about how to choose the right speed pack and nbn plan for you.

3. Optimise your WiFi connection

Creating the perfect WiFi network at home can be a surprisingly difficult task. There are many factors that influence the quality of your WiFi connection and any interruption in the signal can be harmful to your nbn speed. If you ran a speed test both on a WiFi network and plugged in via an ethernet cable and found different results, that’s normal. If your ethernet speed test is very slow, however, there might be an underlying problem.

Positioning your router or modem close to your devices is important: the less distance it has to travel and the fewer walls it needs to go through may result in a stronger signal. It’s also likely your WiFi network isn’t the only one around, especially if you live in an apartment block. WiFi networks can interfere with each other and reduce each other’s quality, though there are a couple of things you can try to improve the situation. Depending on your modem, you may be able to choose whether it operates on 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz as well as a different wireless channel.

You can find out more ways to optimise your modem speed here.

4. Upgrade your hardware

In some cases, particularly if you’re using an older computer or phone, you might need to upgrade to newer technology in order to get the most out of your nbn speed. Typically this would be a last resort option, though it is worth considering if your devices are half a decade or more old. When looking to purchase a new device, make sure they support the latest WiFi standards such as 5 GHz bands and 802.11ac or 802.11a/g/n connectivity.

An old modem or router could also be a cause for slowdown. If you have the same device for a long time then replacing the modem might be an option worth trying.

5. Check for viruses and malware

In rare cases, harmful software or files on your computer can slow down your internet speed, often because they’re using it in the background. Make sure that your operating system and virus protection software are all up to date and run a full scan with them to make sure nothing sinister is going on.

Shop nbn with Optus

Find out more about the nbn and how to get connected with Optus. We have an exciting range of great-value plans with speed options and extras available.