In today’s digital world, the fast hotspot is the need of the hour. Whether it is for work or entertainment, you need fast internet speeds to get the job done. In such situations, having a slow or lagging hotspot can cause frustration.
If you are experiencing a slow hotspot on your device, it is clear that there’s some problem. Your job is to figure out the issue and fix it. In this article, we will tell you how to go about it.
Why is My Mobile Hotspot So Slow?
Your hotspot could be so slow because of various reasons. Knowing the actual cause helps you to choose the right approach to fix it. Some of the main causes of a slow hotspot are:
1. Slow Network Connection
If you are connected to a slow network, your hotspot will be slow as well. Connecting too many devices at the same time can waver the hotspot speed greatly. Playing online games or installing large files will hog all the bandwidth.
2. Poor Positioning
The placement of your mobile hotspot or router can have a direct impact on the connection speeds. Typically, a mobile hotspot has coverage of 30 feet, while a WiFi hotspot ranges between 100 and 130 feet. What we mean to say is that the speed gets slower as the range of hotspot access spots increases. The connection speed can also get affected due to physical obstacles such as walls, furniture, doors, etc.
3. High Traffic On Network
Routers use a specific medium to transfer signals. So your neighbor using the same channel for their router can clog the network due to high traffic. If that happens, it will reduce the connection speed. This type of issue is commonly experienced in apartment buildings.
4. Signal Interference
In case, you didn’t know hotspots are vulnerable to wavelength interference. Electronic devices like microwaves, phones, and electric doorbells can cause signal interference. This is the reason you experience a slow hotspot when you are in the kitchen or close to an electric device.
5. Bad Internet Coverage
Sometimes we switch the hotspot access point in the hope of getting faster connection speeds. But that may not work if you have poor internet coverage. Other than your phone settings, many factors influence the hotspot speed. For example, ISP tower issues, and bad weather. Connectivity issues are also prevalent in crowded areas where too many people try to connect to a single tower at the same time. You can also experience slow speed due to your ISP’s limited bandwidth.
6. You Are Connected To A Slow VPN
Many of you are not aware but your VPN can also have an impact on your hotspot speed. If you are experiencing slow speed while using a VPN, disable it for some time and enable it again. If the issue remains, it is recommended to change your VPN.
7. You Are Using A Slow Phone
Yes, your phone can also affect the hotspot speed. If you are using a slow or older phone, the hotspot may fail to provide optimum speed. This happens because your phone’s hardware is unable to cope with the graphics on a website or game. However, if you are using a high phone and still have a slow hotspot, it could be because of the apps installed on your device.
Solutions To Make Hotspot Faster [5 Tips to Make Your Hotspot Faster]
Having a slow hotspot can be annoying as it obstructs browsing. Here are some solutions that can help you fix this issue.
Tip #1: Restart Your Phone
This is probably the easiest thing you can do to boost your hotspot speed. All you need to do is restart your phone and enable the mobile hotspot. You will notice the hotspot picking up speed.
Restarting your phone configures your internet connection changes, frees up the RAM, and clears the cache.
Tip #2: Get A Signal Booster For Your Phone
If the carrier tower is located far away from your home, you should consider getting a signal booster for your cell phone. It will boost your internet connectivity and allow you to enjoy greater speeds.
A signal booster also comes in handy in places that are crowded with natural obstructions or buildings. Buying a good-quality signal booster will improve your internet connection, regardless of your location.
Tip #3: Move To A Different Location
If you notice your hotspot speed wavering at some locations, there must be some problem with that area. The only logical solution is to move away from that area and see if the connection improves.
This kind of connection issue occurs due to the presence of large obstructions like mountains, trees, and houses. Changing your present location should solve the problem.
Tip #4: See If There’s A Network Outage
Even the best carriers will fail to perform if there’s a network outage in your area. Technical breakdowns such as this can occur due to various reasons. For example, storm, network maintenance, etc.
If there’s a network outage, your hotspot will stop working. But there’s nothing to worry about as network outages are fixed within an hour or so. In case, the outage is a severe one, you will be notified by your carrier.
Tip #5: Delete Unimportant Apps
Some of you tend to download random apps. Doing so can hurt your hotspot speed. Some apps consume more data, causing your hotspot to slow down.
If you have too many apps on your phone, remove the ones that you rarely use. By doing so, you will reduce the load from your mobile hotspot. You can re-download those apps if needed. Both Android and iOS users can check the list of apps that are operating on mobile data. You can disable or uninstall some of those apps that you don’t use.
Make Your Hotspot Faster On Android
One of the main reasons behind the slow hotspot on your Android phone is the wrong WiFi frequency band setting. This refers to the frequency range between your phone and router. For your information, your Android phone has two frequencies: 5 Ghz and 2.4 GHz. The latter is the best when you are away from the router, and the former is suitable for shorter distances.
By switching the frequency band you can boost the hotspot speed on your Android phone. Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Start by switching on the Hotspot on your phone.
- Go to Settings and then to Hotspot & Tethering. The name may vary depending on the phone model.
- Now enable the WiFi Hotspot and press the three dots. In some phones, you have the option Set Up Portable Hotspot, instead of the three dots.
- Select the option Configure Mobile Hotspot, and then Show Advanced Options.
- Select the 5 Ghz band if available.
- Once done, tap the Save button.
Note: You can change the frequency band to 2.4 GHz by following the same steps.
Make Your Hotspot Faster On An iPhone
iPhone users have limited options when it comes to boosting their hotspot speed. The option Maximise Compatibility is available only on iPhone 12 and higher. If you own any of those iPhone models, follow these steps:
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Select Personal Hotspot.
- Locate the Maximise Compatibility option at the bottom of the page and turn the toggle on.
It should be noted that the default frequency band of the iPhone is 5.4 GHz. Enabling this option means you are opting for a slower, but more compatible frequency i.e. 2.4 GHz.
If this method fails, you should try connecting your phone to your laptop using an Ethernet cable for faster internet speeds.
How To Check My Hotspot Speed?
If you feel that your hotspot is running slow, you can check its speed by following these steps.
- Turn on your hotspot and connect the device that you want to test.
- Launch your web browser and visit a speed test website.
- Hit the Start or Go button to start the speed test.
- It will take a few seconds for the test results to show.
- Once the speed test is done, the upload and download speed of your hotspot will be shown on the screen.
Conclusion on Why Is My Hotspot So Slow
With these solutions, you should be able to fix your slow hotspot. The process becomes much easier when you are aware of the reason that’s causing it. In some cases, you may have to try more than one method, but we are sure it will work.
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I am Editor, in charge of designing content for Routers Network. I aspire to use my experiences in marketing to create reliable and necessary information related to Networking.