Check out ways to improve your internet speed

A bad Wi-Fi connection can ruin your day, especially if you’re paying for high speeds. It’s something La Quinta residents Amy and Steve Larsen experienced when recently switching providers. Steve says Wi-Fi is tough to get in different spots around their house, and Amy, who’s a part of multiple clubs and organizations, struggles to get emails and announcements out to other members. “It really made us cranky because Steve was on the phone with customer service for hours,” Amy says. Steve says when it’s not working, it feels like they’ve wasted money. “If we can get to a stable signal with reliable Wi-Fi, so we can rely upon some of the devices working consistently, that would be a huge success for us,” Steve says. To help them reach that goal, CBS Local 2 brought in tech specialists from DA Computer in Palm Springs, Daniel Algazi and Matthew Levy. They say they’ve serviced more than 20,000 computers around the valley in the last 10 years. Their first step in addressing the Larsen’s concerns was checking their bill to make sure they were getting the right service for what they are paying. According to Algazi and Levy, 90 percent of valley residents are being overcharged by wireless providers sneaking in extra fees onto your bill, so it’s important to know what you’re paying for. Also consider buying your own modem or router, rather than going with what your service provider is offering. “They always tack on a modem fee where they charge you every month for a modem or for a Wi-Fi router combo,” Algazi says, “For the price that they charge you in one year, you could basically buy your own.” And depending on how you use your Wi-Fi, you may want to consider purchasing a router with a processor, especially if you stream video. A big problem limiting Amy and Steve’s connectivity was having too many networks. Algazi says it’s best to have one streaming network, rather than multiple. Every time a new network is created, it gives a new set of IP addresses that do not automatically communicate very well together. In other words, less is more, and that also applies to the speed of your router. According to the tech specialists from DA Computers, most people think buying the latest and greatest is the key to a good connection, but they say the speed in the desert is limited. For example, if someone pays for a high end router with 500 MBPS, you won’t actually get that speed because that sort of service is not offered to a home and a router can’t handle it. A good way to test your Internet speed to find out if you’re getting what you’re paying for is by visiting a website such as speedtest.net. If you find your connection to be slower than what you’re paying for, it could be for a few external reasons. If you’re unable to keep your router in the center of your home and your house is larger with physical barriers between the router and where you are trying to access the Wi-Fi, you may need power lines or range extenders to allow the best service to carry through the area. “When you look at a router on the box, it gives you square footage, so like 10,000 square feet. You’re never going to get that unless you’re in an open field and there’s nothing in your way,” Algazi says. They say keeping a router on the ground can also block a signal and open you up to a few general maintenance issues. Pets like to snuggle up to routers for warmth, but their fur can block up the inside and cause overheating. The same goes for stacking your electronics. If you’re a smoker, avoid smoking in the home or around your router. It works a lot like our lungs, taking in the air around it with the fan, but there isn’t an automatic cleaning feature, so the router can actually fill up with tar. Since their consultation with our tech specialists, the Larsen’s followed some of these Wi-Fi solutions and purchased a higher end router. CBS Local 2 is happy to report they say their connection is working better than ever.