10 Tips for Boosting Your nbn® Speeds

1. Optimise Your Router Placement

Router placement is perhaps the single most important factor in your home Wi-Fi performance. Your router’s position significantly impacts signal strength, coverage, and speed throughout your home.

What to Do:

– Position your router centrally in your home rather than in a corner or at one end. This provides more balanced coverage throughout your living space.

– Elevate your router to a higher position (like a shelf or desk) rather than placing it on the floor. Wi-Fi signals spread downward more effectively than upward.

– Avoid interference sources by keeping your router away from:

• Concrete or brick walls
• Large metal objects (filing cabinets, refrigerators)
• Electronic devices (microwaves, cordless phones, baby monitors)
• Large mirrors or fish tanks (water absorbs Wi-Fi signals)

– Keep antennas vertical if your router has external antennas. This helps optimise signal distribution.

– For multi-storey homes, place your router on the middle floor if possible to provide better coverage to all levels.

Even minor adjustments to router placement can significantly improve coverage and performance throughout your home.

2. Upgrade Your Router

If your router is more than 5 years old, it likely uses outdated technology that cannot support modern internet speeds and security protocols. Upgrading can dramatically improve your experience without changing your plan.

What to Look For:

– Current Wi-Fi standards: Look for routers supporting Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) at minimum, but preferably Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) or Wi-Fi 6E for future-proofing.

– Dual-band or tri-band capability: Modern routers operate on multiple frequency bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz, sometimes 6GHz) to reduce interference and provide faster speeds.

– MIMO technology: Multiple-Input Multiple-Output technology allows routers to communicate with multiple devices simultaneously rather than sequentially.

– Quality of Service (QoS) features: These allow you to prioritise certain activities (like video conferencing or gaming) over others.

– Beamforming capabilities: This technology focuses the Wi-Fi signal toward connected devices rather than broadcasting equally in all directions.

Modern routers often provide 3-4 times the performance of older models, even on the same internet plan.

3. Use Wired Connections Where Possible

While Wi-Fi offers convenience, wired ethernet connections provide superior stability, speed, and security for stationary devices.

Best Practices:

– Connect stationary devices directly: Devices like desktop computers, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming boxes perform better when connected via ethernet cable.

– Consider the activities: For bandwidth-intensive or latency-sensitive activities like gaming, video conferencing, or 4K streaming, wired connections eliminate the variables that can affect wireless performance.

– Free up your wireless bandwidth: Every device you connect via ethernet reduces congestion on your wireless network, improving performance for devices that must use Wi-Fi.

– Use quality cables: CAT6 or CAT6a ethernet cables support higher speeds and are more future-proof than older CAT5e cables.

– For difficult cable runs, consider ethernet over powerline adapters, which use your home’s electrical wiring to extend wired connections to areas where running cables isn’t practical.

4. Implement Proper Wi-Fi Coverage Solutions

For larger homes or properties with challenging layouts, additional equipment may be necessary to ensure consistent coverage throughout your space.

Modern Solutions:

– Avoid traditional Wi-Fi extenders: While inexpensive, these devices often create separate networks and can actually reduce your overall speeds while appearing to improve coverage.

– Invest in a mesh Wi-Fi system: Unlike extenders, mesh systems create a unified network throughout your home, automatically connecting your devices to the strongest signal without manual switching.

– Consider placement carefully: Position mesh nodes centrally in areas that need coverage, maintaining line of sight between nodes when possible.

– Look for systems with dedicated backhaul: Higher-quality mesh systems use either a dedicated wireless band or wired connections between nodes to maintain performance.

A proper mesh system can eliminate dead zones while maintaining consistent speeds throughout your home.

5. Manage Connected Devices

The more devices connected to your network, the more your bandwidth is divided. This is particularly true for older routers that handle connections sequentially rather than simultaneously.

Best Practices:

• Disconnect unused devices or put them in airplane mode when not in use.
• Audit your connected devices regularly to identify and remove unauthorised connections that might be consuming bandwidth.
• Schedule updates and backups during off-peak hours or overnight to avoid competing with active usage.

– Use guest networks for visitors and IoT devices to keep your main network less congested and more secure.

– Check for bandwidth-hungry applications running in the background on computers and mobile devices, which may be consuming resources without your knowledge.

6. Keep Your Equipment Updated

Regular software updates for your network equipment can significantly improve performance, security, and compatibility.

Maintenance Tips:

• Update router firmware regularly. Manufacturers frequently release updates that improve performance and fix security vulnerabilities.
• Update device drivers, especially network adapters on computers and laptops.
• Restart your router periodically (once every few weeks) to clear its memory and refresh connections.

– Check for updates to your nbn connection box (formerly called the Network Termination Device or NTD), though these are typically managed by nbn.

– Consider the age of your equipment. Even with updates, hardware that’s more than 5-6 years old may not support the latest performance-enhancing features.

7. Optimise Your Computer and Devices

Your devices themselves can be bottlenecks in your internet experience. Regular maintenance can help ensure they’re not limiting your speeds.

Device Optimisation:

• Run virus and malware scans regularly, as infections can consume bandwidth and degrade performance.
• Clear browser caches and temporary files that might be slowing down your web browsing experience.
• Close unused applications and tabs that might be consuming bandwidth in the background.
• Consider hardware limitations of older devices, which may not be capable of processing higher internet speeds regardless of your connection.

– Check which Wi-Fi standards your devices support. Even with a modern Wi-Fi 6 router, devices that only support older standards will be limited to those speeds.

8. Choose the Right Plan for Your Needs

Sometimes, the issue isn’t your equipment or setup but simply that your plan doesn’t match your usage patterns.

Plan Considerations:

• Assess your household’s internet usage honestly, considering how many people and devices connect simultaneously.
• Consider peak usage times in your household and whether your current plan provides adequate speed during these periods.
• Understand the difference between theoretical maximum speeds and typical evening speeds, which provide a more realistic expectation of performance.
• Check if your connection type supports higher speed tiers before upgrading, as some technologies have inherent limitations.

– Remember that no plan can overcome equipment limitations. Ensure your router and devices can support higher speeds before upgrading to a more expensive plan.

9. Check for External Issues

Not all speed issues originate within your home. External factors can also impact your connection performance.

External Factors:

• Monitor for outages or maintenance in your area that might temporarily affect speeds.
• Consider peak usage times in your neighbourhood, as network congestion can affect everyone in a specific area.
• Check for physical damage to external connections, particularly after severe weather events.
• For Fixed Wireless connections, ensure there are no new obstructions (like grown trees) between your antenna and the transmission tower.

– Contact your provider if you suspect external issues, as they can run diagnostic tests on your connection from their end.

10. Test and Measure Properly

Accurate testing is essential for troubleshooting and measuring improvements. Many perceived “speed problems” are actually testing errors.

Effective Testing:

– Use wired connections for testing. For the most accurate assessment of your connection’s true capabilities, conduct speed tests using a wired ethernet connection rather than Wi-Fi. This eliminates variables introduced by wireless signal interference.

– Close other applications and pause downloads during testing to ensure nothing else is consuming bandwidth.

• Test at different times of day to understand how peak usage periods affect your specific connection.
• Use reputable testing tools like Speedtest.net, Fast.com, or your provider’s recommended testing platform.
• Perform multiple tests and calculate the average, as individual tests can vary.

– Document your results before and after making changes to objectively measure improvements.

Key Points to Remember

Improving your nbn® speeds often requires a multi-faceted approach. Here are the key takeaways:

• Your in-home setup matters: Recent research shows that 42% of nbn users haven’t updated their home setup in five years.* Your equipment configuration fundamentally shapes your internet experience, often having more impact than your chosen plan.
• Strategic router placement: Position your router centrally in your home, away from interference sources like concrete walls, metal objects, and electronic devices. Even modest adjustments to router location can significantly improve connectivity throughout your home.
• Equipment considerations: If your router is more than 5 years old, consider upgrading as it likely uses outdated technology that cannot support modern internet speeds. Modern routers often provide 3-4 times the performance of older models.
• Connection type awareness: For activities requiring stability and maximum speeds—like gaming, video conferencing, or large file transfers—use wired connections instead of Wi-Fi. While wireless offers convenience, a direct ethernet connection provides superior reliability.
• Coverage solutions: For larger homes, mesh systems provide superior coverage compared to traditional Wi-Fi extenders. Unlike extenders that often create separate networks and can reduce overall speeds, mesh systems create a unified network throughout your home.
• Regular maintenance matters: Keep your equipment updated, manage connected devices, and optimise your computers and mobile devices for the best performance.
• Test methodically: When troubleshooting, change one factor at a time and test the results properly before moving to the next potential solution.

By implementing these tips, you can significantly improve your nbn® speeds and enjoy a better internet experience without necessarily changing your plan or provider.

*nbn commissioned survey in 2025: residential consumers who use nbn as their main internet service at home (Sample size of 6,225)