Many users are not too concerned about their uploads speeds and focus more on their download speeds.
However, what you may not realise is that if you are sending data to anyone, the receiver can only get it as fast as you can send it.
Thus, if you are sending something over the internet to family or friends, if your upload is slow, it doesn’t matter how fast their system, network or their connection is, they will suffer from slow download speed.
With this in mind, you can use this guide to find out why is my upload speed so slow, how you can test it, and what you can do to fix the issues of slow upload speeds on the internet.
By the end, you can find out one of the main problem areas is your internet service provider, and you don’t realise it.
What is a Good Upload Speed?
You will have limits on what your internet upload speeds can be as your download speeds often dictate these.
However, you should find around 5 Mbps is a decent upload speed if you have the right sort of connection. If you have ADSL, you may be looking at 1.5 Mbps because of the cable restrictions.
Fibre can reach from 5 Mbps to the same speeds as the download speed, which could be over 100 Mbps with the current advances.
You should make sure if you have symmetrical or asymmetric connections as an asymmetric connection won’t let you go as fast when you upload as when you download.
Why is My Upload Speed So Slow?
What you need to do if you find your uploads slow is to run a speed test.
Two of the best are Speedtest.net (Ookla) and Fast.com (Powered by Netflix). You can quickly see your downloads, and then they will carry out a speed test on your internet connection uploads.
If you have symmetrical downloads and you have slow uploads, your ISP may be at fault, mainly if your downloads appear slower than usual.
ISP’s are known to throttle connections for anyone who streams, torrents or games on a long session.
However, it may not be all your internet service provider doing this. Therefore, before you contact them, make sure you check out a few other areas that could make you have slow upload speeds.
Will a WI FI booster increase upload speed?
An internet service provider will prioritise downloads rather than uploads, yet if you are slower than this, you need to look at the network topology to see if your network is laid out correctly.
A topology is a map of your network, and it can help you spot errors you may otherwise miss.
Microwaves, walls and cordless phones can all help interfere with a Wi Fi signal and create interference that help slow your upload speeds.
Depending on your device, it is advisable to use a wired connection if possible. This frees you from any wireless interference, and you will get full speeds on your internet connections in both directions.
One thing many Wi Fi users often overlook is the number of users they have. Each one contends for connection speed on the same channel as your router.
Adding to this, the distance from your router will have an impact. Even if there are no walls or devices in the way of your router, it can slow from a weak signal.
You can add an extender or repeater to increase signal strength in different parts of your home.
You can find extenders plug into your socket and are automatic, or some require user configuration.
What Affects Upload Speed
Before you find one of the best methods of how to increase upload speed and keep your download speed at its peak, there are a few other things to check.
Age of computer or laptops can make a difference. Actually, the age of any device will make a difference as they are not made with the faster internet speeds of today in mind.
Website traffic can make your connection appear slow when there isn’t anything wrong with your connection. Congestion happens everywhere. Viruses can run processes in the background on your device.
Such viruses slow your computer and can sap your internet speed as they continually send information to hackers. Once you make sure to check all through your network and find there are nothing there causing issues, then it has to be your ISP causing problems.
One way to confirm this is when all your devices show the same results.
One quick check is to reboot your router and test again. If it’s the same, then it appears your ISP may have throttled your connection.
The best way to get around this issue is to use a VPN service. The way this help is to change your IP address so your ISP can’t see you are connected.
Should you stream or carry out some excessive torrenting, then a VPN will hide your identity and your activity. The ISP slow upload speed or download speed throttling system won’t kick in automatically. The system won’t recognise your devices IP address as one of theirs.
You will find even the very best VPN’s slow connections a little, yet the percentage reduces with a better VPN than a lower class of VPN.
As an aside, you will find there are not too many that have enough servers to cope with remote regions such as Australia.
It is quite simple in operation, even when the concept can appear mind-boggling. All you do is get the best VPN for Australia, or for streaming as it happens to be the same one.
Install the client and select one of the servers depending on what your activity will be. Once you connect, you have your upload speeds, and download speed will be under your control. Your privacy is locked down, and you are secure.
You will also find that your ISP can’t retain any meaningful personal information stemming from your internet connection when you appear to be connecting from somewhere else.
