Best Practice for Better Internet Connection

Many things can be a factor when it comes to your home Internet connection.

• To test your current Internet speed from any device on your home network, go to www.speedtest.net.  This tests your upload speed and your download speed.
   
• We would recommend limiting streaming TV apps such as Hulu, Netflix, Vudu, etc during work/school times. If you do want to use these apps, consider downloading the content in the app the night before and taking the device offline while watching the content.
   
• You may also want to limit video gaming during work/school time.  This is especially true for online gaming such as Playstation Network , Xbox Live, Nintendo Online, and Google Stadia usage.  It would be best to ensure these devices are powered off rather than in standby mode as they will still download extremely large updates in the background and consume a lot of bandwidth.
   
• Limiting the number of devices connected to your network during school hours. Turning off the WIFI on any tablets or phones when not in use could help
   
• See if IoT (Internet of Things) devices (thermostats, Amazon Alexa, Google Home devices) have a power saving mode that limits their Internet consumption.
   
• Try limiting the number of programs you have open on your device while video conferencing.  Some of those background programs may be using the Internet in the background.
   
• Student Chromebooks may have unneeded Chrome Extensions.  Uninstall any that are not needed.
   
• Try clearing your browser cache.  Please click here and follow the link to instructions on how to clear your cache in Google Chrome.
   
• You may want to consider rebooting your router and modem.
   
• You may want to check your router to see if firmware upgrades are available. These upgrades can improve security and performance.  Check your WiFi router's vendor support site for firmware upgrade availability. 
   
• The location of your router should be evaluated.  Your student Chromebook may be too far away from the router to get a good WiFi signal.
   
• Consider connecting your device to your router with an ethernet cable.  Student Chromebooks need a USB to Ethernet adapter in order to physically connect to a router. MPS does not have USB to Ethernet adapters for this purpose.
   
• Please visit our Outage Center page for links to status pages of websites that we support.
   
• If you don't have a reliable Internet connection, please contact the Principal of your student's building and they can request a hotspot for you.