A poor Internet connection can ruin any vacation. Whether you’re traveling for business or for pleasure, you don’t want to see that Jurassic dino when you hit up a search on Google. Nobody likes to experience lags in the middle of a call. You don’t want to be disconnected while you’re checking on the kids or reporting your wins to your boss. Good thing you’re here! We know how to make hotel WiFi faster.
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There are five reasons why hotel internet connections are almost always weak:
- There is a high volume of users at any given time.
- The hotel is not inclined to improve its Internet hardware.
- Your room is located too far away from the router.
- The hotel chose their ISP poorly.
- The Internet is simply too weak where you decided to travel.
Stay on this page to find out tips that can save you from annoying connections. That way, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your own cup of fun, and spend less time just trying to get connected.
How to make hotel wifi faster in 10 ways
In retrospect, almost every time we’re traveling the world, the Internet connection is one of the most challenging and most frustrating parts of the trip. Until we stumbled across these tips – courtesy of a fellow traveler we met in Seville, Spain.
Well, if you want to keep your sanity on the road, we hope you will agree that preparation is the key. Be prepared to tackle the worst Internet connection before you leave your home. We’re not claiming that these tips are guaranteed to give you a strong and stable connection but these will increase your chances of staying online.
If you can just stay focused on the solutions, chances are, you’ll find a way to make your remote Internet access work. The results may not be perfect but at least you’ll be able to get some boost and more juice.
Here are 10 ways on how to make wifi faster in a hotel room that you may not have tried before.
Tip #1: Ask to be lodged in a room near the hotel wifi router
Most hotels would have a dedicated router per floor. To get the strongest connection, you need to get closer to the router. If you ask the hotel reception nicely, there’s really no reason why they’d say, “No” to your request.
In case the cost of the wing or adjacent room is beyond your budget then, you better be ready. Invest in a handful of travel gear that has the power to boost your Internet speed by a significant lot.
Tip #2: Find a good spot
That might just be a particular corner in your room. In which case, lucky you! If you still can’t get your wifi to show three bars then, suit up and head to another common area like the hotel lobby, resto, bar, or café.
If that’s anywhere near the pool then it can’t be such a bad idea, right? That might actually be a much better option than wasting away a day in your vacation all locked up in your room!
The drawback, of course, is your privacy. But, if your goal is to post your vacation photos on social media then that’s not a Mission: Impossible level kind of confidential. Go ahead, take a dip and sip!
Tip #3: Close all active windows on your device
Well, except the ones you need right now. The more windows you have open, the busier your device’s system becomes. It forces your system to read loads of data when all you really require is just your email.
Tip #4: Clear your cache
This tip is a bit unconventional. In fact, clearing your cache may slow down your connection.
Cache stores information from websites you visit. That way, your device can load the page faster on your next visit. Cache’s purpose, in fact, is to speed up load time. However, if you’ve never cleared your cache, you’re giving your device a harder time looking for the data you’re asking it to load. It’s one of the easiest tips on how to make wifi faster in hotel that you can so long before your drive or flight.
Tip #5: Get an external WiFi adapter
It may sound odd, most especially if you haven’t used an antenna in a long time. But, if you’re on the go, it’s one of the essentials you simply can’t leave without. Why? Because it amplifies your reception. That means, even when you’re far away from the router, getting three bars on your wifi signal indicator would be easier than relying on your device’s internal wifi adapter.
Make sure to plug in your external adapter at home and download the accompanying software. In case you missed this tip and already left, try connecting to the hotel’s wifi network with your device plugged in. When your device is running on batteries, it automatically optimizes system operations. That means a weaker signal for its internal wifi adapter.
Tip #6: Bring a portable travel router
This will often be the same size as a Macbook’s power adapter but so much lighter. We personally travel with the TP-Link N300 portable wireless router
You will find that your router has a plug built for an ethernet cable. Others have two of these slots. You need to look for that cable in your hotel room then plug it in. Next, you’re ready to set up your own hub. You can use your WiFi to connect your devices to the hotel’s internet. One of the advantages of doing so is that you won’t have to keep logging in because of getting signed out after every few minutes.
For a faster Internet connection, bring another ethernet cable with you and use that to connect your device directly to your portable router.
Tip #7: Reset your router
Another often overlooked tip on how to make wifi faster in hotel is to simply reset your router. Some hotels will have a dedicated router inside the room. In which case, turn off then turn on again to refresh its memory. Sometimes that’s all you need to get a decent connection.
Tip #8: Upgrade to a Premium User
It’s an annoying fact how some hotels are deliberately offering slow Internet so that guests will opt for paid use. If the cost is bearable for you, just do it!
This tip on how to make hotel wifi faster will require you to lose a few dollars but you’re not only buying faster Internet. You’re also paying extra for your sanity and peace of mind.
Tip #9: Download your favorite apps on your device
Use the Google Map app rather than the web version. The same goes for all the productivity, communication, and social media apps you can’t live without.
Apps are generally lighter than their web versions. In case you want to access these on your laptop, better download the mobile device versions for faster loading time. The mobile versions would even be so much lighter. Most apps, such as Facebook, now even permit you to upload content even while you’re offline.
Tip #10: Prepare to work offline.
If like me, you are a strong believer in Plan D then it’s best to be prepared to work offline. Download all the apps and files you need. You can get work done when you’re inside your dead spot room. When you’re ready, you can find a good spot to send or upload your work. You might even get that done in one go using your mobile data.
If it’s your first time working with an app remotely, make sure you can access your files while you’re offline before you leave home. We had this bad experience retrieving files from our Google Drive on the way to China. Google Drive and apps were pretty much new back then. We assumed we’d be able to work offline with just the Google Drive downloaded on a tablet–of course, turns out, we were mistaken.
We didn’t realize we had to download the associated apps for the files we needed to work on. It took us hours to get Google Sheet, Google Docs, and Google Slides to download at the airport. It was such a hassle not being able to collaborate with our staff. We caused delays and missed deliverables on our own content calendar because of this.
So, don’t make the same mistake we did. Try out your files and make sure that you can open and edit them offline.
Conclusion
Now you know how to make hotel wifi faster, you can stop worrying about staying connected while you’re away from home. Don’t forget to pack your devices along with your wireless adapter and portable router. Double-check your essentials just to make sure everything’s there.
After that, it’s time to pack the fun stuff! Don’t forget the little one’s personal effects too if you’re traveling as a family. Don’t forget tip #10 and make sure you got everything (or at least most of it) downloaded. Switch on vacation mode!
