6 Easy Ways to Fix Slow Internet on Windows 10

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It’s happened to all of us. We buy a new computer and love the speed it runs with. Even the downloads are fast. Then over time it seems to slow down. Then we realize that it’s not an misperception, it really has slowed down.

There are a few simple tweaks you can make to fix your Internet on Windows 10. They have worked for me and a few of my friends.

1. Close the Peer to Peer Update Process on Your Computer

Microsoft uses Windows to share your internet bandwidth with complete strangers that you have never met in your life.

The part which bugs me the most is that, they do this without any initial permission from you, and this sharing of internet is meant for seeding.

Basically seeding is kinda like a way to help others get their Windows updates much faster but it comes at a price of your own internet.

I am not completely sure why Microsoft does this but it could be that they want both you and I, Windows users, to get our updates faster and stay up to date to prevent all kinds of bugs and malware from infecting the computer.

At least that is what I tell myself.

I’ll show you how you can disable that in just a few little steps.   

Step 1:  To start off, Click Start and then go ahead type Settings to open it.

Step 2:  Next select Update and Security

Step 3:  Now click on Advanced Options at the bottom of the first item (Windows Update)

Step 4:  You’re almost there! Click on Choose How Updates are Delivered.

Step 5:  Finally, go ahead and turn off the On button.

Now you no longer need to send your own precious internet for complete strangers around you.

2. Quit your background apps

When you have apps running at the back like your Spotify or Skype while you are researching on how pigs can fly (don’t ask me why I thought of that), your internet will slow down.

So quit from all your background apps, and I can assure you, your internet will be much faster. 

Quitting your Apps

Here’s how you can do that in just two little steps. 

Step 1:  Click on Start and then select your Settings

Step 2:  Next click on Privacy, and then Background apps. Here’s where you can turn Off for the apps and services that feed off your internet.

Trust me, you really do not need all of those turned on, just the few you use on a regular or daily basis – and maybe not even them.

3. Disable Windows Update

This method works like a charm.

It stops your computer from updating overnight when you were in the middle of a project and you lose everything because Microsoft thinks it knows more about you than you do. Well, maybe they do, but that’s beside the point.

The thing is, you don’t really have to disable it altogether, you can still manually ask it to send you notifications so that you can choose when you want to update your Windows 10.

Here’s how can adjust the Windows Update settings to your comfort. 

Step 1:  Go to Start, look for your Control Panel

Step 2:  Head over to your Administrative Tools

Step 3:  Here’s where you can find and get to your Services. Once you’re in your Services window, scroll down to Windows Update and turn it off.

Step 4:  To turn it off, all you have to do is just right click on it, and then select Properties.

Step 5:  Now Disable it from inside your Properties, and Voila! You’ve just disabled your Windows Updates (Don’t worry, just follow these 5 simple steps and you can re-enable it back whenever you want to).

There are a couple of other ways you can open the Services window, but this seems to be the easiest for those used to Windows 7 or those who aren’t familiar with the Run function.

 Please note:

It is important that you keep up to date with your Windows updates whenever you can as each update brings new and better ‘stuff’ that you might actually like or need.

The thing you have to remember is that whenever you turn it back on again and when you open your Windows Update in your settings to check for the latest updates, you will find a message saying that the updates were not installed because computer was stopped.

It’s pretty much a piece of cake from there; just keep clicking on Retry so that all your available updates are installed and up to date. Chances are if you left it disabled for some time then it will take two or three times (or maybe more) to Check for Updates until your computer says it is up to date.

4. Uninstall OneNote

Ever used Microsoft’s OneNote?

Me neither.

If you’re like me who just minimized this page, and actually went and took a look at OneNote after 5 years being a Windows 10 user just to see what it was, then maybe you need to remove it.

It’s basically just a note taking app from Microsoft. If you are not planning to use Microsoft’s note taking app (unless if your school teacher or boss is forcing you too), then you can uninstall it and see if it has any effect on your internet speed as some have reported that this was the main problem that caused their internet to be slow

Here’s how you can uninstall OneNote in just a matter of seconds.

Step 1:  First, go to your Start and then scroll down to the Windows PowerShell folder. Click the folder open and the first item should be called, simply, Windows PowerShell.

Step 2:  Next, right click on the app and then choose to Run as administrator.

Step 3:  You will now have a new PowerShell window. Trust me it’s pretty simple – all you have to do is just copy-paste this command and hit enter.

Get-AppxPackage *OneNote* | Remove-AppxPackage

 Annnd you’re done!

5. Disabling Large Send Offload (LSO)

This is another one of the features that you might find on Windows 10 and again it is meant to improve your overall network performance of your system.

Your LSO forces your background apps (which includes your Skype, Spotify, etc.) to use up a large amount of your internet in the background, even if up are not actively using them. Essentially, we can turn off that bandwidth drain unless we are actively using that app. Then it turns it off again when we close the app.

This is how to disable it (you can re-enable it anytime). 

Step 1:  There should be an icon on your desktop called, My PC or maybe just Computer, right-click on it.

Step 2:  Next, select Properties

Step 3:  Now from your Control Panel Home, click on Device Manager

Step 4:  Here you will be able to see all your devices listed, but for now you will only need to expand your Network Adapters.

Step 5:  Next, look for your Network Card and then double click on that.

Please note that you may have both an Ethernet adapter and/or a Wi-Fi adapter. Double-click on whichever adapter card your computer uses to connect to the Internet.

Step 6:  You’re almost there! Now select the Advanced tab and then go ahead and select Large Send Offload V2 (IPv4).

All you have to do here is set the value to Disabled.

Step 7:  Do the exact same that you just did for Large Send Offload V2 (IPv6) (that is if, it is available).

Step 8:  Click OK and you’re done!  

6. Adjust the Internet Bandwidth Settings

So, I’m guessing none of the above methods did the trick huh?

It’s alright! I’ll let you on a little secret…

Windows actually keeps away 20 percent of your Internet bandwidth just for its OS and other system-related ‘stuff’.

What does this mean?

Well, since you only have the remaining 80 percent for you to use, you can actually get back that 20 percent for you to use.

Here’s how you can do that in just six simple steps.

Step 1:  Open the Run window up by clicking on Windows key+R key on your keyboard. (You can also search for it on your computer)

Step 2:  Type gpedit.msc in the search box and then press OK.

(gpedit is not available by default on Windows Home versions, only Pro and Enterprise versions. However, it still resides hidden within Home versions and can be activated – but that is a lesson for another day.)

Step 3:  Alright! Now you will find that the Group Policy window will come up, so what you have to do here is just click on Computer Configuration

Step 4:  Next go to Administrative Templates, then Network, and lastly QoS Packet Scheduler. Once you’re here click on Limit reservable bandwidth

Step 5:  Now in the new window that comes up, all you have to do is just two things. First choose Enabled and then change the Bandwidth limit (%) from 100 to 0.

Step 6:  Make sure that you Apply these new changes that you just made and then click on OK.

That’s it!  I hope this helps speed up your connectivity speed.

Be Safe – Backup Your Data Regularly!

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