Improve Internet performance while working or learning remotely from home

Weak WiFi signal or a poor broadband Internet provider—less than 15 Mb/s download speeds, 5 Mb/s upload speed, or high latency—can make it difficult to work remotely. 

First, consider whether your internet provider is up to the task. Depending on your city and neighborhood, not all of these options are available to you.

• Fiber and cable internet providers (AT&T, Spectrum, Breezeway, etc.) generally offer the highest quality connection and will work well for remote work. 

• DSL service is a generally lower-quality service but may be the best choice for some rural neighborhoods and homes. 

• A cellular hotspot may work, depending on the strength of the cellular coverage in your area, but often restricts how much bandwidth you can consume. 

• Satellite broadband (HughesNet, Dish Network, etc.) and dial-up internet options won’t work well for access CCAD resources.

Next to your Internet provider, how you connect to the network within a house or other location is the most important factor. Consider the following, ranked from most to least important:

1. If possible, directly connecting to the Internet router or access point via a wired (Ethernet) cable will provide the best quality, especially for applications that use audio and video like Microsoft Teams. 

   • If you connect via Ethernet, you don’t need to worry about WiFi quality.

2. If you use WiFi, the quality of your wireless connection will significantly impact your overall Internet connection.

   • Avoid having two or more walls or one floor between your computer and your home’s Internet router/access point. 

   • Houses larger than 1,500 square feet or so (depending on layout and building materials) will usually need multiple wireless access points for complete, house-wide coverage.

   • If you’re using the wireless access point (often called your WiFi modem) that was provided by your Internet provider, note that these often have average to poor coverage.

   • Consider installing a newer WiFi access point, or WiFi mesh network that covers your home with multiple access points. The Wirecutter by The New York Times regularly tests and recommends WiFi access points and mesh hardware.

3. WiFi signals are transmitted at two different frequency modes: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. 2.4 GHz is an older technology that is more prone to interference and runs at slower speeds. 

   • For best results, make sure your computer is using 5 GHz WiFi. Then, disable 2.4 GHz on your router and update other devices on your network to use only 5 GHz.

We recommend you test your Internet service to make sure you are ready to work. We recommend using the free speedtest.net website or iOS/Android app. This provides an end-to-end test of all the factors affecting your device’s connection: your Internet provider, your home network setup, and the device you’re on.

For best results, you’ll want at a minimum:

• 15 megabit per second (Mb/s) or better download speed 

• 5 megabit per second (Mb/s) or better upload speed 

• A ‘ping time’ of less than 75 milliseconds

Faculty/Staff: Requesting a new router from your ISP

If you cannot connect to the CCAD VPN using your CCAD-issued computer, you may need to request a new router from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as AT&T, Spectrum, or Breezeway. Some modems, such as all-in-one modem/routers manufactured by Technicolor, are not compatible with CCAD VPN access. In this case, we suggest that you contact your ISP and request a new modem.

After providing them with basic customer information to open a support case, here is a script for reporting this issue.

• “I’m working from home and I’ve got a modem that my IT department has advised me is not compatible to connect to our work VPN. I need to be able to connect to our work VPN and access company network resources so I can do my job. Can you please help me put in a request for a replacement modem?”

• (if you have an all-in-one modem/router by Technicolor)
  “Others I work with had a Technicolor modem and also were unable to connect to our company VPN. Once their ISPs issued them a replacement, they were able to connect successfully.”

• “Those that were able to get a replacement modem by Arris said that it worked well for them. Can I please request an Arris replacement modem?”

If you still need assistance or guidance with your Internet or VPN connectivity at home, please reach out to us by emailing helpdesk@ccad.edu or calling 614.222.6174.

Article used with permission by Davidson College