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WiFi packet loss: What is it and how to fix it?

3 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

Using wireless Internet connections is becoming increasingly popular. The main reason is obviously, a wire-free environment. Although more efficient, wires can quickly clutter a place, or at least make it seem that way.

More so, routers are able to accommodate many wireless devices. More than the Ethernet ports on its interface, anyway. And the fact that you can use it on a wider variety of devices makes it even more convenient.

However, using wireless certainly has its downsides, which we’ll discuss briefly in the following sections.

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Pros and Cons of WiFi

Pros:

Cons:

What causes WiFi packet loss?

The most common cause of packet loss isnetwork congestion. Therefore, if there are more than just a few devices connected to your wireless network, you might need to do a bit of network management.

However, there can be other causes, as well. For instance, your router might broadcast a weak signal or your ISP might throttle yourbandwidthto minimize its costs.

Packet loss WiFi fix

Packet loss WiFi fix

1. Use a VPN

Private Internet Access is an excellent VPN service brought to you by Kape Technologies. It’s a great privacy service that passed all of our tests with flying colors. It has a broad range of servers you can connect to and 24/7 live chat support.

Private Internet Access

Using aVPNcan do a huge difference if your ISP is ill-intentioned and limits yourbandwidth. However, there’s not much aVPNcan do if you have hardware issues, your network is overloaded, or the destination server is faulty.

2. Troubleshoot your connection

As we’ve said above, more often than not,WiFipacket loss occurs due tonetwork congestion. Thus, there’s nothing much you can do about it, especially if you’re not the network admin.

However, after you run the packet loss test, you can try one of the following suggestions:

When everything else fails, switch to wired

Although this article is supposed to help you bypassWiFipacket loss, the truth is that switching to wired (if and when possible) is the greatest way to avoid this unwanted phenomenon.

Alternatively, you can try using aVPNif you suspect your ISP of foul play, try our suggestions above, or even perform a bit of network management if you have administrative rights over your network.

More about the topics:Fix WiFi problems,packet loss,VPN

Vlad Constantinescu

Vlad might have a degree in Animal Husbandry and Livestock Management, but he’s currently rocking anything software related, ranging from testing programs to writing in-depth reviews about them.

He spent 3-4 years as a software editor at Softpedia and another year as a VPN specialist before he landed his current job as an author at Windows Report.

In his free time, Vlad enjoys playing guitar, doing jigsaw puzzles, researching cybersecurity, and even having a good read on rainy days.

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