Once you've connected your modem and set up your home WiFi, your wireless Internet should be fast and reliable, everyday. Slow speeds and disconnections can result from weak signals, changes in equipment settings, or interference. If you think there's an issue with your WiFi, try the easy solutions outlined below to solve the most common issues.
Did you know: Slow Internet speeds, especially through a WiFi connection can often be resolved by restarting your modem? Sometimes a simple fix is all you need.
This quick video tutorial can help you troubleshoot your WiFi issues.
Many WiFi issues can be corrected by restarting your Shaw modem. You can restart your modem using My Shaw, or restart it manually in just three easy steps:
Within a few minutes, your WiFi network should reappear in the list of available networks on your wireless devices. Try connecting a device to WiFi to see if it works.
If your modem is connected to a wireless router (common brands include D-Link, Netgear, Linksys, and Belkin) read How To: Power cycle a Shaw modem and router.
The materials, thickness, and number of walls, ceilings, and other objects wireless signals must pass through can limit the range of your home WiFi. Interference can also be caused by other wireless networks, devices using the same frequencies, and high voltage devices that generate electromagnetic interference.
Learn more and find solutions by reading: About: WiFi interference.
TIP FROM A TECH: "Extend your WiFi network into every corner of your home using Shaw BlueCurve Pods ."
Loose connections, damaged cables, and line splitters can degrade Internet signals before they even reach your modem, and prevent you from reaching higher Internet speeds. To resolve this, you should ensure that your cables are properly connected.
If you are using an Ethernet cable to connect your computer to the router, or your modem to a third party router, inspect those cables as well and replace them if they appear damaged.
Shaw Speedtest is a website you can use to measure the speed of your Internet connection. The speed to your home will be faster than the connection from the modem to your device over WiFi. For the most accurate results:
To run the test:
You should be able to approach the highest speeds of your Shaw Internet plan if you connect to it using a device that allows for those speeds. If you connect multiple devices to your home WiFi at the same time, all of those devices will share your plan's bandwidth. This can result in slower WiFi for some or all of your devices.
If you are experiencing slow speeds:
You can divide your devices between your modem's two frequencies:
If you have a BlueCurve modem, it will have band steering enabled — sorting devices between the two frequencies for you, to give you optimal speeds.
TIP FROM A TECH: "If your device can't see the 5GHz frequency, try plugging it directly into the modem."
Considering upgrading your Internet plan? View our latest Internet plans and find the package that is most suitable for you.
It might help to restore your modem to its factory settings. Note that this will also reset your WiFi network name and password to the ones printed on the sticker found on the back of your modem.
To restore your modem:
Within a few minutes, your WiFi network should reappear in the list of available networks on your wireless devices. Try connecting a device to WiFi to see if it works.
To change your network name and password, read How To: Change your WiFi name and password with BlueCurve Home.
For Advanced Users
Computers use WiFi adapters to connect to a WiFi network. Some computers have internal WiFi adapters, and others use external USB devices. It’s possible that your adapter needs to be reset or manually updated.
Find out more by reading How To: Enable, update, and reset your network adapters.
Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 are no longer supported by Microsoft, so adapter updates might not be available for those operating systems.
Not what you're looking for? Try these related articles and discussions.