Tech pro tip: How to prioritize devices on your Wi-Fi
We’ve all blamed our internet speed for YouTube buffering. But guess what? The main culprit is often the army of gadgets hogging your Wi-Fi.
It might be your spouse streaming three sports games at the same time, your kid downloading a new video game or your roommate binge-watching their favorite show.
The good news is there’s a simple fix that doesn’t involve disconnecting anything. Enter “Quality of Service,” the unsung hero that can help you beat the traffic jams on your wireless network.
Understanding Quality of Service
So, what is Quality of Service (QoS) and how does it work? In a nutshell, it’s a router technology that controls the bandwidth given to internet-enabled devices on a network. When used with your home Wi-Fi, specific gadgets will be marked “more important” than others.
For instance, if you’d like to prioritize your smart TV for all your favorite shows, it’ll claim internet speed dibs before a Windows update takes over. That’s not to say the Windows update will freeze entirely. It’ll still chug along, but at a much slower rate, along with all the other devices that didn’t get the VIP treatment. Yay for no more buffering!
Setting up Quality of Service
The better your router is, the more QoS “options.” I’ve gathered some big-name brands to show you how they work.
The Quality of Service feature won’t miraculously make all devices on your network lightning fast. It still depends on your internet package’s initial speed. Think of QoS as an extra layer of optimization. Consider these additional steps if you want to enhance your Wi-Fi connection further.
QoS on Google Nest routers
- Open the Google Home app on your phone.
To set device priority:
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