How to Fix Slow Internet on Windows 11 Laptop or PC (Step-by-Step)

Internet speed depends on a chain: your ISP line, modem, router, Wi-Fi or cable, network adapter, Windows settings, and finally the app or website. A slow link anywhere slows everything. The causes below match the fixes in this guide.

Spend three minutes on this test first. It tells you which fixes are worth your time and prevents hours of changing Windows settings when the real problem is the router or ISP.

Run these three tests

1. Phone test: On the same Wi-Fi, run a speed test on your phone (use a site such as speed.cloudflare.com or fast.com, or an app). Stand in the same spot as your PC.
2. PC test: Run the same test on your Windows 11 PC. Close other apps and tabs first.
3. Wired test (if possible): Plug the PC into the router with an Ethernet cable and test again.

Time: 3 min  |  Best for: Sudden slowdowns

A restart clears memory leaks, overheated hardware and stuck connections. It is the single most effective first step when the internet was fine yesterday and slow today. Do it in the right order so the devices pick up a clean connection.

Steps

1. Shut down the Windows 11 PC.
2. Unplug the modem and router power cables. Wait at least 60 seconds.
3. Plug in the modem first and wait until its lights are steady (about 2 minutes), then plug in the router and wait another minute.
4. Start the PC and run the speed test again.

Time: 5 min  |  Best for: Slow Wi-Fi only

Most routers broadcast 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks (newer ones also 6 GHz). 5 GHz is faster at close range, 2.4 GHz travels farther but is slower and more crowded. If your PC connects to 2.4 GHz, it may be capped far below your plan speed. Check what your PC is using.

Check your Wi-Fi band and link speed

1. Open Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi.
2. Click Hardware properties (or your network's properties) and look at Network band and Link speed (Receive/Transmit).
3. If the band says 2.4 GHz and you are near the router, connect to the 5 GHz network instead (often named with "5G" at the end).

Improve the signal

• Move closer to the router or put the router in an open, high spot, not on the floor or inside a cabinet.
• Keep it away from microwaves, cordless phones and thick walls.
• If you are a couple of rooms away, test 2.4 GHz as well; it can be more stable at distance.
• 6 GHz needs a Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 router and adapter. If your adapter is older, it simply will not see that band.
• For larger homes, a mesh system or a wired access point gives a bigger gain than any Windows setting.

Time: 3 min  |  Best for: Wired PCs stuck at low speed

If you use Ethernet, the cable and port decide your speed. A gigabit connection that falls back to 100 Mbps usually means a damaged or low-quality cable, a bad port or an old switch in the path. Check the negotiated speed in Windows.

Get-NetAdapter | Select-Object Name, Status, LinkSpeed

Run it in Windows Terminal (PowerShell). A healthy gigabit link shows 1 Gbps. If it shows 100 Mbps, replace the cable with a Cat5e or Cat6 cable, try a different port on the router and avoid cheap or very old cables.

Steps

1. Reseat the cable at both ends and look for bent pins or a crushed cable.
2. Try another router port and, if you can, another cable.
3. Check LinkSpeed again and re-run the speed test.

Time: 5 min  |  Best for: Slow while apps are running

Often the connection is fine but one app is using most of it, such as a cloud backup, a game update, a torrent client, a Windows update or many browser tabs. Resource Monitor shows exactly which program is sending or receiving the most data.

Steps

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager and click the Network column to sort by usage.
2. For more detail, press Windows + R, type resmon and open the Network tab. Look at Network Activity and Processes with Network Activity.
3. Pause or close the heavy app (OneDrive sync, game launcher, backup tool, torrent client).
4. Check Settings → Network & internet → Data usage to see which apps used the most data over the last 30 days.

Time: 1 min  |  Best for: Slow updates, sync and store downloads

When a connection is set as metered, Windows limits background data to save your allowance. Updates may pause, apps may not sync, and downloads can feel sluggish. It is sometimes switched on by mistake or after an update. Turn it off for a home connection with no data cap.

Steps

1. Open Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet).
2. Click your network name.
3. Turn Metered connection to Off.

Time: 3 min  |  Best for: Slow downloads, or uploads hogging the line

Windows Update and Microsoft Store downloads go through Delivery Optimization. It adjusts bandwidth automatically, but it can also upload update pieces to other PCs (which uses your upload speed) and some PCs end up with a download or upload limit set to a very low value. Microsoft notes that the limits only apply to automatic background downloads, not to updates you start manually.

Check the settings

1. Open Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Delivery Optimization.
2. Click Advanced options. Make sure no download or upload limit is set to a tiny value (some users have found limits stuck at 0.1 Mbps).
3. Turn off Allow downloads from other devices if you do not want to share update files over the internet or your network.
4. Open Activity monitor in the same page to see how much data was downloaded and uploaded.

If an update is hogging the line

Let it finish, or pause updates for a week at Settings → Windows Update → Pause updates while you work. Restart the PC after the update completes.

Time: 2 min  |  Best for: Slow after connecting a VPN or after installing security software

A VPN encrypts and routes your traffic through another server, so speeds are almost always lower. A proxy left over from old software or malware can also slow or break browsing. Turn both off to test.

Steps

1. Disconnect any VPN app, or open Settings → Network & internet → VPN and disconnect.
2. Open Settings → Network & internet → Proxy. Make sure Automatically detect settings is on and Use a proxy server is off (unless your workplace requires it).
3. Run the speed test again. If speed returns, choose a closer VPN server or a faster protocol.

Time: 3 min  |  Best for: Laptops, especially on battery

Power saving can reduce Wi-Fi performance to extend battery life. Windows updates sometimes reset these settings, so check them again after a big update.

Steps

1. Open Settings → System → Power & battery and set Power mode to Balanced or Best performance while plugged in.
2. Right-click Start → Device Manager → expand Network adapters.
3. Double-click your Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter → Power Management tab.
4. Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power and click OK.

Advanced adapter setting (some adapters)

If only this PC is slow, open the adapter's Advanced tab and test turning Large Send Offload v2 (IPv4/IPv6) off, one setting at a time. Change one thing, test, and revert if it does not help.

Time: 10 min  |  Best for: Slow after an update

A network driver controls how well your Wi-Fi or Ethernet card works. After a Windows update, a generic driver can replace the one from your PC maker and reduce speed or cause drops. On the other hand, a brand-new driver can also be the problem, so you may need to roll back.

Update the driver

1. Visit your laptop or PC maker's support page (Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer) or the adapter maker (Intel, Realtek, Qualcomm, MediaTek) and download the latest Wi-Fi or LAN driver for your exact model. If you have no internet on the PC, download it on a phone or another PC and copy it over.
2. Install it and restart.

Roll back the driver

1. Right-click Start → Device Manager → Network adapters.
2. Double-click your adapter → Driver tab → Roll Back Driver (if available).
3. Restart and test again.

Time: 3 min  |  Best for: Websites slow to start loading

DNS turns website names into addresses. If your ISP's DNS is slow or unreliable, pages can hang for a few seconds before loading. Switching to a fast public DNS can help page start times, but it will not raise the speed shown in a speed test, so keep your expectations realistic.

Popular public DNS options

• Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
• Google: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
• Quad9: 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112

Steps

1. Open Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) → click your network → Hardware properties.
2. Next to DNS server assignment, click Edit and choose Manual.
3. Turn on IPv4, enter a preferred and alternate DNS, and choose Save.
4. Optional: set DNS over HTTPS to On (automatic template) if your Windows version shows it.

Time: 5 min  |  Best for: Fast speed test but slow websites

If other apps are fast but one browser is slow, the problem is the browser, not your connection. Extensions, a bloated cache and hardware acceleration issues are common causes.

Steps

1. Open the same site in another browser, or a private/InPrivate window. If it is fast there, the original browser has a problem.
2. Disable extensions (especially ad blockers, VPN and coupon extensions) and re-enable them one by one.
3. Clear cached images and files, and update the browser.
4. In browser settings, toggle Use graphics acceleration when available and restart the browser.
5. Run Windows Security's Full scan or Microsoft Defender Offline scan if pop-ups or redirects appear.

Time: 3 min  |  Best for: Odd, unexplained drops

Microsoft recommends starting with its automated network troubleshooter. It can reset the adapter and fix simple IP problems. Forgetting and re-adding the Wi-Fi network also clears a corrupted saved profile.

Steps

1. Open Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters and click Run next to Network and Internet.
2. Open Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi → Manage known networks, click your network and choose Forget.
3. Reconnect and enter the Wi-Fi password again.

Time: 5 min  |  Best for: Persistent problems on one PC

If the tests show only this PC is slow and nothing above worked, reset Windows networking. It reinstalls network adapters and restores defaults. Your files and apps are not touched, but you will have to reconnect to Wi-Fi, and VPN clients or custom DNS settings may need setting up again.

Option A: Network reset (easiest)

1. Open Settings → Network & internet → Advanced network settings → Network reset.
2. Click Reset now, confirm and let the PC restart.

Option B: Commands

Open Windows Terminal as administrator and run these one by one, then restart:

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns

If you or a "tweak" guide ever turned TCP auto-tuning off, put it back to normal, because disabling it can reduce speed on long-distance downloads:

netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal

Time: 15 min  |  Best for: All devices slow

If every device is slow, even on a wired connection, the problem is outside Windows. Check the router, then your provider.

Router checks

1. Log into the router (the address is often on a label on the router) and install the latest firmware.
2. Pick a less crowded Wi-Fi channel (or leave it on Auto), and set 5 GHz channel width to 80 MHz if it is on 20 MHz without a reason.
3. Look at connected devices. A phone backing up photos or a TV streaming 4K can use most of the line.
4. If your router supports QoS, give priority to your work PC or video calls.
5. Replace routers that are many years old, especially if they only support Wi-Fi 4 or early Wi-Fi 5.

When to call your ISP

Call your ISP if a PC wired directly to the modem is slow on more than one device after you have restarted the modem and used a known-good cable. Give them your speed test results, the time of day the slowdown happens and whether you tested wired. Ask whether there is an outage, line noise or congestion in your area, and whether your modem needs replacing.

Most slow-internet cases are not caused by a Windows bug, but updates have caused real network problems in the past. Check whether the update you just installed is listed on Microsoft's Windows release health page for your version. The items below are based on Microsoft confirmations reported in the press.