Slow Internet from Google Fiber?

It’s already been a rough morning, and then you sit down at your computer to start working only to find out your internet is as slow as a turtle. Don’t feel bad; it happens to the best of us. Many people will experience a bad internet connection at some point in time. It is especially annoying when you are trying to download the latest video, and you realize your slow download speed will take forever to finish.

Both of these examples are just the tip of the iceberg when dealing with slow internet. It’s as if time just stands still, and not in a good ‘loving’ way! But have no fear, there are many things you can do to try and fix your internet lagging, and we’ve got you covered with all the steps to take before calling Google Fiber’s customer service department.   

Let’s dive into some of the most straightforward solutions for fixing slow wifi or a bad internet connection. The following suggestions are where we think you should start: 

• Hardware Troubleshooting – Sometimes, all it takes is a quick restart of your router and or modem. When you reset these, you are essentially wiping out any internet lagging that clustered together over prolonged usage. Give your router some love by resetting it and seeing if you still have slow internet. If not, do the same with your router. This might be all you needed to do to correct your bad internet connection. 

• Check Your Equipment – People often buy their modem or router when they first move into a new place; but, if you’ve been in your new digs now for over ten years, you probably need to update some or all of your equipment. Most internet providers are continuously updating their systems to the latest and greatest technologies available, and outdated equipment won’t be as useful as a modern router or modem. 

• Test Your Speed – Most people don’t think about testing their internet speed for the download and upload of Mbps. However, doing this regularly can help keep you informed if there is a sudden dip in your speed and if you’re experiencing a bad internet connection.

Down below, we will share with you the best websites that do speed tests for free. You’ll also want to look at your plan with Google Fiber to see what it includes for your maximum internet speeds. 

• Check Your WiFi Signal – There’s a good chance that your internet speed is adequate, but some type of signal problem might be causing your slow wifi. This can affect many of your home’s devices trying to connect to your internet, making you believe that you have a bad internet connection. If you’re using a lot of different devices to access your wifi, you should consider upgrading to 5 GHz.     

• Monitor Usage – If your plan with Google Fiber doesn’t include unlimited usage with the most extreme download speeds available, then be careful how many people on your internet are performing actions at the same time. For example, it only takes one or two people to stream or download large files to make your entire internet slow down.

Think about Netflix or using Steam for video games; these two combined on the same internet at the same time will cause internet lagging for everybody in your household.   

Test Your Internet Speed 

We suggest you test your internet speed using Google’s free speed test, just open up your Google browser and type ‘speed test’ into your search bar. You will immediately see the option from Google to check your internet’s speed. This is something you should do before troubleshooting all your other equipment.

When performing a speed test, you’ll be able to see right away if you’re experiencing slow internet, bad internet connection, and you’ll even know if you have a slow download speed. If you would rather use different software to perform your speed test, here are the top three that we recommend: 

• FAST (Powered by Netflix)
• SPEED CHECK
• OOKLA

Compare Your Speed with Your Google Fiber Contract

Once you’ve completed your speed test and you jotted down those numbers, take a moment to compare it to your plan with Google Fiber to see if those numbers match. Google Fiber states that their internet connection speeds range from up to one gigabit per second (1,000 Mbit/s). This applies to both downloads and uploads, which is pretty fantastic! 

In fact, Google Fiber proudly claims that movies can download in less than a mere two minutes. That is pretty astonishing when compared to other provider’s download speeds. 

Troubleshoot with Google Fiber Customer Service

If you’ve tried all the troubleshooting suggestions listed above and are still experiencing issues with your slow internet, then following Google Fiber’s instructions to restart or reboot your home router or some other devices might fix your bad internet connection. It’s always best to try and troubleshoot your internet lagging on your own before contacting customer support.

Submit a Complaint 

Google Fiber refers to restarting your device as doing a power cycle. Once you’ve done that, along with a reset, this could assist with your slow wifi. There is a chance that your router or network box has run out of memory due to a bunch of pending downloads. This can slow down your internet and even cause your bad internet connection to stop working altogether.  

If you’re still experiencing a slow internet after performing the power cycle, then give Google Fiber’s Customer Service a call at 866-777-7550.

In speaking with a customer service rep, you made need to perform some or all of the following: 

• Unplug all your device’s power cords. 
• Wait a certain amount of time.
• Go ahead and plug all the power cords back into the devices.
• Check the color of the lights on your box. 

File an Official Complaint and Get Compensated

After contacting Google Fiber’s customer service and your issue still persists, you should now file an official complaint. Google Fiber’s customer service agents might try to sell you additional repeaters or upgrades, do not agree to any other charges or costs to fix your internet.