Wi-Fi that crawls on Windows but works fine on other devices is one of the most common laptop issues. Almost always software, not your router. Here are 8 fixes that work in real life.
Run a speed test at fast.com first to confirm bandwidth. Then try these in order.
Update your Wi-Fi driver
Outdated network drivers are the top cause of slow Wi-Fi on Windows. Right-click Start > Device Manager. Expand Network adapters. Find your Wi-Fi card (usually says "Wireless" or "Wi-Fi" in the name).
Right-click > Update driver > Search automatically. If Windows finds an update, install. Restart.
For Intel cards specifically, download the latest driver from Intel's website (intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005489/network-and-i-o/wireless.html). Newer than Windows Update usually.
Forget the network and reconnect
Saved network settings can corrupt. Forget your network and reconnect fresh. Click the network icon in your taskbar. Right-click your Wi-Fi network. Pick Forget.
Reconnect by clicking the network, entering the password. Often speeds jump back to normal.
Disable Wi-Fi power management
Windows tries to save battery by lowering Wi-Fi power, which kills throughput. Disable it. Device Manager > Network adapters > right-click your Wi-Fi card > Properties.
Click the Power Management tab. Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Click OK.
Reset network stack
Network stack can get corrupted. Reset it with one command. Open Command Prompt as administrator. Run these one at a time:
- netsh int ip reset
- netsh winsock reset
- ipconfig /flushdns
- ipconfig /release
- ipconfig /renew
Restart Windows after. Wi-Fi should reconnect at proper speed.
Change Wi-Fi band
If you're on 2.4 GHz, switch to 5 GHz. 5 GHz is faster but shorter range. If you're close enough to the router, the speed boost is huge.
Many routers have separate network names for each band – YourNetwork-2.4 and YourNetwork-5G. Connect to the 5G one.
If your router uses a single name for both bands, force 5 GHz by going close to the router during setup, then your phone's Wi-Fi settings can usually show which band is active.
Check for QoS or bandwidth limits
Windows has Quality of Service settings that can throttle specific apps. Open Group Policy Editor (Windows + R, type gpedit.msc, hit Enter).
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > QoS Packet Scheduler > Limit reservable bandwidth. If it's set to Enabled with a high reservation, disable it or lower the percentage.
This only exists in Windows 11 Pro. Home edition doesn't have Group Policy.
Disable Internet Connection Sharing
Sometimes ICS gets enabled accidentally and slows everything. Open Services from Start. Find Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). Right-click > Stop. Then right-click again > Properties > set Startup type to Disabled.
Apply, OK. Restart. This frees up your Wi-Fi from any sharing overhead.
Check background apps using bandwidth
Settings > Network & Internet > Advanced network settings > Data usage. Click your Wi-Fi network. Scroll to see which apps are using the most data.
Apps like OneDrive, Dropbox, Steam, or Windows Update can hog all your bandwidth in the background. Pause them or limit their bandwidth in their own settings.
Move closer to the router
Wi-Fi signal strength drops dramatically with distance and walls. Walk to within 10 feet of the router. Run a speed test. If speeds are way higher there, distance is the issue.
Solutions – move the router to a more central location, add a mesh point or extender, switch to wired Ethernet for your main workspace.
Replace the Wi-Fi card
If your laptop has a Wi-Fi 4 or 5 card, upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 is a $20-50 upgrade that can dramatically improve speeds. The card is usually a small M.2 module easy to swap on most laptops.
YouTube has model-specific tutorials. The hard part is opening the laptop – the actual swap is 30 seconds.
What speeds are you actually getting vs paying for? Tell me both and I'll point to the biggest opportunity.