An issue that is more significant in our online teaching world is the quality of the internet connection. There are many different factors that affect how good your connection is. here are just some of them

  • How good a signal your router gives out
  • How close you are to your router
  • How many other devices are connected to and using your router
  • How many other routers and devices near you are trying to use the same frequencies
  • How fast your boradband is (Your 'download' speed nearly always be faster than your 'upload' speed)

There are some things you can do to try and make things work better - and I don't mean 'Teach nearer the router' (What do you mean, you can't move the piano?) or 'make sure you are the only one online' (well, no-one else in the house has to access the internet, do they?)

These instructions relate directly to the settings on your HMS tablet - although you can try similar things on any windows computer
(Quite easy)

See the bottom of this article for what you might consider buying to 'boost' the signal in your house

  • Press and hold the 'Win' key (bottom left) and tap the 'x' key. Release both.
  • Select 'Device Manager' on the list
  • Click on the '>' next to 'Network Adapters'
  • Double tap on 'Realtech RTL87 etc'
  • Tap on the 'Advanced' tab adn change the settings one by one as follows:

Antenna Diversity - set to enabled
Bandwidth - check this is 20 - 40 Mhz
Multi-Channel Concurrent - set to enabled
Roaming sensitivity level - set to high
Wireless Mode - check it is IEEE 802.11 b/g/n

Click on 'Ok' - and you will disconnect from the internet (You may need to reconnect again)

If you are using your own device, you might be able to change these settings too:

Preferred band - try changing this - trial and error could see a better signal - you might have best luck with the 5GHz option
Transmit power - set to highest

You can also try setting the power settings to maximum for the wifi card
(Not available to change on tablets)

  • open my computer and type the following into the address bar control powercfg.cpl,, 
    (best copy this and paste - including the ','s )
  • find Wireless Adapter Settings and expand, setting both 'On battery' and 'Plugged in' to 'Maximum Performance'

Please bear in mind that these changes might further reduce battery life, so make sure you are plugged in!

Other things you can try

Buy a range extender - read this article https://www.cordbusters.co.uk/best-wifi-boosters-range-extenders-uk/

The best value budget suggestion is a TP-Link RE200 AC750 - there are links to Amazon in the artlcle

If you want to get a bit more geeky...

Download the App called WiFi Analyzer by Matt Hafner - free from the Microsoft Store. This lets you see how crowded the airwaves are around you - and could help troublesghoot things further