SerpApi.Org
Every time someone complains about slow Wi-Fi, someone else replies with the same routine: flush your DNS, clear your browser cache, tweak a registry key nobody can find twice, and so on.
But the reality is that, most of the time, none of this really works. It might deliver marginal gains here and there, but there is only really one true and tested way to increase your internet speeds: wired Ethernet.
DNS flushing
Internet speed-up rating: 1/10
Clearing your DNS cache is a useful fix for specific problems, such as a site that's moved servers since the last time you visited, and your computer is still resolving to the old address.
It forces a fresh lookup and repopulates your DNS cache with new entries, making sure your "address book" has all the right details. But that lookup happens before your data really starts moving, and it's a one-time address check — not the main pipe your traffic flows through.
Also, it's not quite the same as clearing your browser cache, where your browsing will feel slower for a period afterward, but your DNS cache will repopulate, basically putting you back where you started.
Switching DNS providers
Internet speed-up rating: 4/10
Moving from your ISP's default DNS to Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 or Google's 8.8.8.8 can measurably cut the time it takes to resolve a brand-new domain, especially if your ISP's own servers are slow or overloaded at peak hours.
Switching your DNS provider has specific benefits. I've tested multiple DNS providers over the years, comparing popular versus lesser-known resolvers, whether encrypted DNS is faster than unencrypted, and much more. And switching your DNS does make a difference.
But does it make your internet faster? Well, no, not really. Not most of the time, at least. If your ISP-provided DNS is running in triple-digit response times and you switch to one that delivers low double digits (all measured in milliseconds), you'll feel a difference in response time, but strictly speaking, your internet isn't faster.
"Internet accelerator" software
Internet speed-up rating: 0/10
Interestingly, in the dial-up era, software like this actually worked. Those ancient 56k modems benefited by compressing text and images before they hit the phone line. With such limited bandwidth, anything that made sending data more seamless really did the job; services like NetZero HiSpeed and Onspeed claimed to make sending data five times faster.
But on the modern internet? Absolutely not. Most traffic is HTTPS-encrypted, so a proxy can't see inside it to compress anything, and most of what people download now, such as video, photos, and already-zipped files, is already compressed and won't shrink further.
Furthermore, anything of this nature is highly likely to be malware in this day and age, adding more danger and risk to your computer.
Clearing your browser's cache and history
Internet speed-up rating: 0/10
This is another historic sticking plaster that I've read on far too many websites over the years. Clearing your browser cache, as previously mentioned, will actually make your internet browsing feel slower for a period as the cache repopulates. And clearing your browser history will do absolutely zip for your internet speed; they're not even remotely related.
This is all local storage housekeeping rather than anything that can boost your internet connection.
Packet-size registry hacks
Internet speed-up rating: 2/10
Registry hacks are another "internet speed boost" holdover from the early days of the internet, and I can see why.
Windows XP and 2000 used a fixed TCP receive window, and manually setting it larger via the TcpWindowSize registry key was a fix for slow transfers on faster connections at the time.
Then, Windows Vista replaced that with Receive Window Auto-Tuning, which continuously adjusts the window size based on real-time bandwidth and latency instead of a fixed number. Microsoft's testing showed a significant increase over the old method, after which it shipped in various forms in each Windows version since.
That means that now, forcing a registry value can actually damage your internet connection rather than helping, as it's already automatically readjusting as it goes.
Jumbo frames
Internet speed-up rating: 2/10
Jumbo frames is another settings tweak claimed to give you some extra speed by increasing your packet size, but it's not as simple as "bigger is better."
The typical advice is that you should set your internet adapter's jumbo frames option to a 9,000-byte MTU to cut per-packet overhead on high-throughput local transfers. The idea is that the same amount of data gets repackaged into fewer "envelopes," theoretically passing data more smoothly between your devices and the internet.
However, that only works if every device in the path supports the larger size, such as your network interface card (NIC), your router, your network switch, the receiving device, and so on. Given this is unlikely, everything will default to the standard 1,500-byte MTU, meaning more fragmentation of packets that have been changed, and potentially slower-feeling internet.
QoS prioritization
Internet speed-up rating: 4/10
Quality of Service settings let a router hand out bandwidth priority — a video call ahead of a background download, say — so the traffic that matters doesn't stall out during a busy evening. It's a useful feature in any household with more than a couple of folks competing for bandwidth, and something everyone should consider switching on.
But QoS is about dividing your bandwidth and priority. It makes managing your device easier; it doesn't increase your internet speeds as a by-product.
Wireless range extenders
Internet speed-up rating: 2/10
Now, if your Wi-Fi doesn't reach into the dark corners of your home, it's tempting to reach for a Wi-Fi range extender. While additional access points are arguably the better option to solve Wi-Fi range problems, Wi-Fi extenders aren't completely useless if you can get them configured properly.
With that said, a Wi-Fi extender isn't adding more bandwidth to your network. Extenders are basically repeaters. It takes your incoming internet connection and rebroadcasts the packets, adding more range to the network. But the process of repeating actually adds more network overhead, so while you may be able to use your Wi-Fi further from the router, it certainly won't be faster.
There is only one internet speed boost that really works
Wired connections always win — but perhaps not for long
Of all the internet speed boosts and stability fixes, there is only one that truly solves almost every problem: a wired connection. It removes the variable nature of all the tricks listed above, and skips Wi-Fi connection issues entirely, delivering real throughput regardless of how many devices are on the network or what's happening in the garden.
That, and upgrading your internet package to something much faster.
Now, on "not for long", I'm keen to acknowledge that Wi-Fi 7 is a huge step-up for wireless internet, and while wired is still the best overall option, it helps to bridge the gap more than ever before. Wi-Fi 7's Multi-Link Operation and 320MHz channels let current-generation hardware approach or match Ethernet at close range — but only if your router and your device both support it, which in 2026 mostly means flagship phones and premium laptops, not the hardware most folks already own.
