how to limit internet speed on netgear routers

If you are using too much data at home, you may want to find out how to limit internet speed on Netgear routers.

Limiting speeds on your Netgear router can be done in four simple steps. You can either limit speeds for all users or limit specific devices.

You can even limit speeds for a particular game or application.

To limit Netgear router speeds, log in to your router online portal. Use the default username “admin” and password “password” to log in. 

If you have changed logins, use your selected password and username. Once logged in, cap internet speeds to your preferred speeds.

Before we consider the steps for capping internet speeds in detail, let us look at the reasons. So, why would you want to cap your router speeds?

Reasons Why You Should Limit Speeds on Netgear Router

reasons why you should limit internet speed

The answer to how to limit bandwidth on Netgear routers lies in why. To decide which method of limiting is appropriate, you should be clear about the reason why. 

There are a few reasons that stand out for limiting internet speeds:

  • One member of the family is running a data-hungry application.
  • One member of the family is using too much bandwidth affecting the rest of the users.
  • You are having too much bandwidth which leads to excessive data usage.
  • You always run out of data allocation before the month’s end.

How to Limit Internet Speed on Netgear Routers – (Step By Step)

It is clear that you need to limit your internet speed at some point.

To answer the question of how to limit bandwidth per device Netgear, we are going to look at the top solutions. 

Solution #1 Use Insight App to Limit Wifi Speed on Netgear Router

how to limit internet speed

The insight app is the primary internet management tool offered by Netgear.

With this app, you can control your internet speeds, manage devices, and choose packages among others.

If you do not have access to the app, you can still perform all these functions by logging into your Netgear account online. 

However, it is recommended that you have a Netgear application on your phone and you can search for the app on the app store.

Steps to limit router speed on the Insight app:

  1. Launch the Insight App from your phone’s menu
  2. If you are on an Insight Pro account, select your organization
  3. The managed devices will appear in the menu at the bottom. If they do not appear, tap on Devices.
  4. Tap on Wifi Networks
  5. Tap the Wifi network you want to manage
  6. Tap on Rate Limit
  7. Tap on Enable Radio 
  8. Check Limit settings displayed
  9. Tap on Upload Data Rate Unit( Select Mbps) or Kbps
  10. Move the Rate Limit slider to set the limit between 64Kbps and 1000 Mbps.
  11. Tap on the arrow in the upper left corner to return to your main wifi settings page.
  12. Tap Save to update all the changes made.

Solution #2 Limit the Speed Using the Insight Cloud Portal

go to neatgear cloud portal

If you do not have the Insight application, you can use the cloud portal directly. The process is quite similar with a few differences.

When you use this option, you will be able to set router speeds for all devices. If you are looking to limit a specific device, please look at the steps below.

  1. Log in to your Insight Cloud Portal.
  2. Select the organization with your access point 
  3. Select the appropriate network location based on your access point.
  4. Click on Wireless
  5. Tap on Settings
  6. Tap on the edit button of the SSID you wish to edit
  7. Select Rate Limit
  8. Click on Enable Settings
  9. You will see the Upload Rate Unit menu
  10. Select Kbps or Mbps depending on your preferred metrics
  11. To change your Upload Rate Limit slide to your preferred speed between 64Kbps and 1000Mbps.
  12. On the Download Rate Unit, Select Kbps or Mbps
  13. Move the Download Rate Limit to your preferred speeds between 64 Kbps and 1000 Mbps.
  14. Click on Save to complete the settings
Note: For the best experience, the recommended minimum download speed should be set at about 50 Mbps. 

If you wish to limit further, test to see if the selected limit works for your home.

Solution #3 Limit Speed by Adding Specific Devices to Priority List

limiting speed

Your priority list is the management feature that allows you to monitor internet speeds for users on your Wifi.

This option can be activated by logging into your router’s online portal.

It is important to note that you can also use this approach to give some devices high priority.

If you are having bandwidth limitations, you can assign high priority to a device that needs more data. This way, you will avoid trouble while watching the video.

Steps to limit Netgear speed for one device

steps to limit router speed
  • Open your internet browser on your phone or computer that is connected to your wifi.
  • Visit either  http://www.routerlogin.net or http://www.routerlogin.com on your browser
  •  Once the login screen opens, enter your Netgear router username and password
  • If you do not have a name and password use the default username “admin” and password “password“
Note: The username and password used in this process must follow the appropriate word case.

Once you are logged into your router’s online portal, you can set the QoS rule. 

This is a set of commands that defines how all devices on your network are used. You can set the QoS rule for a particular device. 

If you want a certain device to use minimum bandwidth, simply set its priority to “low”

How to Limit Bandwidth for a Specific Device

how to limit bandwith
  1. Once you login to your router portal select Settings
  2. Tap on Advanced
  3. Select Setup
  4. Tap on QoS Setup
  5. Tap on Upstream QoS
  6. Select Setup QoS Rule
  7. Select QoS Priority Rule displays
  8. Scroll to the bottom of the QoS Setup
  9. Click on Add Priority Rule
  10. In your Priority Category list select Devices or applications
  11. Select add new application or Device
  12. If you are required to enter the connection type, select TCP or UDP or TCP/UDP.
  13. From the Priority list, select the level of internet access for your chosen application or device.
  14. The options to choose from are Low, Normal, High  and Highest
  15. Click on Apply to save changes
Note: In this role, you may even choose to restrict the usage of data for games you play on your devices. 

However, only choose low if the device you are setting can operate well at low speed.

Solution #4 Cap Router Speeds for All Users From Router Portal

cap router speed for all users

You may also cap speeds for all users on your router from your online portal. This option is available on any router. 

The beauty of it is that you can change back to your preferred speeds at any time if you are not comfortable. 

Steps to limit router speeds for all Netgear users 

  1. Go to  “http://192.168.1.1” or “http://192.168.0.1″  on your web browser.
  2. Type in your Netgear username and password respectively to log in.
  3. If you have not changed the user name, enter the default details such that the username is “admin” and the password is “password”
  4. Once you log in, select Wireless Settings
  5. Set your preferred router speeds to between 64Kbps and 1000Mbps.
  6. On the Mode dropdown menu, tap on Apply to Save the recently made changes.
Note: This option will cap your speeds for all devices. 

If you notice that the selected speed is too low for some devices such as TV, you might assign them high priority through the steps above.

Summary

You can set a wifi speed limit for all users or an individual user. If you feel that a specific device is eating too much data, feel free to set a limit for it. 

The steps above on how to limit internet speed on a Netgear router should help you set the preferred speeds. 

If you fail to get your logins you will have to reset your router.

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