Why is My Bell Internet So Slow? Complete Fix Guide

Are you always asking why is my Bell internet so slow? Surely there is something wrong with your setup.

You might not be seeing any error messages, but slow internet is surely noticeable.

There’s a good chance that it’s not a random occurrence, and there is a root cause. If you are experiencing it on a regular basis, don’t worry since we’ve got you covered.

If you are always experiencing slow internet, you can speed it up in a matter of minutes. You don’t need to do anything fancy especially if you rely on WiFi. You want to limit the number of WiFi connections on your router, and if possible connect to the 5G WiFi frequency. This will speed up your internet speeds instantly.

Now that you have a quick understanding of your slow internet issue, it’s time we take a deeper dive by knowing the causes before we tackle the steps to fix it.

Why is My Bell Internet so Slow – Causes of the Issue?

If you are experiencing slow internet with your Bell subscription, there are a variety of sources.

Let’s look at what causes this issue so you can perform the necessary steps to speed up your internet connection.

1. Internet Slowdown or Outage

Bell can experience network congestion or an outage on their end. If this is the case, your internet will surely be slow and only Bell can resolve it on their end.

2. Signal Interference

Your WiFi network is prone to interference. The frequencies are shared so if your neighbours also have WiFi networks of their own, it can affect your speeds even if you have different subscriptions.

3. Too Many Devices Connected

Your router can only handle connections of a few devices. If you exceed that number your router’s performance can drop and slow your entire network.

4. Outdated Software

Whether it’s your router or devices, their hardware needs to run the latest version of their software.

Using outdated software can have certain incompatibilities which can result in slow performance.

How to Speed Up My Bell Internet Connection

Now, before you take any additional steps, we do recommend you try rebooting your Bell modem.

It’s a quick step, but it can fix your slow internet connection issues especially if it’s caused by a minor bug or glitch. Doing this will allow your modem to flush its memory and freshly reconnect to Bell.

If rebooting your modem does not solve the issue, it’s time to look at other solutions that will help you fix your slow internet problem.

Solution #1: Reboot Your Entire Network

Rebooting your modem is one of the first steps you need to take if you are having issues with internet speeds. However, there are instances that restarting just your modem can be a bad idea.

If the bug or glitch affects multiple networking devices, the next best thing you can do is to reboot your entire network.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Turn off your modem and unplug it.
2. Turn off your routers and other networking equipment.
3. Unplug all of your equipment for at least 2 minutes.
4. Plug your modem and turn it on.
5. Plug the rest of your networking equipment and turn them on.

Tip: It also helps if you restart your devices like laptops, computers, and phones before turning your modem on.

Make sure the modem gets the signal first, then turn on the rest of your devices and connect them to your network.

Solution #2: Limit WiFi Connections

Do you have game consoles, multiple smart TVs, and smart home devices connected to your WiFi? If this is the case, it’s possible that you are overcrowding your network.

The model Bell provides you usually comes with a connection limit. It’s not that you cannot connect, but going over the limit can seriously slow down your entire network.

It’s also possible that your neighbours can connect to your unsecured WiFi network slowing your connection even more.

Here’s what to do to limit connections on your WiFi network:

1. Disconnect game consoles when not in use.
2. Disconnect smart TVs when not in use.
3. Blacklist unknown devices on your network.
4. Change your WiFi password.

Note: Turn off devices like consoles and TVs completely. Do not put them on standby as they can still connect to your network and crowd it.

Solution #3: Connect to Your 5G WiFi Frequency

Bell modems come with two WiFi frequencies. If you do not know this, it’s time you take advantage of this as spreading your connections out can improve network congestion and speed up your internet.

The default WiFi frequency your Bell modem is using is 2.4GHz.

It’s the frequency that most WiFi networks are on, and this can get crowded fast. Then there’s 5GHz, the latest WiFi frequency that offers faster connection speeds.

If your device can connect to both, we recommend using the 5GHz frequency as it can accommodate more connections compared to its 2.4GHz sibling.

Pro Tip: Connect devices such as game consoles, laptops, and TVs on the 5GHz network.

It’s faster and offers better performance for these types of devices, especially if you are into gaming.

Solution #4: Update Your Network Device Drivers

If you’re asking why is my internet suddenly so slow Bell, there is a good chance that the culprit is your device’s network drivers.

If they have not been updated for a while, they can interrupt your network’s operations and can slow down your connection.

It’s vital that you keep your devices up to date to make sure that they can communicate with your modem or router in the best way possible.

Here’s how to update your network drivers:

For PC or Laptop:

1. Open Device Manager on your PC or laptop.
2. Look for the Network adapters category
3. Click on the Arrow icon to show different networking devices.
4. Right-click on a device that says “Wireless” or “WiFi.”
5. Click on Update driver.

This will automatically update the driver of your computer’s network card. It will search for the file online and install it.

Tip: To keep your phone’s networking hardware updated, all you need to do is make sure that its software is up to date.

Solution #5: Reset Your Bell Modem to Factory Settings

If nothing seems to work and you’re still wondering why is my Bell Fibe internet so slow, one of the steps you can take is to reset your modem to factory settings.

It might sound a bit drastic, but there’s absolutely nothing to worry about.

Resetting your modem will revert all of the configurations to default. It’s possible that you have changed the settings of your network and modem too much that some of them contradict each other.

When this happens, you can be sure that your connectivity will be affected and your internet will be slow or it can disconnect.

Actually, even Bell recommends that you reset their modem to factory settings once in a while, especially if you run into any connectivity issues.

Here’s how to reset your Bell modem to factory settings:

1. Look for the reset button on the side of the modem.
2. Press and hold it for at least 30 seconds.
3. Wait for the LED notification light to flash red 5 times.
4. Wait for the modem to restart.
5. Set up your new WiFi SSID and password.

Note: Resetting your Bell modem to factory settings will also cause it to lose all your network configurations. 

Some of them might be helpful like QoS or a blacklist, make sure to set these again.

Thus, if you feel like your Bell internet is slow and sluggish than usual, you want to check your internet speeds. If the result is significantly lower than your subscription, you will want to update your network device drivers. Resetting your Bell modem to factory settings can also fix this issue.

Read Next: Why Does Bell Keep Calling Me? How to Stop?

Last Thoughts

Now that you know why is my Bell internet so slow, you can take the necessary actions to fix it. As long as you follow the instructions you should be able to get your internet speed back to what you expect it to be.

It’s possible that these troubleshooting steps might not work for you. If this is the case, you’re likely dealing with a hardware problem.

Contact Bell support and they will gladly help you out and even arrange a replacement if it’s applicable to your issue.