GADGET GURU

T3’s online frequenter nails more search queries in seconds flat

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Q Can you make my internet faster?

A Guru cannot hop into your wires and hurry your packets along. Your broadband goes as fast as your broadband goes. Option one, then, is to consider switching providers to find a broadband that goes a bit faster. Hopping between different broadband companies on the same crusty copper wires won’t make a huge difference, but jumping to a fibre provider might. It’s a bigger commitment than Guru’s mandatory Thursday gunpoint karaoke, and you probably shouldn’t put too much faith into online speed numbers, but it’s a possibility.

More likely, though, the problem exists somewhere between the street and your home. GaGu has frequently placed silly things on his network, and things he’s later realised were not the panacea he believed them to be. Multiple routers, fighting to manage your traffic. Poorly configured Raspberry Pis, doing who knows what with Docker containers. Far too many devices running at once because, well, who can live without a home propped up by the Internet of Things? The solution, then, could well be to first trim down, because the devices could be doing weird stuff. Then think about upgrading your router. Guru, shame-faced, admits that it took him long enough to embrace the glorious range and speed of Wi-fi 6; perhaps leapfrog him and pick up a seventh-gen device like the Asus RT-BE88U (£400), even though the majority of your device retinue won’t be able to make the most of it quite yet.

Q How can I get the best mileage from my car?