You may find yourself asking this question every time you need to renew your internet service plan or even every time you go to pay your bill.

The pandemic put more demand on home networks than ever before as home broadband plans had to serve as both a work resource and a school service on top of your usual streaming and gaming.

At the same time though, having one of the best cable modems or best Wi-Fi routers can help you get the most from your internet connection. As the number of users and connected devices in your home increases, so too does the bandwidth they use which is why internet connectivity is something of a moving target. Have you ever enjoyed blazing speeds on your laptop, phone or tablet and then at other times wondered why your connection was so slow?

Maybe an online game takes a while to load when someone else in your home starts a video call or perhaps your streaming devices just keep buffering right when you get to the best part of a movie on Netflix.

I know, I know — all the ISPs are telling you to get a faster and more expensive plan. But you may be paying more than you need to. After two years of pandemic-related lockdowns, during which people have handled everything from work to school right from home, having sufficient bandwidth for the whole family is more important than ever.

A senior engineer who works at a well-known ISP and spoke to Tom’s Guide on condition of anonymity echoed that point, saying internet speeds ultimately depend on what the customer is doing with his or her internet connection. The engineer added that the “average family” shouldn’t pay for “anything beyond 20 x 5” — in other words, 20 Mpbs for each of up to five data-hungry devices such as laptops, gaming consoles and streaming TVs.

Companies like Spectrum are offering Mbps download speeds as a baseline, so that kind of plan should work exceedingly well for most people. Another broadband expert told Tom’s Guide that the more bandwidth you have, the better — but only up to a point. Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis, said a fast data rate will ensure you have enough bandwidth when you really need it — for example, if you have a big file to upload or you’re doing sophisticated work on your network.

As indicated by the name, gigabit speed offers 1, Mbps, or 1 Gbps, an exponential increase over the to Mbps plans that are generally considered high-speed broadband. See our article What is Gig-Speed Internet? However, “anything over 10 Gbps to a home user is pretty likely overkill,” Mitchell said. A gig everywhere should be a goal — not because people will max it out, but because it will ensure everyone can do what they want without worrying about the network being the bottleneck.

As more people shift to streaming for their TV and movie-watching needs, bandwidth requirements become a bigger issue. If you want to stream 4K content to get the best picture for your 4K smart TV, you’ll need a connection of at least 25 Mbps. Lower-resolution content is less demanding, but even streaming p HD video will require a 10 Mbps plan for smooth performance.

That’s assuming you only stream video to one device at a time. If there’s more than one TV in your home, or you want to watch in the living room while someone else watches on a laptop in the kitchen, then your bandwidth needs will grow accordingly. Smart-home devices also bring new demand for bandwidth. It only takes a few devices, like a smart thermostat, a smart speaker and a smart lock, to start having an impact on your home’s connectivity speeds, so don’t forget to factor those into your thinking when you consider how many devices are in use in your home.

Most experts recommend adding an extra 5 Mbps to your plan for every 10 smart-home devices, though some data-intensive products, such as cameras, will require much more. Although there’s a debate over how much internet speed the average home customer needs, it’s clear that ISPs benefit from your desire for faster internet speed. The ISPs can also provide some insight into how much speed you really need by listing how many devices can connect to the network at any given time.

If you listen to the above engineer, you can probably get away with the company’s cheapest package, which offers download speeds of up to Mbps. According to the company, that should be enough to accommodate up to eight devices simultaneously connecting to the internet. In many cases, choosing your internet connection speed means weighing how much you’re hoping to get versus how much you’re willing to pay.

But you need to be ready for the possibility that you won’t get what you want. Most ISPs offer internet packages with an important caveat: “up to.

So, if you’re paying for a Mbps package, you may get that speed if not more at times. But it’s also possible that you’ll get less.

Even if your ISP is delivering the speeds you want, the number of devices simultaneously connecting to your network could give you some trouble that could ultimately slow down your connection. With everything from laptops and smartphones to TVs and connected appliances relying on a steady stream of data, it’s easy to underestimate your needs.

Much like a car can go mph, but we rarely drive it that way. How can you tell if your network needs a boost? Lavoie said to look for “quality of experience” metrics, including load times and the frequency of connectivity glitches and connection drop-outs.

It’s also important to use online speed-check tools, like the aforementioned Fast. If you’re an avid gamer, playing online with friends might be one of the things you enjoy most. Assure you have a working internet connection, be it wired, WiFi, or cellular. Common Fixes for Home Networking Issues 2. Looking your best on camera Be aware of your lighting – lighting can make your video look great or washed out.

Light sources should come from in front of you or from your side in order to best light your face. Pick an area that is calm and free of distraction. Keep the area behind you clean.

Look at your webcam and not your screen so those on the call feel like you are looking at them. Remember to use gestures and mannerisms like you normally would in person.

Securing your meeting With the rise in popularity of Zoom, there have been cases of bad actors trying to interfere with meetings. Please use the information below to secure your Zoom meeting: Evaluate if you want to allow participants to join your meeting before you do in order to monitor what happens in your meeting room. Assign a co-host to moderate your meetings. Disable file sharing through Zoom and use services like Box.

Do not share invitations or links to meetings with people you do not know or via social media. Focusing on the task Don’t have side conversations, regardless of if you are the host or an attendee.

Side conversations are very distracting and whispers are easily picked up on microphones. If you aren’t talking, mute or turn off your microphone. Avoid noisy activities like typing while your microphone is on – and be sure any noisy devices in the background are turned off or muted. Hosting the meeting Review host controls and meeting settings ahead of time so you are prepared. Share any housekeeping details and set the stage with your attendees.

Remind your attendees to mute their mics when they are not speaking and to respect others who may be presenting or speaking at all times. Let your attendees know how to get your attention during the meeting. You may not be able to see people as easily as you would be able to normally. Should attendees unmute themselves and speak up? Will you be checking the chat window for people to IM their questions?

Start recording your session. Zoom Cloud Recording Retention Due to extensive use of Zoom and the high volume of meetings recorded to Zoom’s cloud, measures are needed to stay within contracted Zoom cloud storage limits.

Instructions to view, download and delete Zoom cloud recordings Navigate to vanderbilt. From there you can either download or delete a recording. If you have recordings you need to keep, you should download them and save them to the storage location of your choice OneDrive, Kaltura, etc.

Feb 10 th Last day for Zoom recordings made prior to Oct 13 th can be recovered from Zoom trash. System Requirements 1. Supported Operating Systems iOS 7. Processor Requirement Any 1 Ghz single core processor or better 4. Bandwidth Recommendations The bandwidth used by Zoom will be optimized for the best experience based on the participants’ network.

It will automatically adjust for 3G or WiFi. For help with any internet or bandwidth, see this guide for helpful tips and tricks. Vanderbilt Virtual Backgrounds Missing the sights of Vanderbilt while living, learning or working off campus?

Open the Zoom app and click the Settings button gear symbol in the top right corner. In the Settings panel, select Virtual Background from the menu at left.

What internet speed is needed for zoom – what internet speed is needed for zoom:. How Much Internet Speed Do I Need For Zoom Meeting?

 
We recommend that everyone checks their internet speed in advance of a Zoom session using the bandwidth test at to see if their. Zoom requires only one object, while Zoom requires multiple. Using speeds below 5 Mbps would appear unlikely for two-way communication. The AT. Bandwidth requirements · For video calling: kbps (up/down) for high quality video · For group video calling: kbps/Mbps (up/down) for high quality.

Zoom: Check Bandwidth.

 
 
If possible, switch from Wi-Fi to Ethernet cable. You can either configure the meeting to be audio only or disable video during the call. With so many working at home, homeschooling, and generally being home more often if not all the timeoptimizing Zoom for call quality has become a priority. Google Meet vs Zoom: How to pick the best videoconferencing platform.