Lag in online gaming and long buffering times when watching videos are top two on my list of network annoyances. After searching online for reasons and ways to fix things, one word popped up constantly. Bandwidth.

Usually to solve network issues, some suggest adding bandwidth. Sounds simple. But I find that impractical due to the extra cost and infrastructure limitations. So without increasing bandwidth, the thing left is to make good use of the current bandwidth we get from our ISPs (Internet Service Providers). This means utilizing the built-in features of a router, which are proven easy and effective.

Maybe what tops your annoyance list is a bit different from mine. But I’m sure the following features will help you avoid some in your list.

1. QoS

QoS is short for Quality of Service. It’s used to prioritize internet traffic for specific online activities, such as gaming or streaming. Activities set as high priority will be allocated more bandwidth and will continue to run smoothly even when there is heavy traffic on the network. To find out more about this feature, check out QoS: Optimize Your Wi-Fi Network.

2. Access Control

Access Control is used to block or allow specific client devices to access your network (via wired or wireless methods). You can choose to set a list of blocked devices (Blacklist) or a list of allowed devices (Whitelist).

With Blacklist, you can limit some devices to share bandwidth. When your bandwidth is limited, Whitelist will only allow desired devices to use the internet.

3. Parental Control

Don’t skip this section if you’re not a parent yet.

Although this feature is called parental control, it can also help users without kids to manage network bandwidth. It allows you to set time limits for the specific devices on the network. In this way, you can ensure the desired devices have exclusive internet within set times.

This is especially useful for those with kids using up bandwidth when they are supposed to be studying or sleeping. In this situation, you can use the function to limit their internet use by putting limits on their devices and making sure they can only connect to the internet at certain times. This function has more settings to meet parental needs, for more information, see Parental Controls: Online Gatekeeper for Kids.

Oh, almost forgot to mention: where can you find these functions? They are in the “Basic” or “Advanced” sections as shown below. As you can see, there are more functions waiting for you to explore.

Don’t be intimidated by the word “advanced.” Many of the included functions are far easier to configure than expected. Just take some time checking which suits you best.

Make the most of your router with help from our User Guide in the Download Center.