Quick Links
Just because you’ve got high-speed Wi-Fi doesn’t mean you’ll always get the best possible speeds. As more and more devices connect to your network, you’ll have to take network traffic priority seriously.
What Are QoS Settings?
Most modern routers will have a Quality of Service (QoS) settings section in their advanced settings. QoS settings help you control how available bandwidth is divided between devices and apps running on your network. When your network is congested and multiple devices fight for bandwidth, these settings prioritize certain devices and apps over others.
Let’s say you’re playing a game while someone else in the house is streaming Netflix on the TV. Generally speaking, routers handle such cases on a first-come-first-serve basis, meaning if data packets from Netflix arrive at the router earlier than the ones from your game server, Netflix takes priority while your game has to wait.
This is especially true when a large number of different data packets arrive at your router at the same time. Since it can only handle so much data at once, this results in packet loss as the packets sit in a queue waiting for your router to distribute them properly between the multiple devices connected to it.
With enough devices (or applications pulling bandwidth), that’ll either start showing as lag in your game while Netflix runs fine or both your game lagging and Netflix buffering, depending on how your router handles traffic. However, with properly configured QoS settings, the router will know what kind of packet to prioritize. So, if you’ve set up QoS on your router to prioritize your game, PC, or console, your experience will be fine, but the other person might see their content buffer.
Depending on how you set up your QoS settings, you can get a better online gaming experience, better video and audio call quality, better streaming experience, or anything else you’d rather prioritize instead of other traffic.
What QoS Settings Does Your Router Support?
Most modern routers have QoS settings, but they can be a little tricky to locate. Furthermore, not all QoS settings are the same, and different routers implement them using different names and rules. Generally speaking, these two QoS settings are the most popular:
If you’re shopping for a router, verify it supports Bandwidth Control and WMM. Thelatter is great if you stream frequently and is usually enabled by default. However, it lacks the flexibility you’d need if you want to prioritize anything other than streaming. There are otherfeatures to keep in mind when buying a router,too, so be sure to do your homework.
To check what QoS settings your current router supports, you need to access its settings. This is generally accessible from a reserved IP address like 192.168.0.1. Keep in mind that it varies from device to device, so it’s best to check the label on the back or underneath your router to find the correct IP and credentials.
They also might not be all in one place. For example, on my TP-Link Archer C5 router, the WMM toggle is tucked under the router’s advanced wireless settings (and can’t be disabled for some reason), while bandwidth control gets its own section.
On my older D-Link DIR650N, there’s a separate QoS section with bandwidth control and WMM. So, there’s a good chance you might have to dig around in your router a bit to find the right settings.
Using QoS to Prioritize Specific Traffic
Since WMM doesn’t offer much control over what traffic you may prioritize and is only a box you need to check off, there’s not much else to do other than enable a feature. Bandwidth control, however, is a different ballgame.
While the exact settings you’ll have to change will vary based on what IP address your device of choice gets from the router and the specific ports your game or program needs when connecting to the internet, here’s a general rundown of everything you’ll need to set up.
On most routers, the five settings mentioned above will provide all the QoS control you’ll need. Once you’ve set them up correctly, your router will know what type of traffic to prioritize over others and how much bandwidth to assign to a particular device.
High-speed Wi-Fi is great, but if you use it across multiple devices, the speed will fall off quickly. Properly setting up your QoS network prioritization settings helps avoid that and ensures you get the best possible experience on the devices, games, and programs that really matter.
