The Best Internet Setup for Working from Home

Did you recently ditch the nine-to-five grind in favor of remote work and find your internet isn't quite up to the job? We've been there too.

We've got tips to help you optimize your internet setup for working from home, based on real-life experience and hands-on research. Plus, we’ve got tips on how to make your connection more secure and even how to set up your home office.

More than likely, your current internet plan will allow you to work from home without too many hiccups, but if you’re searching for a new ISP, you’ll want to look for reliably fast download and upload speeds and at least one terabyte (TB) of data per month.

• Download speeds: Download speeds reflect how quickly you can access things online. Faster download speeds will load your websites, Netflix movies, and work email more quickly.
• Upload speeds: Upload speeds tell you how quickly you can put things on the internet. Faster upload speeds will not only get that PDF attached to your email in a jiffy but also keep your beautiful smile looking picture-perfect during your Zoom call.
• Data: Everything you do online uses data, with streaming and downloading large files typically using up the most data overall. Most internet providers allow you to use at least one TB of data each month—but some offer the holy grail of unlimited data.

Here’s a quick look at some general recommendations for how fast your download and upload speeds should be for different work apps.

As you can see, those speeds aren’t anywhere near the 100, 200, or even 1,000 Mbps some internet plans offer. But if you’re working from home while your partner, roommate, or kids are using the internet, too, you’ll want more speed to ensure everyone stays connected and happy.

Not sure whether your current internet plan can handle your entire household getting online at the same time? We recommend checking what your actual download speed is with a speed test. If you’re paying for speeds that are much faster than what the speed test says your download speed is, it might be time to call your ISP or search for a new provider.

We recommend a minimum of 50 to 100 Mbps download speeds for working from home, and at least 10 Mbps upload speeds if you upload large files to the internet.

If it’s just you working from home and you’re not tackling projects that require you to upload large files, like streaming on YouTube, attending video conferences, or delivering graphic designs to clients, we think you’ll be okay with at least 50 Mbps.

However, as soon as you add more people and more devices that all use the internet with you, you’ll want to start adding more speed too. And if you are a YouTuber, photographer, or graphic designer, or if you hop on a lot of video calls, you’ll want to look for faster download and upload speeds.

We mentioned that we think 50 Mbps is a good starting speed for working from home. At least it is if it’s just you hopping online to forward cat videos to your friends or streaming a couple of episodes of Ozark.

At these speeds, you can probably add another person who enjoys streaming and works from home too, as long as everyone's online tasks are light. But we’d recommend looking for 100 Mbps or faster once you’ve got three people who enjoy surfing the internet during their work from home breaks or if anyone handles large documents, like PDFs, PowerPoints, or videos and graphics.

Download speeds of 100 Mbps should keep most families productive at home. And when it’s time to hang up your hat and change into your second pair of pajamas, 100 Mbps is perfect for zoning out to episodes of Storage Wars while your partner plays Call of Duty and your teenager busts out the Switch to play Animal Crossing.

If you’ve got a smart home system and a family that loves to spend most of their time online, whether they’re working or not, then 200 Mbps is probably a good internet speed for you.

We’d recommend this much download speed to large households and to internet power users. You know, the livestreaming, Plex-using, constantly-streaming folks. (Wait a second, that sounds like us …)

This goes for any speed beyond 200 Mbps, really. And if you’re curious how other download speeds measure up, check out our guide to how many Mbps you need, plus our recommendations for the best internet providers.

Unfortunately, in most cases, VPNs will slow down your internet. With some VPN providers, you won't even notice the difference, but when you do notice, boy is it annoying.

Exactly how slow your internet becomes will depend on your internet speed before the VPN, how far away you are from your VPN server, and which VPN service and encryption you're using.

If you're trying to combat slow internet speeds from your VPN, choose a server closer to your location. Server location has the biggest impact on your internet speeds, and while some VPNs will automatically choose the closest server, be sure that you choose the server nearest to you. And if you're worried that choosing a server in your own city will jeopardize your privacy, try changing your server location to a neighboring city or state.

Sometimes your VPN's encryption is the perpetrator responsible for your sluggish speeds. For example, OpenVPN Protocol is most likely to slow your internet speed, as it's the slowest VPN protocol.

One of the fastest VPN protocols is PPTP, but not every VPN service provides this protocol. With most VPNs you'll find they use IKEv2 or L2PT/IPSec. These slower protocols are great for security and reliability but not so great at streamlining your work-from-home day. 

If you’re working from home, chances are you may need to tweak or even create a whole new office setup. You don’t have to go all out and spend thousands to do this, but I say it’s always worth the money to make sure you’re comfortable while you work.

Here’s my current setup when I work from home: 

• Keyboard: Logitech K480 | Razer BlackWidow Ultimate
• Mouse: Apple Magic Mouse 2 | Razer Naga Trinity
• Mousepad: Corsair Gaming Mouse Pad

The Logitech K480 keyboard might be older, but it’s a cheaper alternative to some of the other Mac-friendly wireless keyboards out there. I like that you can set it to pair with your PC, too, and it’s lightweight and small enough to move around easily.

But while I swear by this off-brand keyboard, I wasn't impressed by how "sticky" the sensor was on the off-brand wireless Mac mouse I tried. Using it was not a smooth ride, so I splurged on the Apple Magic Mouse instead. And hey, it works like a charm (except for the strangest charging design that basically renders the mouse unusable).

For my gaming setup, I’ve had my Razer BlackWidow keyboard and Razer Naga mouse since 2012. They’re holding up well, and I love the design on both. Of course, you can’t buy those same models today, but I’d be willing to bet the newer versions of both will still help you snag those skill shots.

And whether I’m using my Mac or PC, I absolutely love my gigantic mouse pad. I think these are a must-have because nothing is worse than snagging your mouse on the edge of your mouse pad.

• Headset: Sony ZX Series Stereo Headset
• Monitor: Acer XG270HU 27-Inch Monitor
• Laptop stand: Lorell Angled Laptop Stand
• Mac hub: USB-C Hub Multi-Port Adapter

I think my Sony headset is the perfect compromise between lightweight and functional. The ear cups are padded, so it’s comfy, and the band doesn’t squeeze my head. The audio quality is also pretty great for a low-cost headset.

When I need more than one tiny little MacBook pro screen for work, I use the USB-C hub to hook my little laptop up to one of my Acer gaming monitors.

I love the 27-inch display—it’s the perfect size to see everything coming when I’m in a raid or easily drag, drop, type, and research when I’m working. And the laptop stand makes sure I’m not angling my head down while I work, which is a huge ergonomic no-no.

• Chair: GTRACING Gaming Chair | Staples Hyken Mesh Back Fabric Task Chair
• Standing desk: VIVO 32-Inch Standing Desk Converter
• Cable organization: DMoose Cable Management Box | Avantree Reusable Cord Organizer (Pack of 20)

I love my gaming chairs, and I recommend them often to my friends. They typically come with adjustable armrests as well as seats, and the more expensive ones add lumbar pillows and headrests too.

I'd say a chair is one area you want to splurge a little. I originally had a cheaper desk chair on this list, but upgraded to the Staples Hyken task chair because I needed support for my head, neck, and shoulders. The Staples Hyken offers a lot of ergonomic customizability for its cost, plus it's mesh back means you won't work up a sweat.

I also wanted to have the option to stand and work, but a full standing desk kit was way out of my budget. So I researched standing desk converters and found one by VIVO. It’s solid, easily adjustable to any height (up to almost 20 inches), and costs less than $150 (at least it did when I bought it).

And with two cats roaming my office, I knew I needed some cable management to hide those tantalizing cords. I grabbed a pack of reusable Velcro cable ties as well as the cable management box made by DMoose. The cable box is a lifesaver because it not only hides everything in an inconspicuous white compartment, but it doubles as a shelf too. Winning!

Now that many of us have shifted our offices to our homes, remote work may feel like a bigger challenge than you expected. And for some who can’t work from home, the idea of earning an income from your home office may seem like wishful thinking. (We have some tips that will hopefully help you too.)

If your internet speed feels slower than usual, you’re not dreaming.

We studied internet speeds during 2020 and found that they held strong. But with millions more people using the internet at the same time it can struggle to keep up.

Our suggestions? Take care of critical work tasks in the morning. We found the best time to get online, based on average download speeds over the year, was between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Next, if your internet speed isn't keeping up with Zoom calls, considering upgrading. We recommend an internet plan with 25 to 50 Mbps minimum to handle your Zoom calls—but if you run a home office, more download speed will likely benefit you. Take a peek at our guide to internet speed for easy tips on how to calculate what speed you need.

Pair that with the fact that most of our home internet plans have much less bandwidth, or capacity, than an office internet plan.

Think of it this way: your office’s internet bandwidth is like a four-lane highway with much more room for each person to pass others and even maintain a fast speed while in the same lane.

But often our home internet plans are more like a two-lane road. We’ve got a little bit of room to speed up and pass that slower traffic, but it’s a lot easier for traffic jams to happen when more people start driving down that road at the same time.

So what can you do about slow internet speed? Aside from calling your internet service provider (ISP), you can try the following:

• Restart your router. Restarting your router flushes out any errors in its memory that might be interrupting your internet connection or slowing it down.
• Buy a new router. If your router is older, it might be time to upgrade it. Newer routers are better equipped to keep your internet speed moving along quickly. Not sure where to start shopping? Take a look at our favorite routers.
• Try some of our other tips for speeding up your internet. From repositioning your router to clearing your cache, we’ve got 10 tips to speed up your internet service before you have to wait on hold with your ISP.

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