How to Solve Awful Guatemala Wi-Fi Speeds

How to Solve Awful Guatemala Wi-Fi Speeds. Guatemala has great internet service reaching all of Guatemala. We have the best cell phones and WiFi internet options at very reasonable prices.

However, when travelers arrive in Guatemala, they often find slow wifi. Or, in the case of full-timers, many calls to the local Lake Atitlan internet providers to complain.

Here are some tips that will help you get the most speed out of your Guatemala Wifi Connections.

Wi-Fi is a wireless connection between the outside work of the Internet and your computer, and yet it’s also one of the most frustrating. If you’re plagued by slow speeds, bad reception, and other Wi-Fi issues, here are some ways you can power up the Wi-Fi in your home.

If have just landed in Guatemala City on your way to Lake Atitlan or Antigua you will find ample high-speed Internet and Wifi available all over Guatemala. No matter what you read on TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet, or other travel websites about the internet in Guatemala the truth is Guatemala has state-of-the-art Internet, Wifi, and Telco services even in the highlands of Guatemala.

Then some will ask why is my Wifi slow in Guatemala.

This has nothing to do with the Guatemala internet service. You can trust our opinion because we are the same folks that told Guatemala Internet users how to change their DNS settings which was causing much of Guatemala’s problems. Even a few commented on the fact that NetFlix was not connecting. So we are the source of real information.

If you own a tablet, an I-phone a laptop anything you dragged with you to Guatemala for your vacation this fix works for all. If you are even slightly technical. Like most, we have joined a number of Wifi networks in our travels.

All of these accounts are stored on your computer your Wifi logins from hotels, internet cafe,s and so on. That is the problem your device is now attempting to connect to a fast state-of-the-art network. While the US still has 4g coming at a ridiculous price, Guatemala has had it for a while and at a reasonable price.

What happens is when you join a Wifi network in Guatemala all those old connections to other Wifi networks are attempting to connect to other networks you have stored in your tablet, phone or Kindle. This confuses your computer as it keeps trying to find old networks.

The solution is simple to go into your preferences for your Wifi, no matter the device, and delete all these old Wifi connections leaving only the one you are using in Guatemala. On a Mac include the keychain.

The Domain Name System (DNS)

That said, it appears Guate Internet companies have screwed up their DNS. If you are finding yourself getting that spinning wheel thing going on and then the site is not found it is because something is messed up with the old Guate Internet services DNS.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities. Most prominently, it translates easily memorized domain names to the numerical IP addresses needed for the purpose of locating computer services and devices worldwide. By providing a worldwide, distributed keyword-based redirection service, the Domain Name System is an essential component of the functionality of the Internet.

In order to eliminate these issues please follow the following directions as they will solve your problem.

Guatemala Wi-Fi Speeds Changing Your DNS Servers Settings

Because the instructions differ between different versions/releases of each operating system, we only give one version as an example. If you need specific instructions for your operating system/version, please consult your vendor’s documentation. You may also find answers in our user group.

Many systems allow you to specify multiple DNS servers, to be contacted in priority order. In the following instructions, we provide steps to specify only the Google Public DNS servers as the primary and secondary servers, to ensure that your setup will correctly use Google Public DNS in all cases.

Note: Depending on your network setup, you may need administrator/root privileges to change these settings.

Microsoft Windows

DNS settings are specified in the TCP/IP Properties window for the selected network connection.

Example: Changing DNS server settings on Microsoft Windows 7

Go to the Control Panel.
Click Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center, and click Change adapter settings.
Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:
- To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, right-click Local Area Connection, and click Properties.
- To change the settings for a wireless connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection, and click Properties.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Select the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) or Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and then click Properties.
Click Advanced and select the DNS tab. If there are any DNS server IP addresses listed there, write them down for future reference, and remove them from this window.
Click OK.
Select Use the following DNS server addresses. If there are any IP addresses listed in the Preferred DNS server or Alternate DNS server, write them down for future reference.
Replace those addresses with the IP addresses of the Google DNS servers:
- For IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4.
- For IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and/or 2001:4860:4860::8844
Restart the connection you selected in step 3.
Test that your setup is working correctly; see Testing your new settings below.
Repeat the procedure for additional network connections you want to change.

Mac OS X

DNS settings are specified in the Network window.

Example: Changing DNS server settings on Mac OS 10.5

From the Apple menu, click System Preferences, then click Network.
If the lock icon in the lower left-hand corner of the window is locked, click the icon to make changes, and when prompted to authenticate, enter your password.
Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:
- To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, select Built-In Ethernet, and click Advanced.
- To change the settings for a wireless connection, select Airport, and click Advanced.
Select the DNS tab.
Click + to replace any listed addresses with, or add, the Google IP addresses at the top of the list:
- For IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4.
- For IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and/or 2001:4860:4860::8844
Click Apply and OK.
Test that your setup is working correctly; see Testing your new settings below.
Repeat the procedure for additional network connections you want to change.