RESTECH SERVICES FAQ:
Your Service Questions Answered
Welcome to the ResTech Services FAQ, an evolving resource of service and support information.
INTERNET SERVICE FAQ
Your community is likely set up as a Bulk Managed Property, meaning they sell service directly to their residents. In order to set up service, visit or contact your property’s management office.
Due to the technical limitations at the time we established services at your building, some of our higher speeds may not yet be available. That said, we are working to upgrade as many of our service locations to our top rates as is economically viable, both to increase our offerings, as well as reliability gained by new technologies.
We urge you to contact us with your interest, as this helps us to decipher which locations would make a viable candidate for our next upgrade.
Generally speaking, bandwidth is the maximum rate at which you can download data from the internet to your computer.
Think about bandwidth like a hose. Imagine you need to fill a 100-gallon tank. If your hose can only give out only 5 gallons per minute, you’ll be waiting 20 minutes to fill the tank, while a hose that gives a gallon of water every second will fill the tank in less than 2 minutes.
Similarly, the larger the bandwidth, the more data you can pull down in a given time.
Bandwidth is measured in bits per second. Note that bits are different than bytes, which are the common measure of file size. One byte equals 8 bits, so 1 megabyte (MB) equals 8 megabits.
If you have a 1 megabit-per-second connection, a 1MB file will take eight seconds to download.
On a 1 Mbps connection, an MP3 file, which might measure about 6MB, will take about 48 seconds to download. A 5 gigabyte, or 5,000MB, movie will take about 11 hours.
Bandwidth needs are dependent on the number of users and devices simultaneously accessing the internet. That being the case, a person living alone, with a limited amount of devices will obviously be less dependent on high bandwidth than a home with multiple users and devices.
The following is an idea of basic bandwidth needs for different applications.
| If you want … | You’ll need about… |
|---|---|
| General web surfing, email, social media | 1 Mbps |
| Online gaming* | 1-3 Mbps |
| Video conferencing** | 1-4 Mbps |
| Standard-definition video streaming | 3-4 Mbps |
| High-definition video streaming | 5-8 Mbps |
| Frequent large file downloading | 50 Mbps and up |
| *A connection with low latency, the time it takes your computer to talk to the game server, is more important than bandwidth for gaming. | |
| **You’ll want at least a 1 Mbps upload speed for quality video conferencing. | |
HOME WIRELESS SERVICE FAQ
Residents may purchase their own router, or lease one from ResTech for $9.99 /mo.
Please, note: In cases where residents provide their own router, ResTech Services may need to refer the user to the manufacturer for technical support. This isn’t because you didn’t get the router from us, but because it’s generally best to skip the middle-man and go right to the source for support. With so many options to choose from, there may be technical requirements or troubleshooting steps that we simply aren’t privy to.
While your building may offer public WiFi hotspot, ResTech strongly recommends setting up a personal router if you have an ethernet connection in your unit. A personal network provides better security, reliability, and performance. Your dedicated connection won’t be affected by neighbors, and troubleshooting is much simpler.
Placement Matters.Multi-unit buildings have significant interference from dozens of nearby networks. Place your router centrally in your unit, elevated on a shelf, away from windows and metal objects.
Use the 5GHz Band. The 2.4GHz frequency is extremely crowded in apartments. Use dual-band routers and connect to 5GHz whenever possible for better performance and less interference. Keep 2.4GHz available only for older devices that don’t support 5GHz.
Match Equipment to Your Speed. Your devices and router must support your internet plan speed.
An outdated router or device will limit speeds and capability regardless of your chosen service plan.
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) for speeds 500 Mbps and above
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) for speeds 100-500 Mbps
Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) for speeds up to 100 Mbps
Restart Monthly. Unplug your router for 30 seconds once a month to clear cached data and maintain optimal performance. Restart devices weekly if experiencing slowness.
- Budget-friendly options include TP-Link Archer AX21 and ASUS RT-AX1800S ($50-80)
- For better performance, consider TP-Link Archer AX55 or ASUS RT-AX58U ($100-150)
- For larger units, mesh systems like TP-Link Deco X55 provide whole-home coverage
- Look for Wi-Fi 6 support, dual-band capability, and gigabit ethernet ports
- Slow speeds despite high-speed plan? Check device compatibility and router age.
- Intermittent disconnections? Optimize router placement and switch to 5GHz.
- General slowness? Restart equipment and disconnect unused devices.
- For gamers and streamers, use ethernet cables whenever possible for lowest latency.
- Security tip: Change default router password immediately and enable WPA3 encryption.