Few things in life are as frustrating as settling down after a long day at work to binge your favorite show only to have your plan fail because of a slow connection. This becomes an even bigger issue when you have a whole family relying on a solid Netflix connection to enjoy a movie night. With more people than ever cutting the cord and streaming from services like Netflix, having a consistent, fast internet connection is crucial.

Here are some of the easiest ways to improve your Netflix speed and get the most from your streaming experience.

1. Make sure your connection is fast enough

Let’s start in the most obvious place—your internet connection. Video streaming is one of the most bandwidth-testing activities around, and if your connection is too slow, you never get the kind of speed and quality you want from a service like Netflix. To stream from Netflix in HD, you’ll want a minimum connection speed of 5 Mbps.

That might seem low as the most commonly advertised speed is 10 Mbps, but keep in mind that’s the minimum recommended speed. Also, consider how many devices are streaming at once—you need at least 5 Mbps for each device online, so if you have two tablets and a computer regularly streaming, you should have a connection of at least 15 Mbps.

2. Check your actual internet speed

It’s not uncommon for your actual internet speeds to be much lower than what your provider advertises. This fact isn’t necessarily shady advertising, though. Your internet speed might be lower than you expect for a number of reasons, including hardware problems and traffic congestion. For example, an old wireless router may not support newer protocols that allow for higher bandwidth.

You can temporarily bypass this limitation by plugging directly into your ISP’s modem with an Ethernet cable. Although it’s getting rare, many laptops still come with Ethernet ports, as do many streaming boxes.

If you’re not seeing the speeds you think you should be, it might be worth giving your ISP a call. They can help you check hardware configurations or let you know if too many people in your neighborhood are online at once, lowering the available bandwidth.

3. Run a virus scan

If you experience consistent connection problems, it could be a sign that your computer is infected with malware. An unwanted program on your computer connecting to the internet and sending information in the background can eat up your bandwidth without being obvious. Run a quick virus scan on your system just to be sure (Malwarebytes is a great option). Ideally, you should be doing this on a semiregular basis, but if you’re not, there’s no time like the present!

4. Adjust your Netflix settings

Many people may not realize that internal settings for Netflix can adjust the quality of a stream. The higher quality, the more data is required. Unless you have great internet, trying to force the stream at the highest settings may cause big slowdowns. Try turning the settings down to get a faster, more consistent stream. Incidentally, if your internet plan has a low data cap, this can be a good way to save data without changing your viewing habits.

These tips are easy and quick, but they can have a big impact on the quality of your streaming experience. Now that we've reached the end of the week, it's time to settle down with the fam and enjoy a much-deserved Netflix binge without buffering. Try these out today—you might be amazed at the difference.