If your Wi-Fi is feeling a little sluggish today, it might not be a problem with your broadband service provider or the device on which you’re struggling to get a decent connection.

Without realising it, you could have technology in your house that is secretly slowing down your internet speeds, a problem that could be more noticeable over this week’s half term holiday.

That’s according to experts at comparison and switching firm Uswitch, which is issuing a warning to households currently in the midst of the school break on what to look out for if the Wi-Fi takes a speed hit when the kids are at home all day.

Uswitch is blaming increasingly common smart technology on the problem, citing gadgets such as smart TVs, video doorbells, smart speakers and robot vacuum cleaners as potential culprits.

“Unused gadgets and sensors are constantly talking to your router in the background, which can clog up your connection and cause frustrating buffering when you are trying to watch a movie or play a game,” said Max Beckett, broadband expert at Uswitch.

“As half term sees a surge in demand across UK households, it is important to know that Wi-Fi struggles are not just caused by too many people being online. Some devices take up bandwidth even when you haven’t touched them for days.”

These so-called “phantom devices” stay connected to the internet even if you aren’t using them. An example is a video doorbell that could be constantly uploading footage to the cloud, using up a lot of your Wi-Fi bandwidth.

If you live in an area where you can’t get fibre broadband, or are on an entry-level connection in terms of speed, you may notice this a lot more when you and the family are all at home trying to use your phones, tablets and laptops all at once.

New survey data from Uswitch found that the average household has 16 connected devices, while one in 10 had more than 30. It also found 50 percent of Brits have been frustrated with their Wi-Fi performance within the last three months.

38 percent of survey respondents were not aware that devices such as smart TVs, video doorbells and smart speakers can slow down home Wi-Fi even when not in use.

“Smart devices are becoming part of our daily lives, but it is easy to forget about old tablets, smart speakers, or smart plugs that are still plugged in and connected to your network,” Beckett said.

“Take a moment this week to do a quick digital spring clean. If there is a device you no longer use, or an old piece of tech lying in a drawer that is still switched on, disconnect it from your WiFi or power it down completely.

“A full fibre broadband connection is the safest way to avoid buffering, but simple steps like managing your connected devices and limiting how many people stream high-definition video at the same time can make a huge difference.”