What would you like help with?

Sometimes the amount of traffic on the network can cause slowness, or an individual website may be 'slow', but if you're suffering from a consistently poor connection speed on all the websites you visit, here are some things to try -

Check that all wires to your Wi-fi Hub are firmly connected

Use the main telephone socket -

Try to connect your Wi-fi Hub directly to your home's main telephone socket, with a microfilter connected in-between the two.

Don't use an extension telephone socket if it can be avoided - using an extension telephone socket will increase the chances of receiving electrical interference.

You can consider connecting your computer wirelessly to your Wi-fi Hub, instead.

Avoid heavy traffic -

The speed of your Internet connection depends on a number of factors - one important factor is how many other people are using the network in your house, and another important factor is whether it is a 'peak period' or not. The peak period is around 5pm to 12 midnight.

So, for example, if someone uses peer-to-peer software in your household, they can schedule their internet use at times when other people aren't using the internet.
Is your computer powerful enough? -

Generally, the more powerful computer that you have then the faster your browsing experience will be. For us to provide the Broadband Service, you must have a fully working and licensed personal computer.

Keep your Wi-fi Hub away from sources of electrical interference -

Common household electrical items can affect your broadband speed -

So make sure that your Wi-fi Hub is placed at least five feet away from any of these -

Dimmer switches
Stereo or computer speakers
Christmas Tree lights
Halogen desk lamps
Televisions and monitors
900MHz cordless telephones
AC Mains cords.

Clear your browser's cache -

Slow web pages can also be caused by a full cache of web pages or incorrect settings in Internet Explorer. To clear the cache, improve speed and also restore your default settings -

Open Internet Explorer

Click on Tools in the top menu

Select Internet Options

On the General tab, click on Delete Files and then click OK

Click on the Advanced tab at the top

Click on Restore Defaults

Click on Apply, then click on OK

Restart the computer and try again.
Pause any background downloads -
If you are downloading video, music, or other files, then your connection will slow down - and consequently, browsing the web may be a slower experience. To improve your broadband connection speed pause the download, and resume it at a later time.

Check for Spyware / Adware -
Are there any programs running in the background which may be affecting your connection speed? Viruses, spyware and some adware are together known as malware (short for "malicious software"). These programs can get on to your computer without your knowledge and run in the background while using up resources.

Click here to find out more about spyware/adware and how to remove it.

Check your firewall -
Have you raised the "security level" or equivalent setting on your firewall software? If you have it set to a very high security level this may give the appearance of a slower connection. This is because when the security level is high your firewall software will be closely examining everything being downloaded to your computer, which takes time. This is a matter of personal choice, but you may wish to consider lowering the security level to the default or normal setting in order to speed things up.

Also, check that you are only running one firewall and one antivirus program. Running more than one of each can cause processor overload and incorrect message reporting on intruder detection, hacker attacks, and more commonly virus reporting.

If you're using a computer, you can test the speed of your broadband by clicking here.

Please make sure you enter your phone number at the beginning of the speed test so we can note this on your account.

To make your speed test more accurate, we recommend you connect your computer to your Wi-fi Hub by an ethernet cable when you run the test. Running these tests at different times of the day will help us to identify any patterns. If you're having trouble using the speed test, just give us a call and we'll run through this with you.

We work out the speed we expect you to receive from the telephone number or address that you give us. The actual speed you receive can be affected by a number of factors.

The speed available on your line can be affected by:

How far your property is from the telephone exchange or street cabinet.
The quality of your telephone line and internal wiring.
The actual speed you receive can be affected by:

The processing power of your PC / devices.
How many people are sharing your broadband connection.
Whether you use a wireless or cable connection between your Wi-fi Hub and PC, laptop or other connected devices.
If using a wireless connection; where you keep your Wi-fi Hub.
The speed of websites that you visit.
If you connect at peak times, such as evenings, weekends or major sporting events.
Network capacity.

Introduced in 2010 by Ofcom, the code was set up to make sure people get clearer information about the speeds on any broadband service they're thinking about buying. It's also designed to protect consumers when the speeds they receive don't match up to what they were promised before buying.

Ofcom and all the Internet Service Providers agreed on a new version of this code, which came into effect on 1 October 2015.

If you've followed our troubleshooting steps and you're still having problems with your speed, please call our Technical Support team on 03330 165 185.

You'll find more information about the Terms and Conditions relating to the speed of the broadband we supply in the Broadband Speeds Codes of Practice.