It won't work properly! Troubleshooting your broadband connection

Whether it's slow, intermittent, or not working at all, there are few things more frustrating than a dodgy fixed-line internet connection! Hopefully we can get your wayward web connection back on track. If you're having trouble with your mobile broadband connection, you should head over to our mobile broadband help and guides. 

My broadband is down or intermittent

If your fixed-line broadband connection has gone down completely, or is intermittent, chances are you will need to contact your internet service provider (ISP) immediately. However, if your telephone landline is also down and you still have it supplied separately by BT and not your ISP, it is well worth contacting them first. If you're not sure of the technical support number or opening times of a particular company, you can check all of the major ones in our guide to customer and technical support.

Before you call them though, it's worth checking a couple of things. Firstly, is your hardware connected via the telephone master socket? Problems with internal wiring (or telephone extension cables) are a common reason for broadband internet and telephone faults, so be sure to test this first: if you only have one telephone socket in the house, that's the master. If you have more than one, the master will be the one with a company logo on it (BT, Virgin Media, NTL, etc). If you have more than one, and are not connecting your internet connection directly through the master, do so now to test it - it may seem like a hassle, but it's important to check - for example, if you call out an engineer for free who then finds out it is a problem with internal wiring and not the ISP, you may be liable to an expensive call out fee.

Secondly, if your phone line is working but your internet isn't, you may have a fault with your microfilter (pictured above and also known as a splitter). If you have a spare, try to replace the one you're using and see if that solves the problem. Also, it's worth fitting a microfilter to any phone extensions that are used (whether for burglar alarms, Sky boxes, etc) as these can cause problems even if the master socket has a microfilter. 

My broadband seems slow

If your broadband connection seems slow, you can test it first by using our free  speedtest. We suggest you do series of tests, at different times of the day and on different days of the week (weekdays, weekends, etc). We also have a guide that explains broadband upload and download speeds in more detail.

If your broadband comes through a BT telephone line (so is ADSL or ADSL2+) you can check what maximum speed your line should be capable of here. Cable customers should normally get close to the 'up to' speed advertised for your Virgin Media package. It is important that you see this speed as a maximum and not the speed you should expect to get on a regular basis. This is because a number of factors can affect your broadband speed.

Multiple machines
The speed you line is capable will be shared by all the machines in your home. If you are running three or four machines on the one connection at once, your speed could suffer significantly.

Multiple users
In the same way your connection is being shared around your home, once it leaves your house it is also being shared with your neighbours. This is one of the reasons why we suggest you do multiple speed tests: with most broadband packages, you can't expect to get the same speeds all of the time, as more people sharing at peak times means slower speeds. 

Wireless router
Using a wireless router will slow down your connection somewhat, compared to using a wired router. Before making a complaint, it is worth checking your connection through a wire if possible. Wireless routers can easily be connected via wires too, so this shouldn't be a problem as long as you can get your machine plugged in near enough to your router.

While Wi-Fi is both convenient and tidy, a drop in speed compared to wired is pretty much inevitable: you will lose speed due to interference, as well as to the fact the signal needs to be checked by the security protocol as it is sent and received over your secure network.  

Old wireless modem/router
There are various classifications of wireless routers than can handle different speeds. If you have an older router, but have upgraded to a faster broadband service, your old wireless router may not be able to pump the signal through fast enough. As a rough guide, wireless-B can support around 5-6Mb, wireless-G around 20Mb and wireless-N around 100Mb. You may be paying for a whiz-bang broadband connection, but it will still be reduced to the speed the weakest component you're using can cope with.

Traffic shaping
Also known as 'throttling', this is a broadband slowing method employed by a number of ISPs, including the likes of Virgin Media, BT and TalkTalk. It can be done in two ways: either as a permanent part of the service, or as a punishment for repeated heavy usage by customers. Check whether your ISP's terms and conditions mention traffic shaping, as this should list the times when the service may be throttled. If your ISP only employs traffic shaping as a punishment, you may want to review whether you're downloading an excessive amount of data and discuss this directly with your ISP - it may be time to move to a different deal.