How to troubleshoot Inmarsat broadband speed problems

Before starting to troubleshoot the speed of your Inmarsat broadband connection, we recommend that you perform a Inmarsat Internet Speedtest to benchmark your current connection speed.

Also find out the guaranteed minimum download speed you are paying for from Inmarsat.

You can get this info by checking a Inmarsat broadband bill, your Inmarsat contract or by contacting Inmarsat.

Likely causes of Inmarsat’s slow internet speed

Is it your Inmarsat broadband that is slow or is it your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

You need to check the number of apps are running on your device.

The speed issue could be due to over-utilization of your system resources e.g Memory/CPU Processor and not an issue with Inmarsat’s broadband connection.

If you’re on a laptop then you can use the task manager to check your Processor and Memory utilisation.

On other device, you should try restarting the device which should hopefully shutdown all applications that may have been using up your device resources.

Re-run the Inmarsat Speedtest on your computer and your mobile to see how the speed test results compare between the two devices.

This should hopefully give you some info to help determine if the issue is with your PC/Smartphone or the Inmarsat broadband connection.

• What exactly does the Inmarsat download and upload speed mean?
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• Simple DNS tip to improve internet browsing speed on Inmarsat

Is your wireless network the cause of the slowness?

The root cause of the performance issue could be your Wifi network and not the Inmarsat broadband connection.

You can rule out the wireless network by simply connecting your PC directly into the Inmarsat broadband router with a network cable and then run the Inmarsat Speed test again.

If the speed checker result is better when you’re connected via a network cable, this indicates that the issue could be with the internal wireless network.

A few other things to investigate:

• Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your Wifi network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbors?
• Is the wireless network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does the performance get better when your are stood right in-front of the Inmarsat internet router?

Who is connected to my Wi-Fi network?

Have you checked that your Wifi network password has not been hacked? Do you have an open Wi-Fi network? How strong is your wireless network password? It could be time to change it.

Others could be using your Wifi network and eating up all the Inmarsat bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your Inmarsat internet connection! Worse still, they could be conducting illegal activities on your Inmarsat broadband connection.

Here are 3 apps that you can use to analyze your Wifi network to check who is connected:

• Windows users can use Wireless network watcher
• MAC users can use whoFi (who is on my Wifi)
• Wireless scanning tool WiFi Analyzer

The above software will scan your wireless network and show you a list of the connected devices.

• How to see who is on your Inmarsat Wi-Fi network

Do I need a Wifi booster for my Inmarsat broadband?

If you find that you have Wifi black spots in your home, a wireless network extender aka a Wi-Fi Booster may be the best fix to boost your Wifi signal to cover any coverage gaps.

• Best Wifi Signal Boosters

The wireless extender simply picks up your existing wireless signal as it is starting to become weaker and re-transmits the Wifi signal to extend it’s reach.

Place the Wifi network booster/extender where your Wi-Fi network signal from the Inmarsat internet router is becoming weaker.

Position it approximately where your Wifi network signal is dropping down to two bars. Walk around your house with a tablet to determine where this is.

When was the last time you upgraded the Inmarsat broadband router?

The Inmarsat and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently upgraded to support new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Ensure that the Inmarsat internet router is running on the most up to date software.

Most Inmarsat internet routers will allow you to carry out the software upgrade by simply logging into the Inmarsat broadband router and simply clicking on a button to do the update.

If you can’t do this, get in touch with Inmarsat and they will be able to perform the upgrade for you or alternatively, guide you through the process.

As well as updating the software, if you have had the same router for a long time, it is worth speaking to Inmarsat to ask for a router upgrade.

Is the issue external to your home (at the exchange)?

This is probably the most common cause for Inmarsat broadband performance problems in your home and it’s more common for broadband connections that are delivered via copper phone lines.

If you’re not sure if this is relevant in your case, contact Inmarsat who should be able to run the appropriate line tests to see if there is a fault on the Inmarsat broadband connection.

Is it due to Inmarsat Internet congestion?

If you’re finding that the Inmarsat internet connection speed in your area is slows down during certain periods e.g weekends and evenings, it may be because of congestion during peak hours.

• What’s Broadband Contention Ratio and does Inmarsat have contention?

You should contact Inmarsat to check your minimum speed.

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Re-testing your Inmarsat broadband connection

After the problem has been resolved either by yourself or Inmarsat, retest your internet connection using  at least two separate Speedtests to ensure the fault is resolved:

• • How to the ookla internet broadband speed checker to test your Inmarsat connection
  • Check your Inmarsat internet speed using Ookla Offical Speed Test
  • Test your Inmarsat internet connectionspeed using fast.com speed test
  • Check My Broadband Speed Checker Inmarsat broadband speed checker
  • • 0845UK Broadband Speedtest and troubleshooting