How to troubleshoot Plusnet internet speed problems

Before you begin troubleshooting the performance of your Plusnet internet connection, we suggest that you perform a Plusnet Internet Speedtest to benchmark your current broadband speed.

It is a good idea to also confirm the minimum download speed that you on your broadband package from Plusnet.

You can get this information by checking your Plusnet broadband bill, your Plusnet contract or by contacting Plusnet.

Potential causes of Plusnet’s slow broadband performance

Is it your Plusnet broadband that is running slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

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

The performance issue could be due to the over-utilisation of your system resources i.e RAM/memory/CPU and as opposed to a problem with Plusnet’s broadband connection.

If you are on a computer then you can use the task manager to see your CPU and Memory usage.

On any other device, you could try restarting the device which hopefully should shutdown all applications that may be hogging your device resources.

Run the Plusnet Speed test on your computer and your mobile to check how the speed test results compare between the two devices.

Hopefully this should give you more info to work with in terms of whether the problem lies with your PC/Smartphone or the Plusnet internet connection.

• What exactly does the Plusnet download and upload speed mean?
• Who’s the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• 5 ways to improve your Plusnet Internet speed
• DNS tip to speed up internet browsing speed on Plusnet

Is your Wifi the problem?

The cause of the performance problem could be your Wifi network and not the Plusnet broadband internet connection.

You could rule out the Wifi by simply connecting your PC directly into the Plusnet broadband router with an ethernet cable and run the Plusnet Speedtest again.

If the speed checker result is better when you are connected using a network cable, this suggests that the issue could be with your internal wireless network.

Possible things to check:

• Are the Wireless channels that you’re using for your Wifi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is the wireless signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does the performance get better when you’re standing directly in-front of the Plusnet broadband router?

Who’s connected to my Wi-Fi network?

Have you checked that your Wifi network password has not been hacked? Do you have an un-secured Wifi network? How secure is your wireless network password? It may be time to update it.

Neighbors could be using your Wifi network and eating up all your Plusnet bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your Plusnet internet connection! Worse than that, they could be conducting illegal activities on your Plusnet broadband connection.

Here are three apps that you can use to analyse your wireless network to check who is connected:

• Microsoft users can use Wireless network watcher
• IOS users can use whoFi (who is on my Wifi)
• wireless network troubleshooting application WiFi Analyzer

The above applications scan your Wifi network and produce a list of the devices connected.

• How to see who is on your Plusnet Wifi network

Do I need a Wifi booster for my Plusnet broadband?

You may find that there are wireless black spots in your home, a wireless network extender also known as a wireless Booster may be the best fix to strengthen your wireless signal to cover any black holes.

• Best Wifi Signal Boosters

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

Place the wireless network extender where your wireless network signal from your Plusnet internet router is starting to become weaker.

Place it near where your Wifi network signal drops down to two signal bars. Walk around your house with a smartphone to find where this location is.

When did you last upgrade the Plusnet broadband router?

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

The majority of Plusnet broadband routers allow you to carry out the software upgrade by simply logging into the Plusnet broadband router and simply clicking a button to perform the upgrade.

If you cannot do this, get in touch with Plusnet and they will do this for you or talk you through the process.

As well as upgrading the software, if you have had the same router for a long period, it’s probably worth talking to Plusnet to ask for a hardware upgrade.

Is the cause of the problem external to your home (at the exchange)?

This is probably the most common cause for Plusnet broadband performance problems in your area and it’s more common with internet broadband connections that are delivered using copper phone lines.

If you’re unsure if this is relevant in your case, contact Plusnet who will be able to conduct the appropriate connection checks to check if there is a fault on the Plusnet internet line.

Is the performance issue due to Plusnet Internet congestion?

If you’re finding that the Plusnet internet connection speed in your area is slow during certain periods i.e. over weekends and during the evening, it may be due to congestion during peak times.

• What is Broadband Contention Ratio and does Plusnet have contention?

You should contact Plusnet to find out your minimum speed.

Find Best Alternatives to Plusnet Broadband

 

Test your Plusnet broadband connection

After the problem has been fixed either by yourself or Plusnet, retest the internet connection using  at least 2 separate Speedtests to ensure the issue is fixed:

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