How to troubleshoot Unicom broadband speed issues

Before you begin troubleshooting the performance of your Unicom internet connection, we recommend that you run a Unicom Internet Speedtest to measure your current broadband speed.

Also find out the guaranteed minimum download speed that you have subscribed to from Unicom.

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

Likely causes of Unicom’s slow broadband performance

Is it your Unicom internet connection that is running slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

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

The performance issue could be due to the over-utilisation of your device’s resources i.e Memory/CPU and not an issue with Unicom’s internet connection.

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

On any other device, you should try restarting the device which hopefully should kill all programs that may be using up your device resources.

Run the Unicom 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 some info to help determine whether the issue lies with your PC/Smartphone or the Unicom internet connection.

• What exactly does the Unicom download and upload speed mean?
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• Five tips to improve your Unicom Internet performance
• Simple DNS hack to improve internet browsing speed on Unicom

Is the Wifi network the cause of the slowness?

The cause of the performance problem may be your internal Wifi network as opposed to the Unicom broadband internet connection.

You can rule out the Wifi by connecting your computer directly into the Unicom broadband router using a network cable and then run the Unicom Speed test again.

If the speed is better when you are connected using a network cable, this suggests that the problem may be with your Wifi.

A number of things to investigate:

• Are the Wireless channels that you are using for your Wifi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is the Wifi network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does your performance get better when your are stood right infront of the Unicom wireless router?

Exactly who’s connected to my wireless network?

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

Others could be using your Wi-Fi network and using up all the Unicom speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video over your Unicom broadband connection! Worse still, they could be carrying out illegal activities on your Unicom broadband connection.

There are 3 applications that you can utlise to analyze your wireless network to check who is connected:

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

The above applications will scan your wireless network and show you a list of the everything on your wifi.

• How to check who’s on your Unicom Wifi network

Do I need a Wifi network booster for my Unicom broadband?

If you discover that there are wireless black holes at your home, a wireless extender aka a wireless Booster is the best solution to strengthen your Wifi signal to cover any black spots.

• Cheapest Wireless Signal Boosters

The wireless network booster simply picks up the existing Wi-Fi network signal just as it is becoming weaker and re-transmits the wireless network signal to extend it’s reach.

Place the Wifi network extender near the position where your wireless network signal from your Unicom internet router is becoming weaker.

Position it approximately where your Wifi signal drops down to 2 bars. Walk around your property with a tablet to determine where this location is.

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

The Unicom and broadband infrastructure, in general, are constantly upgraded to support new features and improve reliability as technology evolves.  Always ensure that the Unicom internet router is running on the most up-to-date software.

The majority of Unicom internet routers will allow you to carry out the software upgrade by simply logging into the Unicom broadband router and simply clicking a button to do the upgrade.

If you cannot do this, get in touch with Unicom and they will be able to do this for you or alternatively, talk you through the process.

As well as updating the software, if you have had router for a long time, it’s worth talking to Unicom to ask for a hardware upgrade.

Is the problem outside your property (at the exchange)?

This is probably the most likely cause for Unicom broadband performance issues in your home and it’s more common with broadband connections that are delivered using copper phone lines.

If you are not sure if this is applicable to you, you should contact Unicom who should be able to carry out the appropriate line checks to check if there is a problem on the Unicom broadband connection.

Is the performance issue because of Unicom Internet congestion?

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

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

You should speak to Unicom to find out your guaranteed speed.

Find Best Alternatives to Unicom Broadband

 

Test your Unicom broadband connection

After the problem has been resolved either by yourself or Unicom, retest the broadband connection using  at least 2 independent Speedtests to ensure the fault is fixed:

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