How to troubleshoot AOL broadband performance problems

Before starting to troubleshoot the speed of your AOL internet connection, we suggest that you perform a AOL Broadband Speedtest to benchmark your current broadband speed.

It is also a good idea find out the guaranteed minimum download speed you have subscribed to from AOL.

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

Common causes of AOL’s slow internet performance

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

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

The performance issue could be due to over-utilisation of your system resources i.e Memory/CPU Processor and as opposed to an issue with AOL’s internet connection.

If you are on a laptop then you may use the task manager to check your CPU and RAM utilization.

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

Re-run the AOL Speedtest on your personal computer and your phone to see how the speed test results compare between the 2 devices.

Hopefully this should give you more information to work with in terms of if the issue is with your device or the AOL internet connection.

• What does the AOL download and upload speed mean?
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• Five methods to speed up your AOL Internet speed
• DNS hack to improve internet browsing speed on AOL

Is the Wifi the issue?

The root cause of the performance problem could be your wireless and not the AOL broadband internet connection.

You could rule out the wireless network by connecting your computer directly into the AOL broadband router with a network cable and then run the AOL Speedtest again.

If the performance is better when you’re connected via a network cable, this indicates that the issue may be with your internal wireless network.

A few other things to look further into:

• Are the Wireless channels that you’re using for your Wi-Fi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is your Wifi signal from the internet router obstructed?
• Does the performance improve when you’re stood right in-front of the AOL wireless router?

Who is connected to my Wi-Fi network?

Have you checked that your wireless network password has not been shared? Do you have an open Wifi network? How complex is your wireless network password? It may be time to change it.

Neighbors could be on your Wifi network and eating up all your AOL speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or videos on your AOL internet connection! Worse than that, they could be conducting illegal activities on your AOL internet connection.

Here are 3 apps to utlise to analyse your wireless network to see who’s connected:

• Microsoft Windows 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 will scan your wireless network and show you a list of the everything on your wifi.

• How to check who is on your AOL wireless network

Should I get a Wifi network booster for my AOL broadband?

If you find that there are Wi-Fi coverage holes in your property, a wireless extender also known as a Wi-Fi Booster is the best solution to boost your wireless signal to cover any coverage holes.

• Best Wi-Fi Signal Boosters

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

Position the Wifi booster/extender near where your wireless network signal from the AOL broadband router is becoming weaker.

Place it near where your Wifi network signal drops down to less than 2 signal bars. Walk around your home with a smartphone to find where this is.

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

The AOL and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently upgraded to provide new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Ensure that your AOL broadband router is running on the latest software.

Most AOL broadband routers allow you to perform the software update by simply logging on the AOL broadband router and simply clicking a button to start the update.

If you can’t do this, get in touch with AOL and they will do this for you or guide you through performing the upgrade yourself.

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

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

This is probably the most common reason for AOL broadband performance issues in your home and it’s more common with internet broadband connections that are delivered using phone lines.

If you are unsure if this is applicable to you, you should contact AOL who should be able to run the relevant line tests to check if there is a issue on the AOL broadband connection.

Is the issue due to AOL Internet congestion?

If you’re finding that the AOL broadband connection speed in your area is slows down during certain times i.e. over weekends or during the evening, then it may be due to congestion during peak times.

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

You should speak to AOL to check your minimum speed.

Find Best Alternatives to AOL Broadband

 

Test your AOL internet connection

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

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