How to troubleshoot Ask4 internet speed issues

Before you begin troubleshooting the performance of your Ask4 broadband connection, we suggest that you perform a Ask4 Internet Speed Test to measure your current internet speed.

It is a good idea to also confirm the guaranteed minimum download speed that you are paying for from Ask4.

You can find this info by checking your Ask4 broadband bill, your Ask4 contract or by contacting Ask4.

Likely causes of Ask4’s slow internet speed

Is it your Ask4 internet connection that is running slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

You need to consider how many apps are currently running on your device.

The speed issue may be due to over-utilisation of your device’s resources e.g RAM/memory/CPU and as opposed to an issue with Ask4’s internet connection.

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

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

Run the Ask4 Speedtest on your computer and your phone to see how the speedtest results compare between the 2 devices.

Hopefully this should give you more info to work with in terms of whether the problem lies with your PC/Smartphone or the Ask4 broadband connection.

• What exactly does the Ask4 download and upload speed mean?
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• 5 methods to speed up your Ask4 Internet speed
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Is the Wifi network the cause of the slowness?

The cause of the performance issue may be your Wi-Fi network as opposed to the Ask4 broadband internet connection.

You can rule out the wireless network by simply connecting your computer directly to the Ask4 broadband router with a network cable and then run the Ask4 Speed checker again.

If the speed test result is better when you’re connected by a network cable, this suggests that the problem may be with the Wifi.

A number of things to look further into:

• Are the Wireless channels that you are using for your wireless network network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbors?
• Is the Wi-Fi network signal from the wireless router obstructed?
• Does the performance improve when your are stood directly in-front of the Ask4 broadband router?

Who’s connected to my wireless network?

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

Others could be on your wireless network and using up all your Ask4 speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video over your Ask4 internet connection! Worse than that, they could be conducting illegal activities using your Ask4 broadband connection.

There are three apps that you can potentially use to analyse your Wi-Fi network to see who’s connected:

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

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

• How to check who is on your Ask4 wireless network

Should I get a Wifi network booster for my Ask4 broadband?

You may discover that you have Wifi coverage gaps in your house, a Wi-Fi network extender also known as a Wifi Booster is the best fix to strengthen your Wi-Fi signal to cover any black holes.

• Best Wi-Fi Signal Boosters

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

Place the wireless network booster/extender near the position where your Wifi signal from your Ask4 internet router is starting to become weaker.

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

When was the last time you upgraded the Ask4 broadband router?

The Ask4 and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently upgraded to support new features and improve reliability as technology evolves.  Ensure that your Ask4 broadband internet router is running the latest software.

Most Ask4 broadband routers allow you to perform the software upgrade by simply logging into the Ask4 broadband router and simply clicking a button to perform the upgrade.

If you cannot do this, get in touch with Ask4 and they will perform the upgrade for you or alternatively, guide you through performing the upgrade yourself.

As well as updating the software, if you have had the same router for a long time, it may be worth talking to Ask4 to request for a hardware upgrade.

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

This is probably the most common cause for Ask4 broadband performance issues in your property and it’s more common with internet broadband connections that are delivered through phone lines.

If you are unsure if this is applicable to you, you should contact Ask4 who will be able to conduct the relevant line checks to see if there is a fault on the Ask4 internet line.

Is it because of Ask4 Internet congestion?

If you’re finding that the Ask4 internet connection speed in your area is slows down during certain times e.g weekends or during the evening, then it may be because of congestion during peak hours.

• What is Broadband Contention Ratio and does Ask4 have contention?

You should contact Ask4 to find out your minimum speed.

Re-testing your Ask4 internet connection

After the problem has been resolved either by yourself or Ask4, retest the internet connection using  at least 2 independent Speedtests to ensure the problem is resolved:

• • How to the ookla internet broadband speed checker to test your Ask4 connection
  • Test your Ask4 connection speed using Ookla Offical Speed Test
  • Test your Ask4 internet connectionspeed using fast.com speed test
  • Check My Broadband Speed Checker Ask4 broadband speed checker
  • • 0845UK Broadband Speed Checker and troubleshooting