Troubleshooting Boundless broadband performance problems

Before starting to troubleshoot the performance of your Boundless internet connection, we suggest that you perform a Boundless Internet Speedtest to confirm your current internet speed.

You may also want to find out the minimum download speed you are paying for from Boundless.

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

Potential causes of Boundless’s slow internet performance

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

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

The speed problem may be due to over-utilization of your device’s resources i.e RAM/CPU Processor and as opposed to an issue with Boundless’s broadband connection.

If you’re on a laptop then you can use the task manager to see your Processor and RAM usage.

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

Run the Boundless Speed checker on your personal computer and your phone to check how the results compare between the 2 devices.

Hopefully this should provide you with some info to work with in terms of whether the problem lies with your device or the Boundless broadband connection.

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

Is the Wifi the reason for the issues?

The root cause of the performance issue may be your wireless as opposed to the Boundless broadband internet connection.

You could rule out the Wifi network by simply connecting your PC directly to the Boundless broadband router with a network cable and then run the Boundless Speed checker again.

If the performance improves when you’re connected via a network cable, this proves that the issue may be with your wireless network.

Possible things to look further into:

• Are the WiFi channels that you’re using for your Wi-Fi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbors?
• Is your Wifi signal from the wireless router obstructed?
• Does the performance get better when you’re standing right infront of the Boundless wireless router?

Who’s connected to my Wi-Fi network?

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

Others could be on your Wi-Fi network and eating up all the Boundless speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or videos over your Boundless broadband connection! Worse still, they may be conducting illegal activities using your Boundless broadband connection.

There are 3 apps that you can use to scan your wireless network to check who’s connected:

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

The above applications analyse your Wifi network and show you a list of the devices connected.

• How to see who’s on your Boundless Wifi network

Should I get a wireless network booster for my Boundless broadband?

You may discover that there are Wi-Fi coverage holes at your property, a Wi-Fi network extender aka a wireless Booster is the best fix to boost your wireless signal to cover any coverage gaps.

• Best Wi-Fi Signal Boosters

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

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

Position it approximately where your Wifi signal drops down to two bars. Walk around your house with a mobile phone to try and establish where this location is.

When did you last upgrade the Boundless broadband router?

The Boundless and broadband infrastructure, in general, are constantly updated to provide new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Ensure that the Boundless broadband router is running the latest software.

The majority of Boundless broadband routers will allow you to perform the software upgrade by logging on the Boundless broadband router and simply clicking a button to start the update.

If you cannot do this, contact Boundless and they will be able to perform the upgrade for you or talk you through the process.

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

Is the root cause of the issue outside your property (at the exchange)?

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

If you are not sure if this is relevant in your case, contact Boundless who will be able to run the relevant connection checks to see if there is a problem on the Boundless broadband line.

Is the performance issue because of Boundless broadband congestion?

If you are finding that the Boundless broadband connection speed in your area is slows down during certain periods e.g weekends or during the evening, then it may be due to congestion during peak hours.

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

You should contact Boundless to check your minimum speed.

Test your Boundless broadband connection

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

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