How to troubleshoot Breathe internet speed issues

Before starting to troubleshoot the performance of your Breathe internet connection, we recommend that you run a Breathe Internet Speed Test to benchmark your current broadband speed.

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

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

Possible causes of Breathe’s slow internet speed

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

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

The performance problem may be due to the over-utilization of your device’s resources i.e RAM/memory/CPU and as opposed to an issue with Breathe’s internet connection.

If you’re on a computer then you may use the task manager to see your CPU and Memory utilisation.

On any other device, you could try restarting the device which hopefully should kill all programs that may have been hogging system resources.

Re-run the Breathe Speed test on your computer and your mobile phone to check how the speedtest results compare between the 2 devices.

This should hopefully give you some information to work with in terms of if the issue lies with your device or the Breathe internet connection.

• What exactly does the Breathe download and upload speed mean?
• Who is the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• Five methods to speed up your Breathe Internet performance
• DNS tip to improve internet browsing speed on Breathe

Is the wireless the issue?

The root cause of the performance problem could be your Wifi and not the Breathe broadband connection.

You can rule out the wireless network by simply connecting your PC directly to the Breathe broadband router with a network cable and run the Breathe Speedtest again.

If the speed test result is better when you’re connected via an ethernet cable, this indicates that the issue may be with your wireless network.

Possible things to look further into:

• Are the Wireless channels that you are using for your Wifi network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbors?
• Is the Wifi signal from the internet router obstructed?
• Does the performance get better when your are stood directly in-front of the Breathe internet router?

Exactly who’s connected to my Wifi network?

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

Neighbors could be using your Wi-Fi network and eating up all your Breathe speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or videos over your Breathe internet connection! Worse than that, they could be conducting illegal activities on your Breathe internet connection.

Here are 3 applications to utlise 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)
• wifi network scanning application WiFi Analyzer

The above applications analyse your Wi-Fi network and produce a list of the devices connected.

• How to see who is on your Breathe wireless network

Do I need a wireless network booster for my Breathe broadband?

You may discover that you have Wifi coverage holes at your house, a wireless network extender aka a Wifi Booster may be the best fix to increase your Wifi signal to cover any black spots.

• Cheapest Wi-Fi Signal Boosters

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

Place the Wifi extender where your Wifi network signal from your Breathe broadband router is starting to become weaker.

Place it near where your Wifi network signal is dropping down to two signal bars. Walk around your house with a mobile phone to determine where this location is.

When was the last time you upgraded the Breathe internet router?

The Breathe and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently upgraded to support new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Always ensure that your Breathe broadband router is running the latest software.

Most Breathe broadband routers will allow you to carry out the software upgrade by logging on the Breathe broadband router and simply clicking a button to do the upgrade.

If you can’t do this, contact Breathe and they will be able to perform the upgrade for you or talk you through performing the upgrade yourself.

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

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

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

If you’re unsure if this is applicable to you, you should contact Breathe who will be able to run the relevant line checks to check if there is a issue on the Breathe internet line.

Is the issue due to Breathe broadband congestion?

If you are finding that the Breathe internet connection speed in your area is slow during certain periods e.g weekends or evenings, then it may be due to congestion during peak times.

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

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

Re-testing your Breathe broadband connection

After the issue has been resolved either by yourself or Breathe, retest the broadband connection using  at least two separate Speedtests to ensure the fault is fixed:

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