How to troubleshoot C4L internet performance problems

Before you begin troubleshooting the speed of your C4L internet connection, we suggest that you run a C4L Internet Speedtest to confirm your current connection speed.

Also confirm the guaranteed minimum download speed that you are paying for from C4L.

You can find this information by checking a C4L broadband bill, your C4L contract or by contacting C4L.

Potential causes of C4L’s slow internet performance

Is it your C4L broadband that is slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

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

The speed problem may be due to the over-utilization of your system resources i.e RAM/CPU and not a problem with C4L’s broadband connection.

If you’re on a computer then you may use the task manager to check your Processor and RAM utilisation.

On other device, you should try rebooting the device which should hopefully kill all programs that may have been using up system resources.

Re-run the C4L Speed test on your computer and your phone to check how the speedtest results differ between the two devices.

This should hopefully give you some information to work with in terms of if the issue lies with your device or the C4L internet connection.

• What does the C4L download and upload speed mean?
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• 5 tips to improve your C4L broadband performance
• Simple DNS tip to improve internet browsing speed on C4L

Is the wireless the cause of the slowness?

The root cause of the performance issue may be your Wi-Fi network as opposed to the C4L broadband connection.

You could rule out the Wifi network by simply connecting your computer directly into the C4L broadband router using an ethernet cable and then run the C4L Speedtest again.

If the speed checker result improves when you are connected by an ethernet cable, this indicates that the problem may be with your Wi-Fi network.

A number of things to investigate:

• Are the WiFi channels that you’re using for your Wi-Fi network network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbours?
• Is the wireless network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does the speed get better when your are standing directly in-front of the C4L broadband router?

Exactly who’s connected to my Wifi network?

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

Neighbors could be using your Wifi network and eating up all the C4L bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or videos on your C4L internet connection! Worse still, they may be conducting illegal activities using your C4L broadband connection.

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

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

The above software scan your Wi-Fi network and show you a list of the devices connected.

• How to check who’s on your C4L Wifi network

Should I get a Wifi network booster for my C4L broadband?

If you find that you have Wi-Fi black spots in your house, a wireless network extender aka a wireless Booster may be the best fix to boost your Wi-Fi signal to cover any black spots.

• Best Wifi Signal Boosters

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

Place the Wi-Fi network booster/extender where your Wifi network signal from your C4L broadband router is becoming weaker.

Place it approximately where your wireless signal is dropping down to 2 bars. Walk around your home with a tablet to find where this is.

When did you last upgrade the C4L broadband router?

The C4L and broadband infrastructure, in general, are constantly updated to support new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Ensure that the C4L internet router is running the most up to date software.

Most C4L internet routers allow you to perform the software upgrade by simply logging on the C4L broadband router and simply clicking on a button to start the update.

If you can’t do this, get in touch with C4L and they will be able to perform the upgrade for you or alternatively, guide you through the process.

In addition to updating the software, if you have had the same hardware for a long time, it’s probably worth talking to C4L to ask for a hardware upgrade.

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

This is probably the most likely reason for C4L broadband performance issues in your area and is more common for broadband connections that are delivered through copper phone lines.

If you’re unsure if this is relevant in your case, contact C4L who will be able to conduct the relevant line tests to check if there is a problem on the C4L internet connection.

Is it because of C4L Internet congestion?

If you’re finding that the C4L internet connection speed in your area is slows down during certain periods e.g weekends or evenings, then it may be because of congestion during peak hours.

• What’s Broadband Contention Ratio and does C4L have contention?

You should speak to C4L to check your guaranteed speed.

Find Best Alternatives to C4L Broadband

 

Test your C4L internet connection

After the fault has been resolved either by yourself or C4L, re-test the broadband connection using  at least two separate Speedtests to ensure the problem is fixed:

• • Use the ookla internet broadband speed test to test your C4L connection
  • Check your C4L internet speed using Ookla Offical Speed Test
  • Test your C4L broadbandspeed using fast.com speed test
  • Check My Broadband Speed Checker C4L internet speed checker
  • • 0845UK Internet Speed test and troubleshooting