Troubleshooting EE broadband performance issues

Before you start troubleshooting the performance of your EE broadband connection, we suggest that you run a EE Internet Speedtest to benchmark your current broadband speed.

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

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

Likely causes of EE’s slow internet performance

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

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

The performance issue could be due to over-utilization of your system resources e.g Memory/CPU and not a problem with EE’s internet connection.

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

On other device, you should try rebooting the device which hopefully will terminate all apps that may be using up your systems resources.

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

Hopefully this should provide you with more information to help determine if the problem is with your PC/Smartphone or the EE internet connection.

• What exactly does the EE download and upload speed mean?
• Who’s the best Broadband Service Provider in the UK?
• Five methods to speed up your EE broadband performance
• DNS hack to improve internet browsing speed on EE

Is the Wi-Fi network the cause of the issue?

The root cause of the performance problem may be your Wifi as opposed to the EE internet connection.

You can rule out the wireless by simply connecting your PC directly to the EE broadband router with an ethernet cable and run the EE Speedtest again.

If the result improves when you are connected by an ethernet cable, this proves that the issue could be with your wireless.

A number of things to check:

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

Exactly who’s connected to my wireless network?

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

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

Here are three apps to use to analyze your Wi-Fi network to see who’s connected:

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

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

• How to see who is on your EE Wifi network

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

If you find that there are wireless coverage gaps at your property, a wireless network extender also known as a Wi-Fi Booster may be the best solution to boost your wireless signal to cover any black spots.

• Best Wi-Fi Signal Extenders

The wireless network extender picks up your existing Wifi signal as it is becoming weaker and re-transmits the wireless network signal to increase it’s coverage.

Position the Wifi network booster near where your Wifi network signal from your EE broadband router is becoming weaker.

Place it approximately where your Wi-Fi network signal drops down to 2 signal bars. Walk around your house with a smartphone to determine where this location is.

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

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

Most EE internet routers allow you to carry out the software update by simply logging into the EE broadband router and simply clicking a button to do the upgrade.

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

As well as upgrading the software, if you have had router for a long time, it’s worth talking to EE to ask for a hardware upgrade.

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

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

If you are unsure if this is relevant in your case, you should contact EE who will be able to run the appropriate line tests to see if there is a fault on the EE internet line.

Is the performance issue due to EE broadband congestion?

If you’re finding that the EE internet connection speed in your area is slow during certain times e.g over weekends and during the evening, it may be because of congestion during peak times.

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

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

Re-testing your EE internet connection

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

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