How to troubleshoot Falconnet broadband performance problems

Before you begin troubleshooting the speed of your Falconnet internet connection, we suggest that you run a Falconnet Broadband Speedtest to measure your current broadband speed.

It is also a good idea confirm the guaranteed minimum download speed you have subscribed to from Falconnet.

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

Potential causes of Falconnet’s slow broadband speed

Is it your Falconnet broadband that is running slow or is it your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

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

The performance problem could be due to over-utilisation of your device’s resources e.g Memory/CPU Processor and as opposed to a problem with Falconnet’s broadband connection.

If you are on a laptop then you can use the task manager to see your Processor and RAM utilisation.

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

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

Hopefully this should give you more information to work with in terms of whether the problem is with your PC/Smartphone or the Falconnet internet connection.

• What does the Falconnet download and upload speed mean?
• Who’s the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• 5 methods to speed up your Falconnet broadband speed
• DNS hack to improve internet browsing speed on Falconnet

Is your Wi-Fi network the issue?

The root cause of the performance problem could be your Wifi network as opposed to the Falconnet internet connection.

You could rule out the wireless network by connecting your computer directly into the Falconnet broadband router with a network cable and run the Falconnet Speedtest again.

If the speed checker result is better when you’re connected using a network cable, this indicates that the issue could be with your internal wireless network.

A number of things to check:

• Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your Wifi network network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbours?
• Is the Wifi network signal from the wireless router obstructed?
• Does your speed get better when your are stood right in-front of the Falconnet broadband router?

Who’s connected to my Wi-Fi network?

Have you checked that your Wi-Fi network password has not been compromised? Do you have an open Wifi network? How strong is your wireless network password? It could be time to update it.

Neighbours could be using your Wifi network and eating up all the Falconnet bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your Falconnet broadband connection! Worse than that, they may be conducting illegal activities on your Falconnet internet connection.

Here are 3 applications to use to scan your wireless network to check who’s connected:

• Microsoft users can use Wireless network watcher
• MAC 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 devices connected.

• How to see who is on your Falconnet Wifi network

Should I get a Wifi booster for my Falconnet broadband?

If you discover that there are wireless coverage gaps in your house, a Wifi extender also known as a Wi-Fi Booster is the best solution to increase your Wifi signal to cover any coverage gaps.

• Best Wireless Signal Boosters

The Wifi booster simply picks up your existing wireless network signal as it is becoming weaker and re-transmits the wireless signal to extend it’s reach.

Place the wireless booster near where your wireless signal from the Falconnet internet router is starting to become weaker.

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

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

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

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

If you can’t do this, get in touch with Falconnet and they will do this for you or talk you through performing the upgrade yourself.

In addition to upgrading the software, if you have had hardware for a long time, it is worth talking to Falconnet to ask for a router upgrade.

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

This is probably the most likely reason for Falconnet broadband performance issues in your area and it’s more common for internet broadband connections that are delivered via phone lines.

If you’re not sure if this is applicable to you, contact Falconnet who will be able to carry out the appropriate connection checks to check if there is a fault on the Falconnet internet connection.

Is it because of Falconnet Internet congestion?

If you’re finding that the Falconnet internet connection speed in your area is slow during certain periods i.e. weekends or evenings, then it may be because of congestion during peak times.

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

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

Re-testing your Falconnet internet connection

After the fault has been fixed either by yourself or Falconnet, retest your broadband connection using  at least 2 independent Speedtests to ensure the fault is resolved:

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