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 Free Dialup internet Speed test
Click on the “Go” button on the Ookla Speed test to test the speed of your Free Dialup broadband connection.
Information on how to troubleshoot problems with your Free Dialup broadband can be below.
For a more accurate reading, run the Speedtest twice
How to troubleshoot Free Dialup broadband internet performance
Before starting to troubleshoot the performance of your Free Dialup broadband connection, you need to run the Free Dialup Internet Broadband Speed Test and also confirm the exact Upload and Download speed that you are paying for.
You can get this info by checking your Free Dialup bill or contact Free Dialup to confirm this info.
Likely causes of Free Dialup slow internet performance
Is it your Free Dialup broadband that is slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?
You need to check how many apps are currently running on your device that could be utilizing your system resources (mainly RAM memory and CPU) and/or your Free Dialup internet bandwidth.
If you are on a laptop then you may use the task manager to check your processor and RAM usage.
On any other device you could try restarting the device which should hopefully shutdown all apps that may be running in the background.
Re-run the Free Dialup speed test on your PC and your phone to see how the speedtest results compare between the 2 devices.
This should hopefully provide you with some information to work with in terms of if the issue lies with your device or the Free Dialup internet connection.
- What exactly does the Free Dialup download and upload speed mean?
- 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Free Dialup Internet Speed in your area
- DNS hack to speed up internet browsing on Free Dialup
Is your Wifi connection the problem?
The cause of the issue could be your wireless network connection and not the Free Dialup broadband internet connection.
You could rule out the wireless network being the cause of the problem by connecting your PC directly into the Free Dialup broadband router using a network cable and run the Free Dialup speed test again.
If speed is better when you’re connected using a network cable then this proves that the issue may be with your Wifi network connection setup.
Possible things to check are:
- Are the Wireless channels you are using for your wireless network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbors?
- Could the Wi-Fi network signal from the router be obstructed?
- Does your performance improve when you’re standing directly in-front of the Free Dialup broadband or wireless router?
Who is connected to my Wifi network?
Have you checked that your Wi-Fi network password has not been compromised? Do you have an un-secured Guest Wi-Fi network?
Neighbors could be using your Wi-Fii network and eating up all the Free Dialup bandwidth downloading/uploading or even streaming netflix! Worse than that, they could be carrying out illegal activities which will all lead to your connection.
There are two applications that you can use to scan your wireless network to check who is connected:
- Windows users can use Wireless network watcher
- MAC users can use whoFi (who is on my Wifi)
Both apps will scan your wireless network and show you a list of the connected devices.
Check out this tutorial on how to use both applications
Do I need a Wifi network Booster for my Free Dialup broadband?
If you find that you have wireless black holes in your house, then a Wifi extender also know as a Wi-Fi Booster is the fix to boost your signal. They are readily available online from around £15.
The Wi-Fi network booster simply picks up your existing Wi-Fi network signal as it is starting to become weak and then re-transmits the wireless signal at a more stronger rate to extend it’s coverage.
Place the wireless network booster/extender where your Wi-Fi network signal from the Free Dialup broadband router is becoming weak. Approxiametly where your wireless network signal drops down to two bars. Use your mobile phone to determine where this is.
When was the last time you upgraded your Free Dialup broadband router?
The Free Dialup and openreach infrastructure is constantly being upgraded to support new features (some end user facing and others internal). Always ensure that the Free Dialup broadband router has the most up to date software.
The majority of Free Dialup broadband routers allow you to carry out the software update by logging into the Free Dialup broadband router and simply clicking a button to perform the upgrade.
If you cannot do this, contact Free Dialup and they will be able to either do this for you or guide you through how to do it depending on the Free Dialup router model you have.
In addition to upgrading the software, if you have had the same router for a long time, it’s worth speaking to Free Dialup to ask for a router upgrade.
Is the issue external (at the exchange)?
This is probably the most common reason for Free Dialup broadband performance issue in your home and it’s more common with internet broadband connections that are delivered via phone lines.
If you’re not sure if this is relevant in your case, you should contact Free Dialup who will be able to run the relevant line checks to check if there is a problem on the Free Dialup internet line.
Is it due to Free Dialup Broadband congestion?
If you are finding that the Free Dialup internet connection speed in your area is slow during certain periods e.g over weekends and evenings, it may be because of congestion during peak times.
- What is Broadband Contention Ratio and does Free Dialup have contention?
- What does network latency mean?
You should contact your Free Dialup to find out if the service you have subscribed to has a minimum speed or is a contended ‘first come first serve’ service with no minimum speed guaranteed.
Finding a better Service Provider
Re-testing your Free Dialup broadband connection
After the fault has been resolved either by yourself or Free Dialup, retest the internet connection using at least 2 independent speedtests such as the one here and Ookla broadband speedtester to ensure the issue is resolved.
