Free Dialup broadband Speed test
Click on the “Go” button on the Ookla Speed Test to see the broadband speed of your Free Dialup broadband connection.
Details on how to fix problems with your Free Dialup broadband are in the sections below the speed test widget.
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Troubleshooting Free Dialup internet performance issues
Before you begin troubleshooting the performance of your Free Dialup internet connection, we recommend that you perform a Free Dialup Internet Speed Test to confirm your current connection speed.
It is also a good idea find out the guaranteed minimum download speed that you have subscribed to from Free Dialup.
You can find this info by checking your Free Dialup broadband bill, your Free Dialup contract or by contacting Free Dialup.
Likely causes of Free Dialup’s slow broadband speed
Is it your Free Dialup broadband that is running slow or could it be your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?
You may need to check how many apps are currently running on your device.
The performance problem may be due to the over-utilisation of your system resources i.e RAM/memory/CPU and not a problem with Free Dialup’s internet connection.
If you’re on a laptop then you can use the task manager to check your CPU and RAM usage.
On any other device, you could try restarting the device which hopefully should shut down all applications that may have been using up your device resources.
Re-run the Free Dialup Speed test on your PC and your mobile to see how the results differ between the two devices.
Hopefully this should give you some info to help determine whether the issue lies with your device or the Free Dialup internet connection.
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Is the wireless the cause of the slowness?
The cause of the performance issue may be your Wifi and not the Free Dialup broadband connection.
You can rule out the Wifi network by connecting your PC directly to the Free Dialup broadband router using an ethernet cable and run the Free Dialup Speed checker again.
If the speed checker result is better when you’re connected via an ethernet cable, this suggests that the issue may be with the Wifi network.
A few other things to investigate:
- Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your Wifi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
- Is your wireless network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
- Does your performance improve when you’re stood right infront of the Free Dialup wireless router?
Who is connected to my Wifi network?
Have you checked that your Wifi network password has not been shared? Do you have an un-secured Wi-Fi network? How secure is your wireless network password? It may be time to change it.
Neighbors could be on your Wifi network and using up all the Free Dialup bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your Free Dialup internet connection! Worse still, they may be carrying out illegal activities over your Free Dialup internet connection.
There are three apps that you can utlise to analyse your Wi-Fi network to see who is connected:
- Microsoft Windows users can use Wireless network watcher
- MAC users can use whoFi (who is on my Wifi)
- Wireless scanning tool WiFi Analyzer
The above apps will scan your Wifi network and produce a list of the everything on your wifi.
Should I get a Wifi booster for my Free Dialup broadband?
If you discover that you have Wi-Fi black spots at your property, a wireless extender also known as a wireless Booster may be the best solution to strengthen your wireless signal to cover any black spots.
The Wifi network booster simply picks up the existing Wifi network signal as it is becoming weaker and re-transmits the Wifi network signal to increase it’s coverage.
Place the Wifi network booster/extender near where your wireless signal from the Free Dialup broadband router is becoming weaker.
Position it near where your Wifi signal drops down to 2 signal bars. Walk around your house with a smartphone to try and establish where this is.
When was the last time you upgraded the Free Dialup internet router?
The Free Dialup and broadband infrastructure, in general, are constantly updated to support new features and improve reliability as technology evolves. Ensure that your Free Dialup broadband router is running the most up to date software.
The majority of Free Dialup internet routers allow you to carry out the software upgrade by logging into the Free Dialup broadband router and simply clicking on a button to start the upgrade.
If you cannot do this, get in touch with Free Dialup and they will perform the upgrade for you or guide you through performing the upgrade yourself.
As well as upgrading the software, if you have had the same hardware for a long time, it is worth speaking to Free Dialup to request for a router upgrade.
Is the issue outside your property (at the exchange)?
This is probably the most common cause for Free Dialup broadband performance issues in your area and it’s more common with internet broadband connections that are delivered through copper phone lines.
If you are unsure if this is relevant in your case, contact Free Dialup who will be able to conduct the appropriate connection checks to see if there is a problem on the Free Dialup internet line.
Is the performance issue because of Free Dialup broadband congestion?
If you’re finding that the Free Dialup internet connection speed in your area is slow during certain times e.g over weekends or evenings, then it may be because of congestion during peak times.
You should contact Free Dialup to check your guaranteed speed.
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Test your Free Dialup internet connection
After the problem has been resolved either by yourself or Free Dialup, retest the internet connection using at least 2 independent Speedtests to ensure the issue is fixed: