Troubleshooting IDNet broadband speed problems

Before you begin troubleshooting the performance of your IDNet broadband connection, we recommend that you perform a IDNet Broadband Speed Test to benchmark your current broadband speed.

Also find out the guaranteed minimum download speed that you on your broadband package from IDNet.

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

Common causes of IDNet’s slow broadband speed

Is it the IDNet internet connection that is slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

You need to consider how many apps are running on your device.

The performance problem may be due to the over-utilisation of your device’s resources i.e RAM/CPU and as opposed to a problem with IDNet’s broadband connection.

If you are on a PC then you may use the task manager to check your CPU and RAM utilization.

On any other device, you could try rebooting the device which hopefully should kill all applications that may have been using up your systems resources.

Run the IDNet Speedtest on your PC and your phone to check how the results differ between the two devices.

This should hopefully provide you with some info to work with in terms of if the issue lies with your PC/Smartphone or the IDNet internet connection.

• What does the IDNet download and upload speed mean?
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Is your Wifi the cause of the performance issue?

The root cause of the performance issue could be your wireless network as opposed to the IDNet broadband internet connection.

You could rule out the wireless network by simply connecting your PC directly into the IDNet broadband router using a network cable and then run the IDNet Speedtest again.

If the speed checker result is better when you are connected by an ethernet cable, this shows that the issue could be with the wireless network.

Possible things to investigate:

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

Who’s connected to my Wifi network?

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

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

Here are 3 apps that you can potentially utlise to analyze your wireless network to see who is connected:

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

The above applications will scan your wireless network and show you a list of the everything on your wifi.

• How to see who is on your IDNet wireless network

Should I get a Wi-Fi network booster for my IDNet broadband?

You may find that you have Wi-Fi black spots in your house, a wireless network extender also known as a Wifi Booster may be the best fix to increase your Wifi signal to cover any coverage holes.

• Cheapest Wireless Signal Extenders

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

Position the Wifi extender near the position where your wireless signal from your IDNet internet router is becoming weaker.

Place it approximately where your wireless network signal is dropping down to 2 bars. Walk around your home with a mobile phone to determine where this is.

When did you last upgrade the IDNet internet router?

The IDNet and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently updated to support new features and improve reliability as technology evolves.  Ensure that the IDNet broadband router is running on the most up-to-date software.

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

If you can’t do this, get in touch with IDNet and they will be able to do this for you or guide you through performing the upgrade yourself.

In addition to updating the software, if you have had hardware for a long period, it’s probably worth talking to IDNet to request for a router upgrade.

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

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

If you are unsure if this is relevant in your case, contact IDNet who should be able to run the relevant connection tests to see if there is a problem on the IDNet broadband connection.

Is it due to IDNet Internet congestion?

If you are finding that the IDNet broadband connection speed in your area is slows down during certain times e.g weekends and during the evening, it may be because of congestion during peak hours.

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

You should contact IDNet to find out your guaranteed speed.

Find Best Alternatives to IDNet Broadband

 

Test your IDNet broadband connection

After the problem has been resolved either by yourself or IDNet, retest the internet connection using  at least 2 independent Speedtests to ensure the problem is fixed:

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