How to troubleshoot Imagine internet speed issues

Before starting to troubleshoot the speed of your Imagine internet connection, we recommend that you perform a Imagine Broadband Speed Test to benchmark your current internet speed.

It is a good idea to also find out the minimum download speed you are paying for from Imagine.

You can get this information by checking a Imagine broadband bill, your Imagine contract or by contacting Imagine.

Common causes of Imagine’s slow broadband speed

Is it the Imagine internet connection that is running slow or could it be your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

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

The speed problem could be due to over-utilisation of your system resources i.e Memory/CPU and as opposed to an issue with Imagine’s internet connection.

If you’re on a computer then you can use the task manager to check your CPU and Memory utilization.

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

Run the Imagine Speed test on your PC and your mobile phone to see how the results differ between the 2 devices.

This should hopefully provide you with some information to help determine whether the issue is with your PC/Smartphone or the Imagine broadband connection.

• What does the Imagine download and upload speed mean?
• Who is the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• Five ways to improve your Imagine broadband performance
• DNS hack to improve internet browsing speed on Imagine

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

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

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

If the performance improves when you’re connected via a network cable, this shows that the issue may be with your Wifi network.

A few other things to investigate:

• Are the WiFi channels that you’re using for your Wi-Fi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is the wireless signal from the wireless router obstructed?
• Does your performance get better when you’re stood directly infront of the Imagine wireless router?

Who’s 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 complex is your Wi-Fi network password? It may be time to change it.

Others could be using your wireless network and eating up all the Imagine bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your Imagine broadband connection! Worse still, they may be conducting illegal activities using your Imagine broadband connection.

Here are three applications that you can potentially utlise to scan your Wi-Fi network to check who’s connected:

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

The above apps analyse your Wifi network and display a list of the devices connected.

• How to check who’s on your Imagine Wi-Fi network

Should I get a Wifi network booster for my Imagine broadband?

If you discover that you have Wi-Fi coverage holes at your home, a Wi-Fi network extender also known as a wireless Booster may be the best fix to boost your wireless signal to cover any coverage holes.

• Cheapest Wifi Signal Boosters

The wireless network booster picks up the existing wireless network signal as it is becoming weaker and re-transmits the Wi-Fi network signal to increase it’s coverage.

Position the Wifi network booster near the position where your wireless signal from your Imagine broadband router is starting to become weaker.

Place it near where your Wi-Fi network signal drops down to less than two bars. Walk around your property with a tablet to determine where this location is.

When did you last upgrade the Imagine internet router?

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

The majority of Imagine internet routers allow you to perform the software upgrade by logging on the Imagine broadband router and simply clicking a button to do the upgrade.

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

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

Is the fault outside your property (at the exchange)?

This is probably the most common reason for Imagine broadband performance problems in your area and it’s more common with broadband connections that are delivered via copper phone lines.

If you are not sure if this is applicable to you, contact Imagine who will be able to carry out the relevant connection tests to see if there is a fault on the Imagine internet connection.

Is the performance issue because of Imagine Internet congestion?

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

• What’s Broadband Contention Ratio and does Imagine have contention?

You should contact Imagine to check your minimum speed.

Test your Imagine internet connection

After the issue has been fixed either by yourself or Imagine, re-test your internet connection using  at least 2 separate Speedtests to ensure the problem is resolved:

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