Troubleshooting Imagine broadband performance issues

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

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

You can find this info by checking your Imagine broadband bill, your Imagine contract or by contacting Imagine.

Probable causes of Imagine’s slow broadband performance

Is it your Imagine broadband that is slow or could it be your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

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

The performance issue could be due to the over-utilisation of your system resources i.e Memory/CPU and not a problem with Imagine’s broadband connection.

If you are on a laptop then you may use the task manager to check your CPU and Memory usage.

On any other device, you should try restarting the device which should hopefully terminate all applications that may be hogging your systems resources.

Re-run the Imagine Speedtest on your personal computer and your mobile phone to see how the speedtest results differ between the two devices.

This should hopefully give you more information to help determine if the problem lies with your PC/Smartphone or the Imagine internet connection.

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

Is the wireless the problem?

The cause of the performance problem may be your Wi-Fi network and not the Imagine broadband connection.

You could rule out the wireless by simply connecting your PC directly into the Imagine broadband router using a network cable and run the Imagine Speed checker again.

If the performance improves when you are connected via an ethernet cable, this shows that the issue could be with the Wifi network.

Possible things to investigate:

• Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your Wifi network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbors?
• Is your Wi-Fi network signal from the internet router obstructed?
• Does the performance improve when you’re standing directly in-front of the Imagine internet router?

Who is connected to my Wi-Fi network?

Have you checked that your wireless network password has not been compromised? Do you have an un-secured wireless network? How secure is your Wifi network password? It could be time to change it.

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

Here are three applications to use to analyze your Wifi network to see who is connected:

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

The above applications will scan your wireless network and produce a list of the devices connected.

• How to check who’s on your Imagine wireless network

Should I get a Wifi booster for my Imagine broadband?

If you discover that you have Wifi coverage gaps at your house, a Wifi network extender aka a wireless Booster may be the best fix to strengthen your wireless signal to cover any black holes.

• Best Wireless Signal Extenders

The Wifi booster picks up the existing wireless signal just as it is starting to become weaker and re-transmits the Wifi signal to increase it’s coverage.

Place the wireless extender near where your Wi-Fi network signal from your Imagine broadband router is becoming weaker.

Place it approximately where your wireless signal drops down to less than 2 signal bars. Walk around your property with a smartphone to try and establish where this location is.

When did you last upgrade the Imagine broadband router?

The Imagine and broadband infrastructure, in general, are constantly updated to support new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Always ensure that your Imagine broadband router is running on the most up to date software.

Most Imagine internet routers allow you to carry out the software upgrade by logging into the Imagine broadband router and simply clicking on a button to perform the upgrade.

If you can’t do this, contact Imagine and they will do this for you or guide you through performing the upgrade yourself.

As well as updating the software, if you have had router for a long period, it’s probably worth talking to Imagine to ask for a hardware upgrade.

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

This is probably the most common reason for Imagine broadband performance issues in your home and is more common with internet broadband connections that are delivered via copper phone lines.

If you’re not sure if this is applicable to you, contact Imagine who will be able to conduct the appropriate line tests to check if there is a fault on the Imagine internet connection.

Is the performance issue due to Imagine Internet congestion?

If you are finding that the Imagine broadband connection speed in your area is slows down during certain periods e.g weekends or evenings, then it may be due to congestion during peak hours.

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

You should contact Imagine to find out your minimum speed.

Find Best Alternatives to Imagine Broadband

 

Test your Imagine internet connection

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

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