Troubleshooting IofM broadband performance issues

Before you start troubleshooting the performance of your IofM broadband connection, we suggest that you run a IofM Broadband Speed Test to measure your current broadband speed.

It is a good idea to also confirm the guaranteed minimum download speed you are paying for from IofM.

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

Common causes of IofM’s slow broadband performance

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

You need to check the number of applications are currently running on your device.

The speed issue may be due to the over-utilisation of your device’s resources i.e Memory/CPU Processor and not a problem with IofM’s internet connection.

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

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

Re-run the IofM Speed checker on your PC and your phone to check how the speedtest results compare between the 2 devices.

Hopefully this should provide you with some info to work with in terms of whether the issue is with your PC/Smartphone or the IofM broadband connection.

• What exactly does the IofM download and upload speed mean?
• Who is the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• 5 tips to improve your IofM broadband performance
• Simple DNS tip to improve internet browsing speed on IofM

Is the wireless the cause of the slowness?

The cause of the performance problem could be your wireless network as opposed to the IofM broadband connection.

You could rule out the wireless network by connecting your computer directly to the IofM broadband router using a network cable and then run the IofM Speed checker again.

If the speed is better when you’re connected using a network cable, this suggests that the issue may be with the Wifi.

A number of things to check:

• Are the Wireless channels that you are using for your Wi-Fi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is the Wifi signal from the internet router obstructed?
• Does your performance improve when you’re standing right infront of the IofM wireless router?

Who’s connected to my Wifi network?

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

Neighbours could be on your wireless network and eating up all the IofM speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your IofM internet connection! Worse than that, they may be conducting illegal activities on your IofM broadband connection.

Here are three apps that you can potentially utlise to analyze your Wifi network to check who is connected:

• Windows users can use Wireless network watcher
• Apple users can use whoFi (who is on my Wifi)
• wifi network troubleshooting application WiFi Analyzer

The above applications analyse your wireless network and display a list of the devices connected.

• How to see who is on your IofM wireless network

Should I get a wireless booster for my IofM broadband?

If you discover that there are Wifi coverage holes in your house, a wireless extender aka a Wi-Fi Booster is the best solution to strengthen your wireless signal to cover any black spots.

• Cheapest Wireless Signal Extenders

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

Position the Wi-Fi network booster near where your Wifi signal from your IofM broadband router is becoming weaker.

Place it approximately where your Wifi network signal drops down to less than 2 bars. Walk around your home with a mobile phone to find where this is.

When was the last time you upgraded the IofM broadband router?

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

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

If you cannot do this, contact IofM and they will be able to do this for you or guide you through performing the upgrade yourself.

In addition to upgrading the software, if you have had hardware for a long time, it may be worth talking to IofM to ask for a router upgrade.

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

This is probably the most common cause for IofM broadband performance issues in your property and it’s more common for internet broadband connections that are delivered using phone lines.

If you’re not sure if this is applicable to you, you should contact IofM who should be able to carry out the appropriate connection checks to see if there is a issue on the IofM internet connection.

Is the issue due to IofM Internet congestion?

If you’re finding that the IofM internet connection speed in your area is slows down during certain times i.e. over weekends or evenings, it may be due to congestion during peak hours.

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

You should contact IofM to find out your minimum speed.

Re-testing your IofM broadband connection

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

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