How to troubleshoot LINPOP broadband performance issues

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

You may also want to confirm the guaranteed minimum download speed you have subscribed to from LINPOP.

You can get this info by checking your LINPOP broadband bill, your LINPOP contract or by contacting LINPOP.

Common causes of LINPOP’s slow broadband speed

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

You may need to consider the number of apps are currently running on your device.

The performance problem could be due to over-utilisation of your system resources i.e Memory/CPU and as opposed to a problem with LINPOP’s internet connection.

If you’re on a PC then you may use the task manager to check your CPU and RAM utilisation.

On any other device, you should try restarting the device which hopefully will kill all apps that may be using up your systems resources.

Run the LINPOP Speedtest on your personal computer and your mobile phone to see how the speedtest results compare between the two devices.

This should hopefully provide you with some info to work with in terms of whether the problem lies with your PC/Smartphone or the LINPOP internet connection.

• What exactly does the LINPOP download and upload speed mean?
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• 5 methods to speed up your LINPOP Internet speed
• DNS hack to improve internet browsing speed on LINPOP

Is the wireless network the cause of the issue?

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

You could rule out the Wi-Fi network by simply connecting your PC directly to the LINPOP broadband router with an ethernet cable and run the LINPOP Speedtest again.

If the speed checker result is better when you are connected via an ethernet cable, this proves that the issue may be with the internal wireless network.

A number of things to check:

• Are the Wireless channels that you are using for your Wi-Fi network network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbours?
• Is your wireless network signal from the internet router obstructed?
• Does the speed get better when you’re stood right in-front of the LINPOP internet router?

Who’s connected to my wireless network?

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

Others could be on your Wi-Fi network and using up all the LINPOP speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your LINPOP internet connection! Worse still, they could be conducting illegal activities over your LINPOP broadband connection.

Here are three applications that you can potentially utlise to analyze your Wi-Fi network to check who is connected:

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

The above apps analyse your wireless network and show you a list of the everything on your wifi.

• How to check who is on your LINPOP wireless network

Do I need a Wifi booster for my LINPOP broadband?

If you find that you have Wi-Fi coverage holes at your home, a wireless network extender aka a wireless Booster is the best fix to boost your Wifi signal to cover any black spots.

• Best Wireless Signal Boosters

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

Place the wireless network booster near where your wireless network signal from your LINPOP internet router is becoming weaker.

Position it near where your wireless signal is dropping down to 2 bars. Walk around your house with a smartphone to determine where this location is.

When did you last upgrade the LINPOP broadband router?

The LINPOP and broadband infrastructure, in general, are constantly upgraded to support new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Ensure that the LINPOP broadband internet router is running on the most up to date software.

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

If you can’t do this, contact LINPOP and they will perform the upgrade for you or talk you through the process.

In addition to upgrading the software, if you have had router for a long period, it may be worth speaking to LINPOP to ask for a hardware upgrade.

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

This is probably the most common cause for LINPOP broadband performance issues in your area and is more common for broadband connections that are delivered through phone lines.

If you are not sure if this is applicable to you, you should contact LINPOP who will be able to conduct the relevant line checks to see if there is a issue on the LINPOP internet line.

Is it due to LINPOP Internet congestion?

If you are finding that the LINPOP broadband connection speed in your area is slow during certain times i.e. over weekends and evenings, it may be due to congestion during peak hours.

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

You should contact LINPOP to check your minimum speed.

Test your LINPOP broadband connection

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

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