How to troubleshoot Merula broadband performance problems

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

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

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

Probable causes of Merula’s slow internet speed

Is it the Merula broadband that is running slow or is it your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

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

The performance problem may be due to the over-utilization of your device’s resources i.e Memory/CPU and not a problem with Merula’s broadband connection.

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

On other device, you could try restarting the device which hopefully will terminate all programs that may have been using up your device resources.

Re-run the Merula Speedtest on your computer and your phone to check how the speed test results compare between the two devices.

Hopefully this should give you more information to work with in terms of whether the problem is with your PC/Smartphone or the Merula internet connection.

• What exactly does the Merula download and upload speed mean?
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• Five ways to improve your Merula Internet performance
• DNS tip to speed up internet browsing speed on Merula

Is your Wifi the reason for the issues?

The cause of the performance issue could be your Wifi network as opposed to the Merula internet connection.

You could rule out the wireless by connecting your PC directly into the Merula broadband router using an ethernet cable and then run the Merula Speedtest again.

If the speed improves when you are connected via an ethernet cable, this shows that the issue may be with the internal wireless network.

A number of things to investigate:

• Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your Wi-Fi network network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbours?
• Is your Wi-Fi network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does your speed get better when your are standing right in-front of the Merula wireless router?

Who’s connected to my wireless network?

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

Others could be on your Wifi network and eating up all the Merula speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or videos over your Merula internet connection! Worse than that, they could be conducting illegal activities over your Merula broadband connection.

There are 3 apps to utlise to analyse your wireless network to see who’s 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 software analyse your wireless network and show you a list of the everything on your wifi.

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

Do I need a Wi-Fi network booster for my Merula broadband?

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

• Best Wi-Fi Signal Extenders

The wireless extender simply picks up your existing Wifi signal just as it is becoming weaker and re-transmits the wireless signal to increase it’s coverage.

Position the wireless network booster/extender near the position where your wireless signal from your Merula internet router is starting to become weaker.

Place it approximately where your Wifi network signal drops down to two bars. Walk around your house with a mobile phone to try and establish where this location is.

When was the last time you upgraded the Merula internet router?

The Merula and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently updated to provide new features and improve reliability as technology evolves.  Always ensure that your Merula broadband internet router is running on the latest software.

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

If you can’t do this, contact Merula and they will be able to do this for you or guide you through the process.

In addition to upgrading the software, if you have had hardware for a long period, it is worth talking to Merula to request for a hardware upgrade.

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

This is probably the most common reason for Merula broadband performance problems in your area and is more common for internet broadband connections that are delivered using copper phone lines.

If you’re not sure if this is relevant in your case, you should contact Merula who should be able to carry out the relevant line tests to see if there is a fault on the Merula internet line.

Is the issue because of Merula Internet congestion?

If you are finding that the Merula internet connection speed in your area is slows down during certain times i.e. over weekends and during the evening, it may be because of congestion during peak times.

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

You should speak to Merula to check your guaranteed speed.

Re-testing your Merula internet connection

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

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