 ORB broadband Speed Checker
Simply click on the “Go” button on the Ookla Speed Checker to confirm the broadband speed of your ORB broadband connection.
Details on how to troubleshoot problems with your ORB internet connection can be found below the Ookla Speed checker widget.
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How to troubleshoot ORB internet performance problems
Before you begin troubleshooting the performance of your ORB internet connection, we suggest that you run a ORB Internet Speed Test to confirm your current broadband speed.
It is a good idea to also confirm the guaranteed minimum download speed you on your broadband package from ORB.
You can get this info by checking your ORB broadband bill, your ORB contract or by contacting ORB.
Likely causes of ORB’s slow broadband speed
Is it the ORB internet connection that is running slow or is it your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?
You may need to check how many apps are running on your device.
The speed issue may be due to the over-utilisation of your system resources e.g RAM/CPU Processor and as opposed to an issue with ORB’s broadband connection.
If you’re on a laptop then you can use the task manager to check your CPU and Memory utilization.
On any other device, you should try restarting the device which hopefully will shut down all applications that may be hogging your device resources.
Run the ORB Speed checker on your personal computer and your mobile phone to check how the speedtest results differ between the 2 devices.
Hopefully this should provide you with more information to work with in terms of if the problem is with your device or the ORB broadband connection.
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Is your wireless network the cause of the slowness?
The root cause of the performance problem could be your Wi-Fi network as opposed to the ORB broadband internet connection.
You could rule out the wireless by connecting your PC directly to the ORB broadband router using a network cable and then run the ORB Speedtest again.
If the result improves when you’re connected by a network cable, this proves that the issue could be with the Wifi network.
A few other things to check:
- Are the WiFi channels that you’re using for your Wifi network network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbours?
- Is the wireless signal from the broadband router obstructed?
- Does the speed improve when your are stood right infront of the ORB internet router?
Exactly who’s connected to my wireless network?
Have you checked that your Wi-Fi network password has not been compromised? Do you have an un-secured Wifi network? How strong is your Wi-Fi network password? It could be time to change it.
Neighbours could be using your wireless network and eating up all the ORB speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your ORB broadband connection! Worse still, they may be carrying out illegal activities on your ORB internet connection.
There are 3 applications that you can potentially utlise to analyze your wireless network to see 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 will scan your wireless network and display a list of the everything on your wifi.
Should I get a Wifi booster for my ORB broadband?
You may discover that you have Wi-Fi black spots in your home, a Wifi extender aka a wireless Booster is the best solution to boost your Wifi signal to cover any black holes.
The Wi-Fi network extender picks up your existing Wifi network signal just as it is becoming weaker and re-transmits the Wifi signal to increase it’s coverage.
Place the wireless network extender near the position where your Wifi signal from the ORB internet router is starting to become weaker.
Position it near where your wireless network signal drops down to less than 2 signal bars. Walk around your property with a smartphone to try and establish where this is.
When did you last upgrade the ORB internet router?
The ORB and broadband infrastructure, in general, are constantly updated to support new features and improve reliability as technology evolves. Always ensure that the ORB broadband internet router is running the latest software.
Most ORB internet routers will allow you to perform the software update by logging on the ORB broadband router and simply clicking a button to perform the upgrade.
If you can’t do this, get in touch with ORB and they will be able to perform the upgrade for you or talk you through performing the upgrade yourself.
In addition to updating the software, if you have had hardware for a long period, it is worth talking to ORB to ask for a router upgrade.
Is the root cause of the issue external to your home (at the exchange)?
This is probably the most common cause for ORB broadband performance issues in your home and it’s more common with broadband connections that are delivered via copper phone lines.
If you are unsure if this is applicable to you, contact ORB who should be able to conduct the appropriate line tests to see if there is a problem on the ORB broadband connection.
Is the issue because of ORB broadband congestion?
If you’re finding that the ORB internet connection speed in your area is slow during certain periods e.g over weekends and during the evening, it may be because of congestion during peak hours.
You should speak to ORB to check your minimum speed.
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Test your ORB internet connection
After the fault has been resolved either by yourself or ORB, retest your broadband connection using at least 2 separate Speedtests to ensure the problem is fixed: