How to troubleshoot Post Office broadband performance issues

Before you begin troubleshooting the speed of your Post Office internet connection, we recommend that you perform a Post Office Broadband Speed Test to measure your current internet speed.

Also find out the guaranteed minimum download speed that you on your broadband package from Post Office.

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

Possible causes of Post Office’s slow broadband speed

Is it your Post Office broadband that is running slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

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

The speed issue could be due to over-utilisation of your device’s resources e.g RAM/memory/CPU and not an issue with Post Office’s broadband connection.

If you’re on a computer then you can use the task manager to check your CPU and Memory utilization.

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

Re-run the Post Office Speedtest on your computer and your mobile to see how the speedtest results differ between the 2 devices.

This should hopefully give you more information to help determine if the issue is with your PC/Smartphone or the Post Office internet connection.

• What does the Post Office download and upload speed mean?
• Who’s the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• Five ways to speed up your Post Office Internet speed
• Simple DNS tip to speed up internet browsing speed on Post Office

Is your Wifi network the issue?

The cause of the performance issue could be your wireless network and not the Post Office broadband connection.

You could rule out the wireless by simply connecting your computer directly to the Post Office broadband router with a network cable and then run the Post Office Speedtest again.

If the speed test result improves when you are connected using an ethernet cable, this proves that the problem could be with your Wifi network.

Possible things to look further into:

• Are the Wireless channels that you’re using for your wireless network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbors?
• Is the wireless signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does the performance improve when your are standing right infront of the Post Office internet router?

Who is connected to my wireless network?

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

Neighbours could be on your Wi-Fi network and using up all your Post Office speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or videos on your Post Office broadband connection! Worse than that, they may be carrying out illegal activities over your Post Office broadband connection.

There are 3 apps that you can potentially use to analyse your wireless network to see who’s connected:

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

The above software will scan your Wi-Fi network and produce a list of the devices connected.

• How to check who is on your Post Office Wi-Fi network

Should I get a Wifi booster for my Post Office broadband?

If you find that there are wireless black holes at your home, a Wi-Fi network extender aka a wireless Booster may be the best fix to boost your wireless signal to cover any black holes.

• Cheapest Wi-Fi Signal Boosters

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

Position the Wi-Fi network booster/extender near the position where your Wi-Fi network signal from your Post Office internet router is starting to become weaker.

Position it near where your Wi-Fi network signal drops down to less than two bars. Walk around your house with a smartphone to determine where this is.

When was the last time you upgraded the Post Office internet router?

The Post Office and broadband infrastructure, in general, are constantly upgraded to provide new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Always ensure that the Post Office internet router is running the latest software.

The majority of Post Office broadband routers allow you to perform the software update by logging into the Post Office broadband router and simply clicking on a button to do the upgrade.

If you cannot do this, contact Post Office and they will be able to do this for you or guide you through the process.

As well as upgrading the software, if you have had the same hardware for a long period, it may be worth talking to Post Office to ask for a hardware upgrade.

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

This is probably the most common cause for Post Office broadband performance problems in your property and is more common for internet broadband connections that are delivered using phone lines.

If you’re not sure if this is relevant in your case, you should contact Post Office who should be able to carry out the appropriate line tests to check if there is a problem on the Post Office broadband connection.

Is the performance issue due to Post Office broadband congestion?

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

• What is Broadband Contention Ratio and does Post Office have contention?

You should contact Post Office to find out your guaranteed speed.

Test your Post Office broadband connection

After the issue has been fixed either by yourself or Post Office, retest the broadband connection using  at least 2 independent Speedtests to ensure the issue is fixed:

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