Troubleshooting Rural Broadband broadband performance problems

Before starting to troubleshoot the performance of your Rural Broadband internet connection, we recommend that you perform a Rural Broadband Broadband Speedtest to benchmark your current internet speed.

It is a good idea to also find out the guaranteed minimum download speed that you have subscribed to from Rural Broadband.

You can find this info by checking your Rural Broadband broadband bill, your Rural Broadband contract or by contacting Rural Broadband.

Common causes of Rural Broadband’s slow internet speed

Is it your Rural Broadband internet connection that is running slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

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

The performance problem may be due to over-utilization of your system resources i.e RAM/memory/CPU and as opposed to a problem with Rural Broadband’s broadband connection.

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

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

Re-run the Rural Broadband Speed checker on your personal computer and your phone to check how the speedtest results compare between the two devices.

Hopefully this should give you more info to work with in terms of whether the issue lies with your PC/Smartphone or the Rural Broadband broadband connection.

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

Is your Wifi network the problem?

The root cause of the performance problem may be your wireless network as opposed to the Rural Broadband broadband internet connection.

You can rule out the wireless by simply connecting your PC directly into the Rural Broadband broadband router using a network cable and then run the Rural Broadband Speed test again.

If the speed test result improves when you are connected by a network cable, this shows that the problem may be with your internal wireless network.

Possible things to check:

• Are the Wireless channels that you’re using for your Wifi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbors?
• Is your wireless signal from the internet router obstructed?
• Does the performance get better when your are standing directly in-front of the Rural Broadband internet router?

Exactly who’s 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 complex is your Wifi network password? It may be time to change it.

Neighbours could be using your Wifi network and using up all the Rural Broadband bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your Rural Broadband broadband connection! Worse still, they may be conducting illegal activities over your Rural Broadband internet connection.

There are 3 applications to use to analyze your Wi-Fi network to see who is connected:

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

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

• How to see who is on your Rural Broadband Wi-Fi network

Do I need a Wifi booster for my Rural Broadband broadband?

If you find that you have wireless black spots in your property, a wireless extender also known as a Wifi Booster is the best solution to increase your Wifi signal to cover any black holes.

• Best Wireless Signal Boosters

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

Place the wireless network extender near where your Wifi network signal from the Rural Broadband broadband router is becoming weaker.

Position it approximately where your Wifi signal is dropping down to less than two signal bars. Walk around your house with a smartphone to find where this location is.

When was the last time you upgraded the Rural Broadband broadband router?

The Rural Broadband and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently upgraded to support new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Always ensure that your Rural Broadband broadband internet router is running on the latest software.

Most Rural Broadband broadband routers allow you to carry out the software upgrade by simply logging on the Rural Broadband broadband router and simply clicking a button to do the upgrade.

If you can’t do this, contact Rural Broadband 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 router for a long time, it’s probably worth speaking to Rural Broadband to ask for a router upgrade.

Is the root cause of the issue outside your property (at the exchange)?

This is probably the most common reason for Rural Broadband broadband performance problems in your home and is more common with internet broadband connections that are delivered through phone lines.

If you’re not sure if this is relevant in your case, you should contact Rural Broadband who will be able to conduct the relevant line tests to see if there is a fault on the Rural Broadband broadband connection.

Is it due to Rural Broadband broadband congestion?

If you are finding that the Rural Broadband internet connection speed in your area is slows down during certain times i.e. weekends and evenings, then it may be because of congestion during peak hours.

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

You should contact Rural Broadband to find out your minimum speed.

Find Best Alternatives to Rural Broadband Broadband

 

Re-testing your Rural Broadband internet connection

After the fault has been fixed either by yourself or Rural Broadband, retest your broadband connection using  at least two separate Speedtests to ensure the fault is resolved:

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