Troubleshooting SAQ internet speed problems

Before starting to troubleshoot the speed of your SAQ broadband connection, we recommend that you run a SAQ Internet Speed Test to measure your current connection speed.

You may also want to find out the guaranteed minimum download speed that you are paying for from SAQ.

You can find this info by checking a SAQ broadband bill, your SAQ contract or by contacting SAQ.

Probable causes of SAQ’s slow broadband speed

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

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

The performance issue may be due to over-utilisation of your device’s resources i.e RAM/CPU and not a problem with SAQ’s broadband connection.

If you are on a computer then you can use the task manager to check your Processor and Memory utilization.

On any other device, you should try restarting the device which should hopefully terminate all apps that may be using up system resources.

Re-run the SAQ Speed checker on your PC and your mobile phone to check how the results differ between the 2 devices.

This should hopefully give you more info to work with in terms of if the issue is with your device or the SAQ broadband connection.

• What exactly does the SAQ download and upload speed mean?
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Is your wireless network the cause of the issue?

The root cause of the performance issue may be your wireless and not the SAQ broadband connection.

You could rule out the Wi-Fi network by connecting your PC directly into the SAQ broadband router using an ethernet cable and then run the SAQ Speedtest again.

If the result is better when you’re connected via a network cable, this suggests that the issue may be with your Wifi.

A few other things to look further into:

• Are the WiFi channels that you’re using for your wireless network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is the wireless network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does the speed improve when your are stood right in-front of the SAQ broadband router?

Who’s connected to my Wi-Fi network?

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

Neighbors could be using your Wi-Fi network and using up all your SAQ bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or videos over your SAQ broadband connection! Worse still, they could be carrying out illegal activities using your SAQ broadband connection.

Here are 3 applications to utlise to analyze your Wifi network to see who is connected:

• Windows users can use Wireless network watcher
• MAC users can use whoFi (who is on my Wifi)
• Wireless scanning tool WiFi Analyzer

The above apps scan your wireless network and show you a list of the devices connected.

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

Should I get a wireless network booster for my SAQ broadband?

If you find that there are Wifi coverage holes in your property, a wireless network extender aka a Wi-Fi Booster may be the best fix to strengthen your Wi-Fi signal to cover any black holes.

• Cheapest Wifi Signal Extenders

The wireless network booster picks up the existing Wifi signal as it is becoming weaker and re-transmits the wireless signal to increase it’s reach.

Place the wireless network booster/extender near the position where your Wifi network signal from the SAQ broadband router is starting to become weaker.

Position it near where your Wifi network signal drops down to 2 signal bars. Walk around your property with a tablet to try and establish where this is.

When did you last upgrade the SAQ broadband router?

The SAQ and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently updated to provide new features and improve reliability as technology evolves.  Ensure that your SAQ internet router is running the most up-to-date software.

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

If you can’t do this, contact SAQ and they will be able to perform the upgrade for you or alternatively, guide you through performing the upgrade yourself.

As well as updating the software, if you have had router for a long time, it’s worth talking to SAQ 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 reason for SAQ broadband performance problems in your home and is more common with broadband connections that are delivered using copper phone lines.

If you are unsure if this is relevant in your case, contact SAQ who should be able to run the relevant connection tests to check if there is a fault on the SAQ internet connection.

Is the performance issue because of SAQ Internet congestion?

If you’re finding that the SAQ broadband connection speed in your area is slows down during certain times i.e. over weekends and evenings, then it may be due to congestion during peak hours.

• What’s Broadband Contention Ratio and does SAQ have contention?

You should speak to SAQ to check your minimum speed.

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Re-testing your SAQ internet connection

After the fault has been resolved either by yourself or SAQ, retest the internet connection using  at least 2 independent Speedtests to ensure the fault is fixed:

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