How to troubleshoot Spectrum Internet broadband performance issues

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

It is also a good idea find out the minimum download speed that you on your broadband package from Spectrum Internet.

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

Potential causes of Spectrum Internet’s slow internet performance

Is it the Spectrum Internet internet connection that is slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

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

The performance problem could be due to the over-utilization of your system resources e.g RAM/CPU Processor and as opposed to a problem with Spectrum Internet’s broadband connection.

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

On other device, you should try restarting the device which hopefully will shutdown all apps that may be using up your systems resources.

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

This should hopefully provide you with some information to help determine if the issue lies with your device or the Spectrum Internet internet connection.

• What does the Spectrum Internet download and upload speed mean?
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• 5 tips to improve your Spectrum Internet broadband performance
• Simple DNS hack to improve internet browsing speed on Spectrum Internet

Is the Wifi the cause of the slowness?

The cause of the performance problem could be your wireless as opposed to the Spectrum Internet broadband internet connection.

You could rule out the wireless by simply connecting your PC directly into the Spectrum Internet broadband router using an ethernet cable and then run the Spectrum Internet Speed checker again.

If the speed is better when you’re connected using an ethernet cable, this indicates that the problem could be with the Wifi.

A number of things to investigate:

• Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your wireless network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is your wireless signal from the internet router obstructed?
• Does your speed improve when your are standing right infront of the Spectrum Internet 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 un-secured Wifi network? How strong is your Wifi network password? It may be time to update it.

Neighbours could be on your Wifi network and using up all the Spectrum Internet speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your Spectrum Internet broadband connection! Worse than that, they could be carrying out illegal activities on your Spectrum Internet internet connection.

There are 3 applications to utlise to analyse your Wi-Fi network to see who is connected:

• Microsoft users can use Wireless network watcher
• Apple users can use whoFi (who is on my Wifi)
• wireless network scanning application WiFi Analyzer

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

• How to check who’s on your Spectrum Internet Wifi network

Do I need a Wifi network booster for my Spectrum Internet broadband?

You may discover that there are Wifi black holes in your home, a Wifi extender also known as a Wifi Booster is the best fix to increase your wireless signal to cover any coverage gaps.

• Cheapest Wireless Signal Extenders

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

Place the wireless network extender near the position where your Wifi signal from the Spectrum Internet broadband router is becoming weaker.

Position it near where your Wi-Fi network signal drops down to less than 2 signal bars. Walk around your home with a smartphone to find where this location is.

When did you last upgrade the Spectrum Internet broadband router?

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

Most Spectrum Internet internet routers allow you to perform the software update by logging on the Spectrum Internet broadband router and simply clicking a button to start the update.

If you cannot do this, get in touch with Spectrum Internet and they will perform the upgrade for you or alternatively, guide you through the process.

As well as upgrading the software, if you have had router for a long time, it may be worth speaking to Spectrum Internet to ask for a router upgrade.

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

This is probably the most likely cause for Spectrum Internet broadband performance issues in your property and it’s more common with internet broadband connections that are delivered using phone lines.

If you’re unsure if this is applicable to you, contact Spectrum Internet who should be able to conduct the relevant line checks to check if there is a problem on the Spectrum Internet broadband line.

Is the performance issue because of Spectrum Internet broadband congestion?

If you’re finding that the Spectrum Internet broadband connection speed in your area is slow during certain times e.g over weekends and evenings, it may be because of congestion during peak times.

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

You should speak to Spectrum Internet to check your minimum speed.

Find Best Alternatives to Spectrum Internet Broadband

 

Test your Spectrum Internet broadband connection

After the issue has been fixed either by yourself or Spectrum Internet, retest the internet connection using  at least 2 separate Speedtests to ensure the problem is resolved:

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