How to troubleshoot Spitfire broadband speed issues

Before you start troubleshooting the performance of your Spitfire broadband connection, we suggest that you run a Spitfire Broadband Speedtest to measure your current internet speed.

Also confirm the minimum download speed that you have subscribed to from Spitfire.

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

Probable causes of Spitfire’s slow broadband performance

Is it your Spitfire broadband that is slow or is it your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

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

The speed problem may be due to over-utilisation of your device’s resources e.g RAM/CPU and not an issue with Spitfire’s internet connection.

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

On other device, you should try rebooting the device which hopefully should shut down all apps that may have been hogging your device resources.

Run the Spitfire Speed test on your PC and your phone to check how the speed test results compare between the 2 devices.

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

• What exactly does the Spitfire download and upload speed mean?
• Who is the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• 5 tips to speed up your Spitfire Internet speed
• Simple DNS tip to improve internet browsing speed on Spitfire

Is your Wifi network the problem?

The root cause of the performance issue may be your internal Wifi network as opposed to the Spitfire broadband internet connection.

You could rule out the Wifi by connecting your computer directly to the Spitfire broadband router using a network cable and then run the Spitfire Speed checker again.

If the speed checker result is better when you are connected by a network cable, this indicates that the problem could be with the Wi-Fi network.

A few other things to look further into:

• Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your Wifi network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbors?
• Is your Wifi signal from the wireless router obstructed?
• Does your speed get better when your are standing right infront of the Spitfire wireless router?

Exactly who’s connected to my wireless network?

Have you checked that your wireless network password has not been compromised? Do you have an un-secured wireless network? How strong is your wireless network password? It may be time to change it.

Neighbours could be on your wireless network and using up all your Spitfire speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your Spitfire broadband connection! Worse still, they could be carrying out illegal activities using your Spitfire broadband connection.

There are 3 apps to use to analyze your wireless network to see who’s connected:

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

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

• How to check who is on your Spitfire wireless network

Should I get a Wifi network booster for my Spitfire broadband?

You may find that you have Wi-Fi black holes at your home, a wireless network extender aka a Wi-Fi Booster is the best fix to boost your Wi-Fi signal to cover any black spots.

• Best Wi-Fi Signal Boosters

The wireless network booster simply picks up your existing wireless network signal as it is starting to become weaker and re-transmits the wireless network signal to extend it’s coverage.

Place the wireless network extender near the position where your Wifi signal from the Spitfire internet router is starting to become weaker.

Position it approximately where your Wifi network signal drops down to less than 2 bars. Walk around your home with a smartphone to find where this is.

When was the last time you upgraded the Spitfire internet router?

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

The majority of Spitfire broadband routers will allow you to carry out the software upgrade by logging on the Spitfire broadband router and simply clicking on a button to start the update.

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

In addition to updating the software, if you have had router for a long time, it is worth speaking to Spitfire to request for a router upgrade.

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

This is probably the most likely cause for Spitfire broadband performance problems in your area and is more common with broadband connections that are delivered through copper phone lines.

If you’re unsure if this is applicable to you, you should contact Spitfire who will be able to conduct the appropriate line checks to check if there is a fault on the Spitfire broadband line.

Is the performance issue because of Spitfire Internet congestion?

If you are finding that the Spitfire broadband connection speed in your area is slows down during certain times e.g over weekends or during the evening, it may be due to congestion during peak hours.

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

You should speak to Spitfire to check your guaranteed speed.

Re-testing your Spitfire internet connection

After the fault has been resolved either by yourself or Spitfire, retest the broadband connection using  at least 2 separate Speedtests to ensure the problem is fixed:

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