How to troubleshoot TalkTalk broadband speed problems

Before you begin troubleshooting the speed of your TalkTalk broadband connection, we suggest that you perform a TalkTalk Internet Speedtest to benchmark your current broadband speed.

It is also a good idea find out the guaranteed minimum download speed that you are paying for from TalkTalk.

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

Possible causes of TalkTalk’s slow broadband speed

Is it the TalkTalk internet connection that is slow or could it be your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

You need to check how many apps are running on your device.

The performance issue could be due to over-utilisation of your device’s resources e.g RAM/memory/CPU Processor and not a problem with TalkTalk’s broadband connection.

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

On other device, you could try restarting the device which hopefully will shut down all programs that may have been hogging system resources.

Run the TalkTalk Speedtest on your computer and your mobile phone to check how the speed test results compare between the 2 devices.

This should hopefully provide you with more info to work with in terms of whether the problem is with your device or the TalkTalk broadband connection.

• What does the TalkTalk download and upload speed mean?
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• 5 ways to speed up your TalkTalk broadband performance
• DNS tip to improve internet browsing speed on TalkTalk

Is your Wifi the cause of the slowness?

The root cause of the performance problem could be your Wifi as opposed to the TalkTalk broadband connection.

You could rule out the Wifi by connecting your computer directly into the TalkTalk broadband router with an ethernet cable and run the TalkTalk Speed checker again.

If the speed checker result improves when you’re connected by a network cable, this indicates that the problem could be with your internal wireless network.

A number of things to investigate:

• Are the WiFi channels that you’re using for your Wi-Fi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is the wireless network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does your performance improve when you’re stood directly infront of the TalkTalk broadband router?

Who’s connected to my Wi-Fi network?

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

Neighbors could be on your Wifi network and eating up all your TalkTalk bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your TalkTalk internet connection! Worse still, they could be conducting illegal activities on your TalkTalk internet connection.

Here are 3 apps to use to scan your Wi-Fi network to see who’s connected:

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

The above software analyse your Wifi network and display a list of the devices connected.

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

Do I need a wireless booster for my TalkTalk broadband?

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

• Cheapest Wifi Signal Boosters

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

Position the Wifi extender where your Wifi network signal from your TalkTalk broadband router is becoming weaker.

Place it near where your Wifi signal is dropping down to less than 2 bars. Walk around your home with a smartphone to determine where this location is.

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

The TalkTalk and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently updated to provide new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Always ensure that the TalkTalk broadband router is running the most up-to-date software.

Most TalkTalk broadband routers will allow you to perform the software upgrade by simply logging into the TalkTalk broadband router and simply clicking on a button to do the upgrade.

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

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

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

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

If you’re unsure if this is applicable to you, contact TalkTalk who will be able to run the appropriate line tests to check if there is a issue on the TalkTalk internet line.

Is it due to TalkTalk broadband congestion?

If you are finding that the TalkTalk broadband connection speed in your area is slow during certain times i.e. weekends or during the evening, then it may be because of congestion during peak hours.

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

You should speak to TalkTalk to find out your minimum speed.

Test your TalkTalk broadband connection

After the issue has been fixed either by yourself or TalkTalk, retest your broadband connection using  at least two independent Speedtests to ensure the fault is fixed:

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