Troubleshooting Utility Warehouse internet performance issues

Before you begin troubleshooting the performance of your Utility Warehouse broadband connection, we suggest that you perform a Utility Warehouse Internet Speedtest to confirm your current broadband speed.

Also confirm the guaranteed minimum download speed you on your broadband package from Utility Warehouse.

You can get this information by checking a Utility Warehouse broadband bill, your Utility Warehouse contract or by contacting Utility Warehouse.

Possible causes of Utility Warehouse’s slow broadband speed

Is it the Utility Warehouse internet connection that is slow or is it your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

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

The speed issue may be due to the over-utilization of your system resources i.e Memory/CPU Processor and not an issue with Utility Warehouse’s internet connection.

If you are on a computer then you may use the task manager to check your Processor and RAM utilisation.

On any other device, you could try restarting the device which should hopefully terminate all applications that may have been using up your systems resources.

Re-run the Utility Warehouse Speed test on your computer and your phone to see how the results compare between the 2 devices.

Hopefully this should give you some information to work with in terms of if the problem is with your PC/Smartphone or the Utility Warehouse internet connection.

• What does the Utility Warehouse download and upload speed mean?
• Who’s the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• Five tips to speed up your Utility Warehouse broadband performance
• DNS hack to improve internet browsing speed on Utility Warehouse

Is the Wifi the problem?

The cause of the performance issue could be your internal Wifi network and not the Utility Warehouse broadband connection.

You can rule out the Wifi network by connecting your computer directly into the Utility Warehouse broadband router using an ethernet cable and run the Utility Warehouse Speed test again.

If the result is better when you’re connected via an ethernet cable, this suggests that the problem may be with your Wifi.

A few other things to look further into:

• Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your Wifi network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is your Wifi signal from the wireless router obstructed?
• Does the speed improve when you’re standing directly infront of the Utility Warehouse wireless router?

Who is connected to my Wi-Fi network?

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

Neighbours could be on your Wi-Fi network and using up all the Utility Warehouse speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or videos on your Utility Warehouse internet connection! Worse than that, they may be carrying out illegal activities on your Utility Warehouse broadband connection.

There are three apps that you can use to analyse your Wi-Fi network to check who’s connected:

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

The above software will scan your wireless network and display a list of the devices connected.

• How to see who’s on your Utility Warehouse wireless network

Should I get a Wifi booster for my Utility Warehouse broadband?

If you find that there are wireless coverage gaps at your house, a Wifi extender aka a wireless Booster is the best solution to increase your Wifi signal to cover any coverage holes.

• Best Wi-Fi Signal Boosters

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

Position the Wifi booster near where your Wifi signal from your Utility Warehouse broadband router is becoming weaker.

Position it approximately where your wireless signal is dropping down to 2 signal bars. Walk around your home with a mobile phone to determine where this is.

When did you last upgrade the Utility Warehouse broadband router?

The Utility Warehouse and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently upgraded to provide new features and improve reliability as technology evolves.  Always ensure that the Utility Warehouse broadband internet router is running on the most up to date software.

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

If you can’t do this, contact Utility Warehouse and they will be able to perform the upgrade for you or talk you through the process.

As well as updating the software, if you have had the same router for a long period, it’s probably worth speaking to Utility Warehouse 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 reason for Utility Warehouse broadband performance problems in your home and is more common with internet broadband connections that are delivered using phone lines.

If you are not sure if this is applicable to you, contact Utility Warehouse who should be able to carry out the relevant connection tests to check if there is a problem on the Utility Warehouse internet line.

Is the issue because of Utility Warehouse broadband congestion?

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

• What is Broadband Contention Ratio and does Utility Warehouse have contention?

You should speak to Utility Warehouse to check your guaranteed speed.

Re-testing your Utility Warehouse broadband connection

After the fault has been resolved either by yourself or Utility Warehouse, re-test your broadband connection using  at least 2 separate Speedtests to ensure the problem is resolved:

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