How to troubleshoot Valutel broadband speed issues

Before you begin troubleshooting the speed of your Valutel broadband connection, we recommend that you perform a Valutel Broadband Speedtest to benchmark your current broadband speed.

It is a good idea to also confirm the minimum download speed you have subscribed to from Valutel.

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

Potential causes of Valutel’s slow broadband performance

Is it your Valutel internet connection that is running slow or is it your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

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

The performance issue may be due to over-utilisation of your device’s resources i.e RAM/CPU Processor and as opposed to an issue with Valutel’s broadband connection.

If you are on a PC then you can use the task manager to see your Processor and Memory utilisation.

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

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

Hopefully this should provide you with some info to help determine whether the problem lies with your device or the Valutel broadband connection.

• What does the Valutel download and upload speed mean?
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Is the wireless network the problem?

The root cause of the performance problem could be your Wifi network and not the Valutel broadband internet connection.

You could rule out the Wifi by simply connecting your PC directly into the Valutel broadband router with a network cable and then run the Valutel Speedtest again.

If the result is better when you are connected via an ethernet cable, this shows that the issue could be with your Wifi.

A few other things to check:

• Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your wireless network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbours?
• Is your wireless signal from the internet router obstructed?
• Does the speed get better when your are standing right in-front of the Valutel wireless router?

Who’s connected to my Wifi network?

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

Neighbours could be using your Wi-Fi network and eating up all your Valutel bandwidth by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video on your Valutel broadband connection! Worse than that, they may be carrying out illegal activities over your Valutel broadband connection.

There are three applications that you can potentially use to analyze your wireless network to check who’s connected:

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

The above software scan your Wifi network and display a list of the everything on your wifi.

• How to see who is on your Valutel Wifi network

Do I need a Wifi network booster for my Valutel broadband?

If you find that you have Wifi black holes in your house, a wireless extender aka a Wi-Fi Booster is the best fix to strengthen your Wifi signal to cover any coverage gaps.

• Cheapest Wireless Signal Boosters

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

Place the Wifi booster where your wireless network signal from the Valutel broadband router is becoming weaker.

Place it near where your Wifi signal is dropping down to 2 signal bars. Walk around your house with a tablet to find where this is.

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

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

Most Valutel broadband routers allow you to carry out the software update by simply logging into the Valutel broadband router and simply clicking on a button to start the update.

If you cannot do this, get in touch with Valutel and they will be able to perform the upgrade for you or alternatively, talk you through the process.

As well as updating the software, if you have had router for a long period, it is worth talking to Valutel to request for a router upgrade.

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

This is probably the most common reason for Valutel broadband performance issues in your area and is more common with broadband connections that are delivered through copper phone lines.

If you’re unsure if this is relevant in your case, contact Valutel who will be able to conduct the appropriate line checks to check if there is a fault on the Valutel internet connection.

Is it because of Valutel broadband congestion?

If you are finding that the Valutel internet connection speed in your area is slows down during certain times i.e. over weekends or during the evening, then it may be due to congestion during peak times.

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

You should speak to Valutel to check your guaranteed speed.

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Test your Valutel broadband connection

After the issue has been fixed either by yourself or Valutel, re-test the broadband connection using  at least 2 independent Speedtests to ensure the problem is fixed:

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