Troubleshooting Valutel broadband performance problems

Before starting to troubleshoot the performance of your Valutel internet connection, we recommend that you run a Valutel Internet Speedtest to confirm your current connection speed.

You may also want to confirm the guaranteed minimum download speed that you on your broadband package from Valutel.

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

Common causes of Valutel’s slow broadband speed

Is it the Valutel broadband that is slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

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

The speed issue could be due to the over-utilization of your system resources e.g RAM/CPU and as opposed to a problem with Valutel’s internet connection.

If you’re on a PC then you can use the task manager to check your Processor and Memory utilisation.

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

Re-run the Valutel Speed checker on your computer and your mobile phone to check how the results compare between the 2 devices.

This should hopefully provide you with more info to help determine if the problem lies with your device or the Valutel broadband connection.

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

Is the Wifi network the cause of the slowness?

The cause of the performance issue could be your wireless network and not the Valutel broadband connection.

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

If the performance is better when you are connected via a network cable, this proves that the issue could be with the Wi-Fi network.

A number of things to check:

• Are the WiFi channels that you’re using for your wireless network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbors?
• Is your Wi-Fi network signal from the wireless router obstructed?
• Does your speed get better when you’re standing directly infront of the Valutel internet router?

Who’s connected to my wireless network?

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

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

Here are three applications that you can potentially use to analyze your Wi-Fi network to check who is connected:

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

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

• How to see who’s on your Valutel Wi-Fi network

Should I get a Wifi booster for my Valutel broadband?

If you discover that you have Wi-Fi coverage holes at your property, a Wifi extender aka a Wi-Fi Booster may be the best fix to boost your Wi-Fi signal to cover any coverage gaps.

• Best Wifi Signal Boosters

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

Place the Wifi network extender where your Wifi signal from the Valutel internet router is starting to become weaker.

Position it near where your Wifi network signal drops down to 2 signal bars. Walk around your home with a tablet to find where this is.

When did you last upgrade the Valutel broadband router?

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

The majority of Valutel internet routers allow you to perform the software update by simply logging into the Valutel broadband router and simply clicking on a button to perform the upgrade.

If you cannot do this, get in touch with Valutel and they will perform the upgrade for you or talk you through performing the upgrade yourself.

As well as upgrading the software, if you have had the same hardware for a long time, it’s probably worth speaking to Valutel to request for a hardware upgrade.

Is the fault outside your property (at the exchange)?

This is probably the most likely cause for Valutel broadband performance issues in your home and it’s more common for broadband connections that are delivered through copper phone lines.

If you are not sure if this is relevant in your case, you should contact Valutel who will be able to run the relevant line tests to see if there is a issue on the Valutel internet line.

Is the issue because of Valutel broadband congestion?

If you’re finding that the Valutel broadband connection speed in your area is slows down during certain periods i.e. weekends and evenings, then it may be because of congestion during peak times.

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

You should speak to Valutel to find out your guaranteed speed.

Test your Valutel internet connection

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

• • Use the ookla internet broadband speed checker to test your Valutel broadband
  • 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 internet speed checker
  • • 0845UK Broadband Speed Checker and troubleshooting