Troubleshooting Velocity 1 broadband speed problems

Before you begin troubleshooting the performance of your Velocity 1 broadband connection, we recommend that you run a Velocity 1 Internet Speed Test to benchmark your current internet speed.

Also confirm the guaranteed minimum download speed that you on your broadband package from Velocity 1.

You can find this information by checking your Velocity 1 broadband bill, your Velocity 1 contract or by contacting Velocity 1.

Probable causes of Velocity 1’s slow broadband performance

Is it the Velocity 1 internet connection that is slow or is it your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

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

The speed problem could be due to the over-utilisation of your system resources e.g RAM/CPU and as opposed to an issue with Velocity 1’s broadband connection.

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

On other device, you could try restarting the device which hopefully will shutdown all applications that may have been hogging your device resources.

Re-run the Velocity 1 Speed checker on your personal computer and your mobile phone to see how the results differ between the 2 devices.

This should hopefully give you more information to help determine if the issue is with your PC/Smartphone or the Velocity 1 broadband connection.

• What does the Velocity 1 download and upload speed mean?
• Who is the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• Five tips to improve your Velocity 1 Internet speed
• Simple DNS hack to speed up internet browsing speed on Velocity 1

Is your Wifi network the cause of the slowness?

The cause of the performance problem may be your Wifi and not the Velocity 1 internet connection.

You can rule out the Wifi by connecting your PC directly into the Velocity 1 broadband router with an ethernet cable and then run the Velocity 1 Speed test again.

If the speed checker result improves when you are connected by a network cable, this indicates that the issue may be with the Wifi.

A few other things to check:

• Are the WiFi channels that you’re using for your Wifi network network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbors?
• Is the wireless network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does the speed get better when you’re standing right in-front of the Velocity 1 wireless router?

Exactly who’s connected to my wireless network?

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

Neighbours could be on your wireless network and using up all your Velocity 1 speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video over your Velocity 1 internet connection! Worse than that, they could be conducting illegal activities over your Velocity 1 internet connection.

Here are 3 applications to utlise to analyze your Wi-Fi network to check who’s connected:

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

The above applications will scan your Wifi network and show you a list of the everything on your wifi.

• How to see who’s on your Velocity 1 Wifi network

Do I need a wireless network booster for my Velocity 1 broadband?

You may find that you have Wi-Fi black holes in your home, a wireless extender also known as a wireless Booster may be the best solution to strengthen your wireless signal to cover any coverage holes.

• Best Wi-Fi Signal Extenders

The wireless booster picks up the existing Wifi signal as it is becoming weaker and re-transmits the wireless signal to extend it’s reach.

Place the Wi-Fi network booster/extender near the position where your Wifi network signal from the Velocity 1 internet router is starting to become weaker.

Position it approximately where your Wifi signal drops down to less than 2 bars. Walk around your house with a tablet to determine where this location is.

When was the last time you upgraded the Velocity 1 broadband router?

The Velocity 1 and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently upgraded to support new features and improve performance as technology evolves.  Ensure that the Velocity 1 broadband internet router is running the most up to date software.

Most Velocity 1 broadband routers allow you to perform the software upgrade by simply logging on the Velocity 1 broadband router and simply clicking a button to do the update.

If you cannot do this, contact Velocity 1 and they will be able to do this for you or talk you through the process.

As well as upgrading the software, if you have had the same router for a long time, it’s worth speaking to Velocity 1 to ask for a hardware upgrade.

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

This is probably the most common reason for Velocity 1 broadband performance problems in your area and it’s more common with broadband connections that are delivered through phone lines.

If you’re unsure if this is relevant in your case, contact Velocity 1 who will be able to run the relevant line checks to check if there is a fault on the Velocity 1 broadband connection.

Is it due to Velocity 1 broadband congestion?

If you’re finding that the Velocity 1 internet connection speed in your area is slow during certain times i.e. over weekends and evenings, then it may be because of congestion during peak times.

• What’s Broadband Contention Ratio and does Velocity 1 have contention?

You should contact Velocity 1 to check your minimum speed.

Re-testing your Velocity 1 broadband connection

After the problem has been resolved either by yourself or Velocity 1, retest your internet connection using  at least 2 independent Speedtests to ensure the fault is fixed:

• • Use the ookla internet broadband speed checker to test your Velocity 1 connection
  • Check your Velocity 1 internet speed using Ookla Offical Speed Test
  • Test your Velocity 1 broadbandspeed using fast.com speed test
  • Check My Broadband Speed Checker Velocity 1 broadband speed checker
  • • 0845UK Broadband Speed Checker and troubleshooting