Troubleshooting Village Networks broadband speed issues

Before starting to troubleshoot the speed of your Village Networks broadband connection, we recommend that you perform a Village Networks Broadband Speedtest to benchmark your current internet speed.

It is a good idea to also find out the guaranteed minimum download speed you are paying for from Village Networks.

You can get this info by checking your Village Networks broadband bill, your Village Networks contract or by contacting Village Networks.

Possible causes of Village Networks’s slow internet speed

Is it your Village Networks broadband that is slow or is it your device (laptop/smartphone/PC)?

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

The performance problem may be due to over-utilisation of your device’s resources e.g Memory/CPU Processor and as opposed to an issue with Village Networks’s internet connection.

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

On other device, you could try restarting the device which hopefully should shutdown all programs that may be hogging your systems resources.

Run the Village Networks Speed test on your PC and your phone to see how the speedtest results compare between the two devices.

Hopefully this should provide you with more info to work with in terms of whether the issue is with your device or the Village Networks internet connection.

• What does the Village Networks download and upload speed mean?
• Who is the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• Five methods to improve your Village Networks broadband performance
• DNS tip to speed up internet browsing speed on Village Networks

Is your Wi-Fi network the reason for the issues?

The cause of the performance issue may be your Wifi network as opposed to the Village Networks broadband connection.

You could rule out the Wi-Fi network by simply connecting your computer directly into the Village Networks broadband router with a network cable and then run the Village Networks Speed checker again.

If the speed is better when you’re connected using a network cable, this proves that the problem may be with your Wifi network.

A few other things to investigate:

• Are the WiFi channels that you are using for your Wifi network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbours?
• Is your Wi-Fi network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does the performance improve when your are standing directly infront of the Village Networks broadband router?

Who is connected to my Wi-Fi network?

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

Neighbors could be on your Wi-Fi network and eating up all the Village Networks speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or videos on your Village Networks internet connection! Worse than that, they could be conducting illegal activities over your Village Networks internet connection.

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

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

The above applications scan your Wi-Fi network and display a list of the everything on your wifi.

• How to see who’s on your Village Networks Wifi network

Do I need a wireless network booster for my Village Networks broadband?

You may discover that you have Wi-Fi coverage gaps at your house, a wireless network 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 Extenders

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

Place the Wi-Fi network extender where your Wifi network signal from your Village Networks internet router is starting to become weaker.

Position it approximately where your wireless signal is dropping down to 2 bars. Walk around your home with a smartphone to find where this location is.

When was the last time you upgraded the Village Networks broadband router?

The Village Networks and broadband infrastructure, in general, are frequently upgraded to provide new features and improve reliability as technology evolves.  Ensure that your Village Networks broadband router is running on the latest software.

The majority of Village Networks internet routers will allow you to perform the software upgrade by logging on the Village Networks broadband router and simply clicking a button to start the upgrade.

If you can’t do this, contact Village Networks and they will be able to do this for you or talk you through performing the upgrade yourself.

In addition to updating the software, if you have had the same hardware for a long period, it’s worth talking to Village Networks to request for a hardware upgrade.

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

This is probably the most likely cause for Village Networks broadband performance problems in your area and it’s more common for broadband connections that are delivered via copper phone lines.

If you are unsure if this is applicable to you, you should contact Village Networks who should be able to conduct the relevant line checks to see if there is a fault on the Village Networks broadband line.

Is the performance issue because of Village Networks broadband congestion?

If you are finding that the Village Networks broadband connection speed in your area is slow during certain times i.e. over weekends and evenings, then it may be due to congestion during peak times.

• What is Broadband Contention Ratio and does Village Networks have contention?

You should speak to Village Networks to find out your minimum speed.

Test your Village Networks broadband connection

After the problem has been resolved either by yourself or Village Networks, re-test the internet connection using  at least 2 separate Speedtests to ensure the problem is fixed:

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