How to troubleshoot Vodafone broadband speed problems

Before starting to troubleshoot the performance of your Vodafone internet connection, we suggest that you run a Vodafone Internet Speedtest to measure your current internet speed.

Also find out the guaranteed minimum download speed that you on your broadband package from Vodafone.

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

Possible causes of Vodafone’s slow broadband speed

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

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

The speed issue may be due to over-utilisation of your system resources i.e RAM/CPU and as opposed to an issue with Vodafone’s internet connection.

If you’re on a laptop then you may use the task manager to see your CPU and RAM utilisation.

On any other device, you could try rebooting the device which hopefully will shutdown all apps that may be using up system resources.

Run the Vodafone Speedtest on your computer and your phone to check how the speed test results differ between the two devices.

Hopefully this should give you more information to work with in terms of if the issue is with your PC/Smartphone or the Vodafone internet connection.

• What does the Vodafone download and upload speed mean?
• Who’s the best Internet Service Provider in the UK?
• 5 methods to speed up your Vodafone Internet performance
• DNS hack to improve internet browsing speed on Vodafone

Is your Wifi the cause of the issue?

The root cause of the performance problem may be your Wifi as opposed to the Vodafone broadband connection.

You could rule out the Wifi network by simply connecting your computer directly to the Vodafone broadband router with a network cable and then run the Vodafone Speed checker again.

If the performance improves when you are connected via a network cable, this proves that the problem could be with your wireless network.

Possible things to check:

• Are the Wireless channels that you’re using for your wireless network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbors?
• Is your wireless network signal from the broadband router obstructed?
• Does the performance get better when your are stood right in-front of the Vodafone internet router?

Who’s connected to my Wifi network?

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

Others could be on your Wi-Fi network and eating up all the Vodafone speed by downloading, uploading or even streaming music or video over your Vodafone broadband connection! Worse still, they may be carrying out illegal activities using your Vodafone broadband connection.

There are 3 applications that you can potentially utlise to scan your wireless network to see who’s connected:

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

The above applications will scan your wireless network and produce a list of the devices connected.

• How to check who’s on your Vodafone Wi-Fi network

Do I need a wireless network booster for my Vodafone broadband?

You may discover that you have Wi-Fi black holes at your home, a Wifi extender also known as a wireless Booster is the best fix to increase your Wifi signal to cover any black holes.

• Best Wifi Signal Extenders

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

Place the wireless network booster/extender near the position where your wireless network signal from the Vodafone broadband router is becoming weaker.

Position it approximately where your wireless network signal drops down to less than two signal bars. Walk around your house with a mobile phone to determine where this is.

When did you last upgrade the Vodafone broadband router?

The Vodafone and broadband infrastructure, in general, are constantly upgraded to provide new features and improve reliability as technology evolves.  Ensure that your Vodafone broadband internet router is running on the most up-to-date software.

The majority of Vodafone broadband routers allow you to carry out the software update by logging on the Vodafone broadband router and simply clicking on a button to do the update.

If you cannot do this, contact Vodafone and they will do this for you or alternatively, guide you through the process.

In addition to updating the software, if you have had router for a long time, it’s probably worth speaking to Vodafone to ask for a hardware upgrade.

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

This is probably the most likely cause for Vodafone broadband performance problems in your area and is more common with broadband connections that are delivered via copper phone lines.

If you are not sure if this is applicable to you, you should contact Vodafone who should be able to conduct the appropriate line tests to see if there is a problem on the Vodafone broadband line.

Is the performance issue due to Vodafone broadband congestion?

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

• What is Broadband Contention Ratio and does Vodafone have contention?

You should contact Vodafone to find out your minimum speed.

Test your Vodafone broadband connection

After the problem has been resolved either by yourself or Vodafone, retest the internet connection using  at least two separate Speedtests to ensure the problem is fixed:

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