Slow Internet Guide

Test your connection first

If your connection feels slow, run a test first so you know whether the problem is download speed, upload speed, ping or jitter.

Evening slowdowns can be congestion, Wi-Fi load or busy household usage.

Upload affects video calls, backups, livestreams and sending files.

High ping causes delay in games, calls and remote desktop tools.

Find out whether signal, interference or router issues are to blame.

Buffering often points to Wi-Fi, download speed or household congestion.

Work through the most common broadband problems.

The issue may be latency, jitter, packet loss or Wi-Fi stability rather than download speed.

Test both if possible. Ethernet helps show whether the broadband line is fine and Wi-Fi is the weak point.

Evening usage increases across homes and neighbourhoods, which can expose Wi-Fi congestion or provider network congestion.

For streaming, download matters most. For calls and cloud backups, upload matters. For gaming, ping and jitter matter most.