How to Fix Common Broadband Faults
If you are not exactly a computer boffin but you want to fix common broadband faults, the good news is that in most cases you will need only a modicum of skill and a little perseverance to find a remedy. Good advice is also a useful tool, so read on if you want to overcome those frequent broadband niggles.
The number one broadband irritant can be a lack of connectivity, when your web browser just refuses to load pages and attempted downloads feed you error messages rather than that all-important data. Usually this is an issue with the router and as simple as it may sound, the best option is to turn off your router at the mains, leave it for a minute and then turn it back on. It will then take a minute or two to reconnect and work through its standard steps and more often than not this will get you online. Routers can overheat, crash and suffer from glitches just as any computing equipment, so giving them a chance to load up from scratch will usually get you back online, provided the fault is with you and not your provider.
Another common broadband fault is that of consistently sluggish connection speeds. Most broadband technology is inherently inconsistent because speeds fluctuate depending on the time of day and the distance your home is from the local telephone exchange. However, there is always the possibility that your connection is being hampered by something at your end. For example, connecting your router to your telephone socket via a very long phone extension will have an impact on your speeds as it will distort the digital signal and give you an unnecessarily slow connection. It is always best to use a short cable to hook up your router to the all-important microfilter and then your phone socket and then make the journey from your router to your PC via a network cable for the fastest speeds.
If you are going to be connecting to your router wirelessly then you might also need some help with speeds, because Wi-Fi networks are not always the most consistent ways to get online. First make sure that your router is not being blocked off by anything. Wi-Fi can reach through walls, but if the signal has a long way to travel it will become weaker and speeds will get slower. Basically you should not put your Wi-Fi router under the stairs if you can help it and if it has an antenna make sure that it is pointing in a useful direction. Some people recommend performing tricks with tin foil and even woks, but if you position your router somewhere sensible then it should work fine without modification.
We mentioned microfilters briefly above, but they deserve further attention. A microfilter is the small box-like device that will come bundled with most routers and it plugs directly into your telephone socket and splits the digital broadband signal from the analogue telephone signal that both share your landline connection. You will need a microfilter for every phone socket in your home, as even those without the router attached can mess with your broadband connection when not properly filtered. It is equally important to only use one router, as this can also cause interference, unless you are a particularly advanced user who is looking to set up a secondary wireless bridge.
This article was written by Graham Worrall who writes for Broadband Deals, a UK based broadband comparison website that lists all the latest broadband deals from UK Providers. They also publish some useful guides and tips on how to get the most from your broadband package.
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