Fuzzable
Think your broadband connection might not be up to speed? You’re not alone. Broadband has become a huge industry in the UK with revenues of over £5billion. But that doesn’t mean everyone has the perfect connection.
If you think you might not be getting what you pay for, or are considering moving suppliers to find the best speed and rate combo, then this article is for you. We’re going to look at some of the best and easiest ways to check your broadband speed along with a few pointers if you’re looking to move suppliers.
Switching suppliers can be a great idea in what is already a hugely competitive market. That way you can both save money and get a faster connection. By comparing your broadband on Simply Switch, you’ll be able to find the best prices and speed deals around. But first thing’s first – you need to check your current speed. How can you do it?
Try A Broadband Speed Tool
There are plenty of these available online with a quick search. One of the most popular is https://www.speedtest.net/. Simply click through and it’ll do most of the work for you, giving you a detailed report on your speed and a few other metrics within a few seconds.
When you’ve got the data, you probably want to know what it means. Compare the actual speed the test puts out to what you’re paying for each month. You should know what speed your broadband connection is supposed to be, but is it really matching up? For a bit more on speed testing, you can look here.
What Could Affect Your Broadband Speed?
If you aren’t getting the speeds you think you should be, it could be for a number of reasons. While one reason might be down to a poor broadband provider, it’s not the only one. Let’s have a look at what else could have affected your speed test score, and what you should do to get a more accurate reading
Close Connections And Downloads When Checking
You shouldn’t do the speed test while you’re using your connection for anything else. That means closing all downloads and making sure your computers aren’t doing anything online. Certain software can run in the background so you’ll need to be careful something isn’t using your connection without you knowing it.
Remember to switch off Netflix on the TV or any other streaming devices. Much more than just your computer uses the internet these days, so be careful.
Make Sure You Check At Different Times
One big factor in determining your speed is the contention rate. This is where the actual broadband pipe is shared with people in your area. What that means is that during busy times, your speeds could be affected. It might be a good idea to run the test during the day rather than the busy evening. Although if you always struggle to get good speeds in busy times that could also be a problem.
Run Your Own Tests
Don’t just rely on generic speed tests, but actually check how fast things you actually use regularly are performing. Are your downloads slower than they should be? Do you have problems playing online games? There could be other issues if so.
Why Ping Could Be As Important As Download Speeds
The main thing people look for when they test is download speed, but that’s not the only important factor. Your ping is a representation of how long it takes to send and receive packets of data, and it’s more important than download speeds for online gaming.
Have you recently switched suppliers and found much faster broadband speeds? We’d like to hear how it went for you.
