How to increase your broadband speed

Slow broadband speed can slow your entire life down. Whether it’s for working, gaming or streaming – sluggish downloads, constant lag and endless buffering can really get in the way of your everyday activities.  

But when it’s happening often and causing you regular frustration, what do you do?

In this article, we’ll cover how to work out exactly what’s going on with your broadband speed and more importantly, how to fix it…

What can affect my broadband speed?

First, let’s take a look at some of the things that could be slowing you down. There can be a number of reasons including: 
 
1. Overloading your broadband

Having too many connected devices, people online, or data-heavy activities, especially all at once, will quickly eat up all your bandwidth and start to cause slow speeds. In this case it might be worth taking a look at how many devices are actually connected to your Wi-Fi network. When you factor in connected laptops, mobiles, gaming devices, printers, smart ovens, smart radiators and more you can see the device load starts to add up quicky!

2. The location of your router 
Physical obstacles in your home like walls, cupboard doors, furniture and or even how far you are from your router can affect your signal. Older homes, in particular, can have dense walls that make it hard for signal to pass through. Equally, nearby routers and devices can also cause interference.

3. Your model of router 
Older routers are generally less efficient at handling high volumes of traffic and newer tech, and some can’t even support the faster broadband packages available today.

For example, if you’ve got a Gigabit package, and you’re using a Wi-Fi standard 5 router or below, it will limit your speeds.

4. You’re using copper cabling

If your broadband relies on older copper cabling (ADSL, ADSL2+), speeds can be affected by your distance from the exchange. You can check how far you are from your provider’s telephone exchange with this handy tool. And don’t be fooled – even partial fibre (or FTTC) uses some copper and can slow you down.

5. You’re using old or outdated technology

You might be using a Wi-Fi 7 router, but if your devices are much older, you just won’t be able to get the best possible speeds – no matter what you try. The same goes for your software and browser. If they’re out of date, they may not perform as well as they should and could even have bugs that affect speed and stability. H2/ How do I increase my broadband speed? By now, you might have a good idea of what’s slowing things down. But often, it can be a combination of the above, so your best bet is to work through these steps: H3/ Run a broadband speed test Run a broadband speed test. This will tell you straight away if your connection’s running slower than the minimum speed of your package. Don’t be surprised if your speeds are little lower than the package speed you pay for, this is quite normal when you factor in walls, connected devices and other factors that could slow your speeds down. The real issue is when you’re speeds are a lot lower than you expected, and your connected devices aren’t working. Ideally, run several tests at different times. One-off slowdowns can happen – like if your provider’s network has a service outage or is running an update. To check this, you can contact them directly or visit their website for service info.  
 
Websites like Downdetector.co.uk, where other users report issues in real time, can be helpful too. But if your activities are regularly struggling and, when you run speed tests, they’re meeting the minimum speed of your package – your issue is likely closer to home… or in your home, in fact! In which case, there are few things you can to do enhance your Wi-Fi signal... 
 
2. Look at your router placement We always recommend our customers place their router in the most central possible location. Every home is different, though. So, if this doesn’t work first time, try a few different locations out. Remember, different obstacles and devices can block signal and old buildings can have all kinds of unusual structural features that get in the way. If you’re still having problems after that, then it’s time to look at range extenders – or even better, Wi-Fi mesh. Read our blog post to find out more about the power of mesh.

1. Update all your technology

Next, how old are your devices and are they up to date? It’s possible very old devices, like laptops, desktops and early tablets, will struggle to run quickly with current Wi-Fi standards and other traffic on the network. If they’re older, running the latest operating system and they’re still slow, it might be worth replacing them. Equally, make sure you’re using the latest version of your choice of browser.

1. Upgrade to full fibre

If you’re running on an FTTC connection or anything older that uses copper cabling – take our advice and replace it. In fact, not only are these connections less reliable and likely to slow you down, they’re soon to be phased out entirely with the 2027 PSTN switch off, across the UK. Get ahead of the curve, boost your speeds and get rid of them.  
 
For longevity, reliability and speed, getting full fibre installed is by far your best option. Unlike others, your connection is dedicated to your home, meaning no peak time congestion or sharing bandwidth with neighbours. Most importantly, it’s set to be the standard for years to come, and it’s your best route for unlocking market-leading Gigabit speeds… which brings us to our final step…

1. Get a speed that can handle your needs

After trying all of these steps, your best bet is to look at getting a speed package that can actually handle your data and bandwidth usage. And if your current provider can’t offer that or a full fibre connection, then it’s probably not worth sticking with them. Gigabit speeds can easily handle more data-heavy activities, like 4/8K streaming, hefty downloads or serious gaming – in many cases, for dozens of devices at one time. And we expect, as technology evolves, we’ll be needing these types of speeds a lot more.  
 
6. Explore Wi-Fi mesh

Finally, if you’ve done all of the steps and you’re still finding Wi-Fi dead zones around your home, then Wi-Fi mesh is your next best bet. For example, if you live in a large or unique type of home. In this day and age, most internet providers worth their salt should be able to offer this. And compared to Wi-Fi range extenders, it’s far better at delivering quality coverage, across your whole home.

Don’t suffer slow speed, switch to LightSpeed

At LightSpeed, we make sure our customers have the right speed for their needs. We offer a range of package options, including Gigabit speeds right up to 5Gbps. And our team are happy to talk through your home requirements and find the right one for you.

Gigabit broadband is built to handle enormous demands and make lag, buffering and loading a thing of the past. Even better, it should hold you in good stead for years to come.

To give you the best possible broadband speed, all our packages offer:

• the latest award-winning Wi-Fi standard 7 routers

• a dedicated setup call and professional install to make sure your router is in the best-possible place, with no obstructions

• full fibre connection

• no peak-time congestion

• UK-based support to resolve any problems quickly.

Discover what LightSpeed can do for you.