What affects broadband speed?

Find out what has an impact – inside and outside the home. And make a few simple changes so you can enjoy faster broadband speeds.

How fast will my broadband be?

When you join or switch to Post Office Unlimited Broadband, we’ll test your line. And give you an estimate of the download speed you can expect to enjoy under the best conditions. You might also hear it called line speed or sync speed. It’s always shown as a range, like 8-10Mb/s.

You can check broadband speed and availability at your address online anytime. There’s no obligation to buy anything at that point.

10 things that can affect broadband speed 

Lots of things can make your broadband slower than expected. You can control some of these but not others.

How close you live to the phone exchange

The signal has to travel from the exchange to your line. The shorter the distance, the faster the connection.

When you go online

Your broadband speeds may slow down at peak times – 6pm-11pm and weekends.

Busy websites

If a lot of people are using a website at the same time, you might find it takes longer to load.

Bad weather

Heavy rain, flooding and snow can all cause short circuits and cable damage, which can slow or stop your broadband connection.

Your home wiring

Its age, length and condition all affect broadband speed. You’ll probably get faster speeds if the wiring from your master socket to the router is shorter and of good quality.

Your router

Newer routers usually deliver the fastest broadband speeds. Make sure you install the micro filters properly – these filter your phone line and let your broadband and phone work at the same time.

And where you put it

Your router needs to be connected to the master socket to work. If you connect it to an extension socket, the signal will have to travel further and the speed will be slower than it could be.

Electrical interference from other devices

Like baby monitors, cordless phones, microwaves and washing machines can interfere with the signal.

The number of people using your broadband connection

If mum’s on her mobile, dad’s using his laptop and the kids are streaming movies and gaming on different devices, the signal is split between them and the broadband speed might slow down.

When your broadband was activated

If you’ve just joined Post Office or moved house, it can take up to 10 days for the speed and stability of your broadband to settle. We need to run line tests at the start to make sure things are better in the long run.

How to boost your broadband speed 

Think your broadband speed is slower than it should be? Here are some tips to help you speed things up.

Check your Wi-Fi

Location matters. Walls, doors, wardrobes and other electrical devices can all affect broadband speed. Restarting your devices now and then could also help you get a better connection.

And the devices that connect to it

As a general rule, smaller, older and lower-quality devices deliver slower speeds. Newer laptops and desktop computers will probably maintain a stronger connection than phones and tablets.

Switch off any devices you’re not using

Your broadband speed is split between every device that’s connected to your router. If three devices are using it at the same time, each one will get roughly a third of the available speed

Keep your router switched on 24/7

To get the best broadband speeds and performance. If you’re always switching it off and on, it looks like your broadband has been disconnected. So your speed might automatically be reduced to make the line more reliable.

Think about upgrading slower, older computers

Running lots of different applications. It sometimes gives the impression that your broadband is running slow but this could just be down to the age and condition of your computer.

What if I live in an area with no coverage?

Post Office covers 95% ofhe UK but if you do live outside our range, there’s an alternative. Take a look at Broadband Connect, our slower-speed service for everyday browsing and emailing.