‘Broadband’ Issues? PC/ Laptop Speed Problems?

Many people are coming to us lately complaining of problems with their broadband speed.  We understand how frustrating this can be, especially with so many things reliant on it these days.  These issues are generally not the fault of the broadband, but usually related to the hardware, programs running on your computer or a Wi-Fi connection.  The problems are varied and sometimes not obvious so we sometimes have to work to eliminate possible causes.

Things you can try at home if you are having problems:

We know it’s a pain, but try plugging your laptop directly into the broadband connection instead of Wi-Fi to see if that helps.  Wi-Fi is great, but with so many things connecting to it at once it can feel the strain.  If your Wi-Fi connection is a problem we have a great solution via a Wi-Fi access point giving you great coverage throughout your home.  Unlike the routers the broadband companies send out, this will actually improve your signal immensely.  We can even put one outside to give you Wi-Fi access in the garden or home office.  Email or call to find out prices or more information.

Now for your computer.  Does it run slowly on everything you use or just the internet mainly?  If the whole thing is lagging then it may be an idea to have a virus check, this is the most common cause of a slow machine. No one anti-virus program will protect you, and half of us don’t even seem to bother with one at all!  For £50 we will totally rid your PC or Laptop of any trace of Malware or Virus as well as checking the running of the machine to make sure everything is running as best it can.

If your computer is still proving slow you may like to have an SSD upgrade.  The solid state drives are much faster than the hard drives and much less likely to fail.  We can transfer your hard drive to a new SSD from £125.  We can also make your computer like new again by re-installing Windows.  This reverts it back to when it was new so gets rid of bits of programs that are left behind and use up your space and makes it seem like new again.

If the problem only seems to appear when you are on the internet it could possibly be Windows updates or your browser.  Microsoft and Google are forever updating their programs and will hammer your CPU while they are doing it and can take hours to download then install themselves.  Turning off Windows updates means your aren’t protected against security updates however.  If you are having these problems though, try turning off the updates to see if it makes a difference.  Remember to turn it back on again though.  We have a few tricks to solve these problems too.

Don’t forget your broadband connection is shared with your neighbours.  The speed will go down at popular times of day.  If you really can’t live with it, consider a fibre connection, or, for businesses, a leased line.  All these are available through f8 Solutions.

Whatever problem you are having we can help.  Just give us a call or pop in for a cuppa and a chat.