Broadband is magic isn't it?

Broadband internet has enabled us to surf the web at speeds thought impossible years ago. It improves both our home and work lives and opens up new possibilities for education and recreation.

But it's only good when it's working. Broadband, just like the washing machine or fridge freezer, can break down or develop faults.

Unfortunately unlike a washing machine you can't simply pop down to the repair shop and "buy a new broadband".

Here are Simplifydigital's top five broadband related problems and how to solve them:

1. Problems with your broadband provider

You may find your main problem is with your broadband provider. It may be a broadband speed issue or simply the lack of customer service from your broadband ISP. You might not be happy with the download usage limits set by your broadband ISP or the fact that they do not provide other services such as home phone and digital TV bundle packages.

The solution: change your broadband provider! It may sound like a lot of hassle but it's not as bad as you might think.
Often broadband providers such as Virgin Media make sure that changing your broadband provider is hassle free and they offer a dedicated switching service.

It's not always straight forward with every ISP. BT will charge £70 if you decide to leave its broadband service and switch to another broadband provider.

Switching can save money, and if you decide to take a broadband bundle offer from broadband providers like Virgin Media, you may find that by adding in extra services to your broadband package you will save more.

2. Speed Problems

Broadband speed is important to most people. If you don't use the internet very often then speeds of 2Mbps would probably be just fine. However if you use the broadband connection in your home for multiple applications or for your work or a business, then broadband speed is more important.

The solution: broadband speed depends on many factors. Your distance from the BT telephone exchange is a big factor in broadband speed. The further away you are from the BT telephone exchange the slower your broadband speed will be.

One solution when experiencing slow speeds while using your broadband connection would be to make sure you have the latest internet browser installed on your PC. If you are still using Internet Explorer 6 with your broadband package it might pay to upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer. This can improve the speed and performance of your internet browsing experience.

Also make sure all of the telephone connections in your home have an ADSL filter fitted. The ADSL filter separates the transmission signals that carry telephone services and ADSL broadband services. This ensures that there is no interference on your home phone and enables you to make a call and use broadband internet at the same time.

If your broadband speed problem is simply not enough speed, you would need to consider changing your broadband provider to one that offers higher speeds such as Virgin Media. Virgin Media broadband offers speeds of up to 100Mbps in the UK. However this will depend on whether or not you are in a Virgin Media cabled area. The broadband is delivered over fibre optic cables which allow for greater amounts of data to travel down the cable and can produce ultra-fast broadband speeds.

Also take a look at the how do I increase my broadband speed guide.

3. ADSL filter problem

If the ADSL filter is not connected properly and not all of the phone sockets in your home have one fitted, this will cause your broadband connection some problems. You need an ADSL filter to ensure that your broadband connection works.

The solution: the main thing to remember is to make sure that every BT phone socket in your home has an ADSL filter fitted.

Telephone extensions can cause problems with broadband speed so try not to make too many telephone extensions off of your main BT landline.

If you can hear noise on your home phone line then the filter you have used may be faulty or not connected properly. Make sure you have connected the cables in the correct sockets and if that fails change your ADSL filter for a new one. If you still have noise on your home phone line you can report a suspected fault to BT by dialling 151 on your landline.

4. Wireless broadband connection interference

The main reason for interference on your wireless broadband connection is normally interference from your neighbour's wireless router.

The solution: wireless routers normally change channels automatically to find an available operating frequency.
You can change the channel manually in some cases. You should be able to access this on your routers settings menu and change the channel to avoid interference.

5. Wireless broadband causing interference to other devices

Most wireless broadband routers operate on microwave frequencies at around 2.4Ghz. Unfortunately many other devices such as video senders, baby monitors and cordless digital home phones use the same area of the frequency spectrum. Your wireless router may be great for delivering high-speed and ultra-fast broadband around your home, but it can cause interference to other devices in your home as well.

The solution: if you can, try and keep the wireless router away from other devices like cordless phones and video senders. This should cut down some of the interference.

Try to change the wireless routers operating frequency (or channel) to avoid the operating frequencies of other devices in your home.

If you are getting bad interference on your video sender you can also try and change its channel. Unfortunately though you are normally limited to a choice of just 4 channels. It might be better to buy a video sender that operates on a higher frequency such as 5.8Ghz. This should solve the problem.

These broadband problem solutions are only a guide and so if you do get problems with your broadband set up it is always wise to contact your ISP for broadband help and advice.