Simplifydigital's top five tips on how you can improve your broadband connection.

Your broadband connection can be affected by a number of things. It can be a broadband speed issue - when you live further away from the telephone exchange and don't get a good broadband speed or that your ADSL broadband microfilter is faulty.

1. ADSL broadband filters (Microfilter)

Make sure all of the working 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.

2. Change your broadbands internet browser

By changing the version of internet browser currently installed on your PC you can improve your broadband connections performance. An old internet browser will slow your PC down and your internet experience will suffer. If you are using an older version of Internet Explorer, make sure you upgrade to the latest version to make browsing the internet faster and safer.

3. Get the BT Broadband Accelerator

If you are using ADSL broadband you could benefit from a BT Broadband Accelerator (formally BT I -Plate). The BT Broadband Accelerator is a self install device that fits to your main telephone socket. According to BT this can help increase the speed on your broadband connection by reducing interference from your home phone extension wiring.

According to BT, tests on the device have shown it can boost line speeds typically by 1.5Mbps. BT does say that the results will vary from house to house and although speed improvements are likely, they cannot be guaranteed. The BT Broadband Accelerator should help to make your broadband connection more stable and interference free.

BT Total Broadband customers can get the BT Broadband Accelerator free of charge (£1.20 P&P).
If you're not a BT Total Broadband customer you can get the BT Broadband Accelerator from the BT Shop online. The device only fits to a compatible BT NTE5 type master telephone socket. Take a look at the BT website for further information on BT telephone socket types.

4. Working without wires? - Change your wireless broadband router channel

If you have a wireless router and use it to transmit the broadband signal around your home, you may find that co-channel interference can cause a big problem to your broadband connection and broadband speed.

If your next door neighbour also has a wireless router he may be using the same channel (or frequency) as you. This can cause interference and slow your connection down or stop it all together. You can solve this problem by going into the wireless routers settings and changing the channel to an unused frequency.

5. Change your broadband provider!

Changing your broadband provider because your broadband connection isn't good enough is not always easy, but if you make sure that you are aware of the extra costs you may incur in the cancellation process, you may avoid getting stung by a nasty parting gift from your broadband provider.

BT Broadband, for example, will charge up to £70 if you decide to leave their broadband service and switch to another broadband provider whilst still in contract.