Basic Troubleshooting
As of the time of this writing, Google speed test (the default search) is not accurate. It uses busier servers farther away (normally out of Canada). Please do not use this as a testing for your speeds. Please use a site like Speedtest.net
Slow speeds are a big issue but it is not an easy fix. There are many factors that need to be tested for. While this will take awhile, please take your time and slowly go through everything. As you may find something small or large is going wrong with your network that needs to be addressed.
The fastest way of figuring out slow speeds
Check your modem and router cables! If you see a Damaged Coax / Phone / Ethernet cable you should replace those. As they may be going old causing out of spec signal to come through. Also, these devices do need ventilation! If it is dusty or anything covering / stacked on it, that should be removed. Also make sure you do not put the modem near another electronic device, it could be getting some feedback causing an error!
Try plugging in the modem into another source. Power bars and even outlets can go bad over time and cause Voltage issues. Or it could be something as small as the Power cable coming loose.
Connect directly to your modem, and if a Combination unit, please bridge the modem. You will need to review our other guides on your modem for this. Then start your computer in Safe Mode with Networking, using a CAT 6 Ethernet Cable. Make sure the device can handle the speed you are subscribed to, and run a speedtest.
If you are not sure about your device we cover how to find that information in the section below labeled : Can my Device handle the speed?
There are also resources online how to check max possible speeds on the device in question. If you are using an Ethernet Adapter (like USB to Ethernet) you also need to check that device as well!
If you do these and run a speedtest with slow results, please open a ticket at this time.
Is there anything easier I can try first?
Make sure the device in question is not being overloaded! Apps, Tabs, and other programs slow down your device if you want it to or not. Make sure everything is closed out completely (not just paused). Also double check everyone on your network! For instance, if someone received a new Gaming Console, they often have updates and games that are very large. They could be running it in the background even without their knowledge. Have the person check to ensure nothing is downloading.
Is anyone streaming something? Most Smart Devices like Television run off Apps. Ensure those are closed out before running a speed test. If you run the test afterwards and these help, then it was those devices!
If you cannot do this, try to change the Wireless Network Name, and Password in your modem temporarily. Unplug the modem from the power a full 5 minutes, then connect 1 device right on top of your modem via 5Ghz and test. If it is fine, then it is a device if you know of one or not, or possible congestion. The easiest way is to attach your devices to the new networks one at a time and test. You may find it was the one device in a far away location. We have guides on changing your wireless channels in our other pages.
VPN's or custom DNS can also slow your computer down! Make sure everything is removed and set to default automatic settings. Then restart or flush the device and try again.
If it is an intermittent problem, try to take close attention to what happens during that time. See if its slow or a full disconnection. Getting the modem light pattern can help you here. Also check if something happens at the exact same time. We know it sounds crazy but something like a Washing machine turning on could be creating a voltage feedback and the modem malfunctions! We have even had cases where a Street car goes by and disconnects the Wireless but after it passes everything is fine. Take care to fully narrow down anything else going on.
Can you send someone to do this for me or provide the equipment to do so?
We do apologize we do not have any staff to send to locations or able to provide equipment for completing these tests.
Is there a program for monitoring?
We do not have any but there are programs and personal router applications that can help monitor your entire network. All of these will work but keep in mind, our Vendor does not accept these tests. We must do the Trace, Pings, tests etc exactly as they request. As these programs could also be causing issues. For instance, consistent speed tests do use your network, as such if it is running all of the time, it is taking your speed at that moment. If you are downloading or streaming it would directly show on those tests.
Is there any set Guarantee of Speed?
There are no set possible lowest speeds. All speeds are Up to. The only way you will ever be able to see the max possible speeds is wired. Our Vendor's also only support the speed coming to the modem wired with nothing else or wireless. This is why we must be so strict otherwise we end up in a loop of rejected tickets with no resolution.
Why is my speed higher at certain parts of the day?
For DSL it is a direct line so it should not change unless something is causing a signal problem on the line. Examples of this could be water on the line or a bad phone cable taking poor voltage.
Cable internet on the other hand is a shared infrastructure. With everyone being Online more and more, peak hour congestion is almost at all times of the day. Depending how many people are online, that will impact your line. The only fix for this is covered above with making the most out of your network and cutting back during these times. Since it is each area type of problem, we have no estimate how much it might slow down by. The best way to test is when most people are not online (normally around midnight to 6AM).
My Speeds are Capping
Ethernet Cable
We covered earlier but there are three common types of Ethernet cords that we may encounter. Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6. The speeds in which these handle are different. You can usually find what the cable Category is by looking on the plastic coating on the wire.
- Cat5 – Has a limit of 100Mbps.
- Cat5e – Has a limit of 1000Mbps, or 1Gbps. These are what we now send out with hardware to assist with these issues.
- Cat6 – Has a limit of 10000Mbps, or 10Gbps. Recommended as Infrastructure changes.
If you have Cat5, that cable will need to look into replacing that cable as it's limiting the speed to 100Mbps. You will need to check all Ethernet cables including Modem to Router, Router to device, and etc.
Routers
The Most common routers used nowadays is either a Fast Ethernet port (100Mbps), or a Giga Ethernet port (1000Mbps). With most common routers a quick online search should be able to bring up the tech specs. The cheaper end routers are most likely to only to have Fast Ethernet ports. As Examples here is are 2 modems that have the two types of ports.
D-Link DIR-819
- As you can see above, the D-link DIR 819 only has Fast Ethernet ports on both the WAN and LAN.
D-Link DIR-859
- With the D-Link DIR859 above, it has Gigabit Wan and LAN ports. Therefore this router would be able to handle the fastest speeds we have to date.
You will need to check with the manufacture or their posted information / manuals for this information.
Other Equipment like VoIP ATA's
With our ATAs (example TekTalk Grandstream), what matters most is where the ATA is in the network. If the ATA is after or behind a router, then the speed the ATA can handle is irrelevant because no traffic is flowing through it. If the ATA is before or in front of a router, then the speed reaching anything after it (usually a router) will be limited to what the ATA can handle depending on what mode it's configured in. See below for the speeds each ATA can handle in Routed/NAT and Bridge modes.
Grandstream HT812
- Routed/NAT: 100 Mbps
- Bridged: 1 Gbps
Grandstream HT502
- Routed/NAT: 20 - 25 Mbps
- Bridged: 100 Mbps
Cisco SPA122
- Routed/NAT: 15 Mbps
- Bridged: 100 Mbps
Linksys SPA2102
- Routed/NAT: 7 Mbps
- Bridged: 100 Mbps
As you can see, of ATAs listed above that TekSavvy has sold, only the Grandstream HT812 in bridge mode is capable of handling speeds over 100 Mbps.
Can my Device handle the speed?
This is now the broadest of categories as this can include a multitude of devices, ranging from Computers to phones, consoles, tablets, T.Vs and more. Now as most of these are uniform and a online search or a look at the manual would have their theoretical speed. The trickiest devices are computers, android boxes and any other devices that is easily created or modified. The common one that we work with and do support is computers. With the main Operating systems that we work with, there are different ways of checking this.
Windows Vista and Newer
- Open up Control Panel
- Click on Network and Internet
- Click on Network and Sharing Center
- Click on Manage Network connections (Vista) or Change adapter Settings (7 or newer)
- Right Click on the connection you want to check (Wireless or Local Area Connection/Ethernet)
- Click on Status
- On this screen under the General Tab, under the Connection section there will be something that states speed. This is the theoretical speed which the device can handle.
Windows XP
- Open up Control Panel
- Click on Network and Internet Connections
- Click on Network Connections
- Right Click on the connection you want to check (Wireless or Local Area Connection/Ethernet)
- Click on Status
- On this screen under the General Tab, under the Connection section there will be something that states speed. This is the theoretical speed which the device can handle.
Mac OS
- Open up Spotlight Search (top right magnifying glass)
- Search Network Utility
- Open Network Utility
- Have the desired connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) selected under “Select a network interface for information”
- The Link Speed is the theoretical max the speed which this device can handle
Ubuntu Linux
- Right click on the connection at the top of the screen.
- Click on Connection Information
- The Speed is the theoretical max the speed which this device can handle.
Wireless Troubleshooting
To start us off, here is a quick reference chart for WiFi standards:
OFDM = Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing - Divides the Wireless Channel up so multiple devices can communicate with the Wireless Access Point directly, interleaving packets.
OFDMA = Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access - Divides the Wireless Channel up so multiple devices can communicate with the Wireless Access Point directly, simultaneous packets.
MIMO = Multi-Input Multi-Output - Utilizes multiple streams to multiply the throughput of a Radio.
MU-MIMO = Multi-User Multi-Input Multi-Output - Allowed MIMO streams to separate to multiple devices, or work in parallel to one device, depending on traffic.
UL MU-MIMO = Uplink Multi-User Multi-Input Multi-Output - Apply MU-MIMO to Upstream traffic.
Stream = Individual connection with a Wireless Access Point, number of streams available determined by the MIMO bonding of the device (ex. 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 8x8).
Band = Refers to the frequency Range the Wireless Access Point is broadcasting within (ex. 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, 6Ghz).
Channel = Refers to the frequency Range within the band the Wireless Access Point is broadcasting within.
Channel Width = Refers to how big those channels are in Mhz. (ex. 2.4Ghz channels can be 20Mhz or 40Mhz, 5Ghz are typically 80Mhz but can be 160Mhz). The bigger the channel the more the throughput.
2.4Ghz channels are typically congested, so when troubleshooting WiFi speeds we recommend connecting to 5Ghz whenever possible. If we must connect to 2.4Ghz we should be mindful of the top speeds (most routers are still 802.11n (WiFi 4) at best on the 2.4) as well as the interference:
We can see the 5Ghz range is much more open in most cases, due to it being newer. 6Ghz will be even less congested as it becomes more standard.
With the 5Ghz range we also see the availability of large Channel Widths, 80Mhz and 160Mhz, which allows for more throughput per stream. Here is a visualization of these Channel Widths:
So how can we use this information to get better speeds? Well to start, expectations should be set at the practical speeds available, this will require a combination of things:
- What is the best Standard available for the device, and the wireless access point? (For Example: if the access point broadcasts on Wireless AC 5Ghz, but the device is only capable of Wireless N 2.4Ghz, or vice-versa, then their meeting point would be the Wireless N).
- What kind of MIMO bonding does the device and the Wireless access point have? (If the access point has 4x4 on the 5Ghz band, but the device only has 2x2, it will only be able to utilize 2 Streams).
Once we've determined that we can develop an expected speed. For example, if you have a Hitron CODA-4680 and an iPhone X. The 4680 has 4x4 MU-MIMO on 5Ghz AC, the iPhone X also supports 5Ghz, but only has 2x2 MIMO. This means our theoretical max speed on WiFi would be 600mb/s, and our expected speed should be about 400mb/s.
Now that we know what to expect, lets create the ideal environment to achieve it:
- Completely disconnect all other devices for accurate Wireless Speed readings - Even if the device isn't doing anything, it could be transmitting background protocols with the Router and taking up some of the MIMO space. The best way to do this is to Disable the band you are not testing, and change the WiFi name and password temporarily of the band you are testing to reconnect 1 device to it.
- Using a WiFi Analyzer app on a device and look for the channel with the least congestion and set the Wireless Access Point to that channel. Most routers also scan and pick the least congested channel on boot, so a reboot should also achieve this. Keep in mind Wireless changes over time. You may need to do this frequently.
- We should change the Channel Width appropriately, the Wider the channel the more throughput, 2.4Ghz Bands should be able to change to 40mhz and 80mhz, but they default to 20mhz and as they increase they are more susceptible to interference since the Channel is wider. Also, legacy devices that are not AC compatible will not see an 80mhz Wireless N channel, so 40mhz should be the top choice for this band.
Now we can run some speed tests with our favourite testing site. Assuming you have an internet device is capable of reaching these speeds as well, we should be able to get them.
What can you do in your home? First of all, try to put your router in a better place. You can buy longer Coax, Phone, and Ethernet cables to help do this. For phone cables please try to keep them under 14Ft long. For Coax and Ethernet can go up to 100 FT without much signal loss. Youcan also look into Power over Ethernet (PoE) adapters to get a better space or even Mesh router systems.
Put as many devices as possible on the 5Ghz network. That way you can free up congestion on the 2.4.
If you do not need high quality, do not set Automatic on playbacks for video! The more available on your network to go around the better things will be. Most services have the ability to change Auto to another level. You will need to research online how to do so. Automatic will set everything to the highest possible, even if you are sleeping to some back ground noise! It will stream it as 4K for you, if you set it to a custom level like Low, that will allow anyone else to have access to that additional speed.
If it is not connected to your network, disable the wireless in the device. For instance, some smaller items like Power Bar's are now Smart versions. That means they have the ability to link to a Smart App for abilities. If you are not using them, disable them! You will need to look up online how to do that. Not only will this help your network, but others around you. The less broadcasting the better congestion will be overall. You can always enable them again later in the future if needed! For things like Laptops, and other mobile devices, try to them off or disable the internet in sleep mode. That way it also cuts down on your internet while not in use.
100Mbps + Higher Device check
With the rise of faster and faster internet, many older devices have limitations. We aim to better understand throughput limitations, and troubleshooting them, in order to better assist our customers!
This section is to help understand the technology, thereby assisting you with critical thinking troubleshooting, and does not necessarily provide direct step by step troubleshooting.
First thing to look at is to ensure the test site being used can actually push 1Gb/s. Single connections with the site will likely not do this and we will want to use parallel connections.
- Ensure only 1 device is connected, and directly. If it's a combo modem it's best to completely disable WiFi to avoid any background data to wireless clients and unplug other ethernet ports that are not connected to the test device. You can test through a router, but first pass should be direct to modem. You can Bridge the modem for this effect as covered earlier.
- Let's head to fast.com
- Wait for the test to finish (the results of this test do not matter)
- cCick "Show more info"
- An upload test will begin hit the pause button
- click on "Settings" in the bottom left.
- Set Parallel connections to Min 30 Max 30
- Set Test Duration to Min 30 Max 30
- Check off all 3 check boxes
- Click Save
- Now re-run the test by refreshing the page.
If the test did not get 90% of total package (Determine this by multiplying the package speed by 0.9. ex. 9Mb/s on 10Mb/s, 45Mb/s on 50Mb/s, 450Mb/s on 500Mb/s, 900Mb/s on 1Gb/s) then you may want to take a deeper look at the device in the next section.
Checking for Limitations on the Device
This is easiest on a Windows device. Run Task Manager on the PC, and go to the performance tab.
Run the speed test with this tab open.
What are we looking for here?
- CPU Usage - First and foremost, if the CPU is capping out (90-100%) then it is not going to thread any faster. You can try closing open programs to reduce the load on the CPU, but it may not be capable of the speeds subscribed to.
- Memory - While not directly used during the speed test, if RAM is capping out the PC will be bogged down overall. Try closing open apps and programs to reduce load on RAM.
- Disk Usage - All this data coming down from the internet needs to be written somewhere, even temporarily. If the Disk usage is capping out make sure no other file transfers are occurring on the PC, but it may not be capable of the speeds subscribed to.
- Ethernet (and other network adapters) - Is there usage on the Ethernet while not testing? If so the computer may be running background programs that are connecting to the internet and using portions of their bandwidth. Try closing open programs to eliminate this. You can also do Safe mode with Networking to help cut down on possible problems.
- GPU - Would only come into play if the problem was related to a game on the PC, and not showing in throughput.
In this example, computer looked fine but we are still not getting the throughput! If the speed tests seem to be capping around 10Mb/s or 100Mb/s check for Ethernet link speed on the next section.
LCP (Link Control Protocol)
You can choose the speed of your network adapter along with the communication type. If your adapter supports Gigabit speeds, it will automatically appear in the dropdown list. Otherwise, the maximum speed visible would be 100 Mbps. Besides the speed, there are a few other options: Full duplex (two-way simultaneous communication) or half-duplex (one-way communication). There’s also the third option called auto-negotiation which gives the adapter the liberty to choose the highest speed and this will usually be set as default. We would recommend you to set the highest possible speed in the full duplex mode.
You can check the configured duplex speed by following these steps:
Windows
- Open Network and Sharing Center
- Go to Change Adapter Options
- Right Click on the Ethernet adapter and choose properties (you can also go to status here and the currently configured speed will show in the top table.)
- Click on the Configure button above the list
- Click on the Advanced tab, locate Speed & Duplex in the property and you will find a list of available values on the right.
MAC OS
- Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences
- In the Internet & Network section, double-click the Network icon
- From the left-hand display menu, select Ethernet
- Click the Advanced button
- Click the Ethernet tab, and here we can see our configured speed and change if needed
What should I be looking for here?
- In order to get any speeds higher than 100mbps, the device must be able to negotiate 1000BaseT or 1000Mb/s or 1Gb/s (However it is listed in the machine). If the device can only do 10Mb/s or 100Mb/s, it will never go any higher than these speeds, in addition if the modem is provisioned to a higher tier and the Ethernet negotiation can't handle the data the modem is receiving the modem will either have to start caching data queued to be sent, or start telling the sending router to slow down, either of which can cause errors, loss, and ultimately much worse speeds than even the 100Mb/s the connection is set for.
- Ensure devices are set to auto, and that they are capable of the speeds you are provisioned for.
- Ensure devices are set to Full Duplex
