Troubleshooting slow Internet speeds

Troubleshooting slow Internet speeds
Test your speed

Test your speed

Bell makes available various tools to help you determine what kind of speeds you’re getting.

Use our Speed Test tool to get an estimate of your connection speed.

There are a variety of other speed tests available on the web. To ensure you are getting consistent and accurate results, use Bell's speed test.

To perform the test, you should use a computer that is connected to your Bell residential gateway or modem directly by cable. A wired connection is important because with Wi-Fi, there can be interference with appliances, cordless phones and other devices.

If you have the Home Hub 1000 or Home Hub 2000, you get even more accurate results by testing directly from the modem.

To perform a speed test from the HomeHub select Speed test from the modem’s home page and click Start test.

Learn more about the HomeHub

Check your modem and computer
Check your Wi-Fi connection and devices
Troubleshooting slow Internet speeds

Many environmental factors can affect your Internet speeds, including Wi-Fi interference, traffic to the websites you’re visiting, the performance of your computer and the number of devices sharing the connection in your home. The speed of the server you're connecting to the Internet with can also cause variations in your upload and download speeds.

Test your speed

Test your speed

Bell makes available various tools to help you determine what kind of speeds you’re getting.

Use our Speed Test tool to get an estimate of your connection speed.

There are a variety of other speed tests available on the web. To ensure you are getting consistent and accurate results, use Bell's speed test.

To perform the test, you should use a computer that is connected to your Bell residential gateway or modem directly by cable. A wired connection is important because with Wi-Fi, there can be interference with appliances, cordless phones and other devices.

If you have the Home Hub 1000 or Home Hub 2000, you get even more accurate results by testing directly from the modem.

To perform a speed test from the HomeHub select Speed test from the modem’s home page and click Start test.

Learn more about the HomeHub

Check your modem and computer

If you find your Internet speed to be too slow, there are a number of things you can try.

  1. Restart your modem and computer

    • Like all electronic equipment, turning a modem off and on can improve performance when experiencing issues.
    • Reset your modem by unplugging it for 30 seconds. Once you plug it back in, give it a few minutes to restart and reconnect.
    • We also recommend that you restart your computer. Restarting your computer can often help clear speed issues by closing programs that are running in the background and may be affecting your speed.

  2. Check your modem

    3. It is important that your modem is placed correctly. Make sure that the modem is not placed on top of another electronic device or anything that produces heat. This could cause the router to overheat and could lead to possible damage or interference with your Internet connection

  3. Optimize your web browser

    4. When surfing the Internet, your web browser stores text and images (in a cache) as well as preferences (in cookies). Over time, these files accumulate and may have to be cleared as they can cause slower speeds while browsing.

    For help clearing cookies and the cache, select your browser:

  4. Check for peer-to-peer sharing

    5. Your speed will be affected by uploading or downloading files using peer-to-peer software. Close all peer-to-peer file sharing programs (Utorrent, Gnutella , Limewire, etc.) on your computer and on any other computers or devices in your home.

  5. Check for spyware

    6. Spyware is piece of software that gathers information through your Internet connection, often without your knowledge or consent. If spyware is present on your computer, it can slow down your connection speeds.

    Bell Internet customers can take advantage of an award-winning security suite from McAfee that includes virus and malware protection, a firewall, parental controls and much more.

    Download McAfee® Security from Bell

Check your Wi-Fi connection and devices

Cause

Things to try

Distance and obstructions

Long distances and many obstructions (walls, ceilings, etc.) will weaken the Wi-Fi signal.

  1. Move your Wi-Fi device closer to the modem, if possible.
  2. Place your modem in a location where it will have an unobstructed line of sight to your Wi-Fi devices. Do not put it in a cabinet or behind a wall.

Radio interference

High amounts of interference will degrade Wi-Fi performance. Interference can come from:

  • Other Wi-Fi networks in your vicinity
  • Appliances and devices that emit radio waves or that interfere with radio waves (microwaves, 2.4 GHz cordless phones, two-way radios, etc.)
  1. Try changing the Wi-Fi channel on your modem from "Auto" to a number between 1 and 11. The first three to try are 6, 1 and 11, but you can try any channel to see if it will improve Wi-Fi performance.
  2. Use the Wi-Fi analyzer in your modem to help you select the optimal channel.

Your Wi-Fi device's signal

The modem is just one side of the Wi-Fi connection; your Wi-Fi device must also send and receive data. Wi-Fi performance will degrade if your device has a weak signal or reception.

  1. Ensure that the most up-to-date drivers are installed from the manufacturer's website.
  2. Use your device's integrated Wi-Fi functionality instead of relying on external adapters. For example, a laptop with integrated Wi-Fi technology may have antennas throughout the laptop enclosure, providing better reception to the modem.
  3. Generally, the more robust the Wi-Fi device used, the better the performance.

Bandwidth sharing

The bandwidth of your Wi-Fi network is shared across all connected devices in your home. If a device is consuming a lot of bandwidth, then less bandwidth, and as a result less speed, is available to other devices.

  1. Set a Wi-Fi password in your modem's settings to keep unauthorized users from accessing your Wi-Fi network.

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