Slow Speeds

Is your broadband slow, or not as fast as you'd expect?

There might be a fault on your line causing speeds to drop, in which case we'd report it to BT Wholesale and get them to fix it for you.

On the other hand you might have exceeded your usage allowance (causing speeds to be restricted) or it might be that your line is simply not up to providing anything more than you're getting now, in which case there isn't a line fault.

Often a Dropping Connection is the underlying cause of speed problems. It's worth checking this and making sure things are stable, if you're not sure, give us a call.

A poor wireless signal can also reduce your speeds, check our wireless troubleshooting guide if this is happening to you.

With broadband, speed is certainly one of the more contentious issues - here we'll show you how to diagnose problems and discuss what can be done to fix them.

So where to start?

How fast can your line go?

Before you can say whether there's a problem, you need to know what your line is capable of. The easiest way to find out is to use the BT Availability checker. Enter your number and press Go.

The checker will show the exchange you're on and the speeds your line will support. Make a note of these and follow one of the links below.

What's the problem?

Click the link that most accurately describes your problem:

Constant Slow Speeds

Intermittent Speeds

Slow Speeds when using a specific program

This article last updated 19th September 2008