Broadband problems and how to fix them

Help Broadband Troubleshooting broadband issues Broadband problems and how to fix them

Something wrong with your connection?

There’s a few simple checks you can do before getting in touch with us.

Watch our video or follow the steps below.

We’ll show you how to do all of this below.

It’s really important to check these things before you ask us to send an engineer to fix the problem. If we arrange for an engineer to come to your home and the problem’s with your equipment, you’ll need to pay for the visit.

If your line’s very noisy, report it to your provider. If that’s us, have a look at our article on fixing problems with your phone.

If your dial tone sounds fine, take a look at Make sure all the right wires are plugged in properly.

If you’re connecting your computer to your router with an Ethernet cable, check it’s plugged into the right socket on your router. If your router’s connected to a modem, check your Ethernet cable is plugged in to the LAN1 socket on your modem and the correct Ethernet/WAN socket on your router.

If you’ve got the Plusnet Hub One, connect one end of the grey Internet cable to the DSL socket and the other to the phone socket (it's the smaller of the two). If you’re using a Plusnet 2704n or a Technicolor 582n, it’ll be the fourth Ethernet socket on the back of your router.

If you’re using wi-fi, have a look at our Wireless connection guide for more help.

If this hasn’t fixed the problem, go to Plug your router into the master socket.

It’s best to use the master socket if you can. Your master socket is where the outside phone line comes into your home.

Your router doesn’t have to be connected to it, but you’ll probably get the best connection if it is.

Here's a handy video all about how to find your master socket and how to use it.

If you’ve got a (one with two phone cord sockets) you can connect your router directly, without using microfilters.

How to connect your router through a double master socket

Double master socket

If you haven't got a double master socket, you'll need to connect your router through a without using an extension cable.

How to connect your router through a microfilters

You can connect both phone and broadband to a microfilter
You can connect broadband without a phone to a microfilter
Do not connect directly to a single socket

If this hasn’t fixed the problem, go to If you need microfilters, make sure they’re working.

separate the telephone and broadband signals on your line. If they’re not working properly, it can cause interference.

How to use microfilters

You can connect both phone and broadband to a microfilter
You can connect broadband without a phone to a microfilter
You can connect a phone without broadband to a microfilter
Do not connect directly to a single socket

If you’ve got a , you won’t need a microfilter.

Connecting through a double master socket

Double master socket

If this hasn’t fixed the problem, go to Check if you’ve fixed the problem.

After you've fixed a problem, it can sometimes take a while for your speed to return to normal. Things might seem a little bit slow, but will be fine within three days. Have a look at our guide on broadband speeds for more info.

Once you’ve tried the above, if you’re still having issues with your broadband, we want to help. You can either contact us by online chat or phone, or you can raise the issue through our broadband troubleshooter.

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