Speed and connection

What should I know?

There are two main factors which determine/influence your broadband speeds:

1. The speed your line can take (which is dependent on where you live, i.e. how close you are to your local eir Fibre cabinet or exchange)
2. How your device connects to your broadband (WiFi)

The speed coming down the cable is fixed for your home and cannot be changed. However you can make some simple changes to your WiFi set-up which can greatly improve the speed you experience. Before we check your WiFi, it's important to ensure the basics are working:

To check the basics are working, follow these simple steps:

1. If you have no connection at all, check the "DSL light" on your modem. It should be solid green. If the light is flashing there may be a problem with your line or an outage in your area. Check our Community to see if there is a reported issue in your area
2. Next, try restarting your modem. Switch the power button at the back of the modem off, wait 10 seconds and switch it back on again. (If you have eir Fibre, we recommend you switch your modem off overnight when doing this test)
3. If you have any other devices plugged into your telephone socket (e.g. answering machines, telephones, alarm systems or TV digital boxes with another provider) unplug them. If you notice an improvement it's possible one of these devices is causing a problem. If you have standard broadband (i.e. you're not availing of our eir Fibre service), you will need a microfilter (which splits your line into a telephone socket and broadband socket) to stop other devices from having a negative impact on your broadband speed

By now you've already checked your line and switched your modem on/off to rule out the main issues. Now we need to check your WiFi set-up.

If you don't use WiFi to connect to your broadband service you won't need to follow these steps.

Run a speed test:

1. Run a speed test when your device is connected over WiFi. Note down your speed
2. Then, connect your modem directly to the main phone socket to rule out issues with wiring or extensions in your home. When you've done this connect an available device directly to your modem using the Ethernet cable (this is a yellow cable you received when you had your broadband installed, it’s also called a RJ45 cable)
3. Stop any downloads you may have running, close off anything you don’t need to use at that time (e.g. other pages on the internet)
4. Switch off the WiFi option on your modem so that no other WiFi devices are connected
5. Now, run another test

Results:

If you notice your service has improved the following issues are possible:

1. Other users in your home may be running heavy applications which is slowing everything down
2. Your device is too far from your modem. It needs to be within 30 metres in order to pick up a WiFi signal. HomePlugs will help extend your WiFi range to areas of your home where you need it
3. Your WiFi signal may be blocked by thick walls or ceilings, large metallic surfaces, mirrors or refrigerators. HomePlugs will also help extend your WiFi range if this is an issue
4. Your WiFi signal may be suffering interference from other WiFi devices such as baby monitors, cordless phones or TV senders. We recommend moving your modem 2-3 feet away from these objects to improve your connection
5. If you purchased your modem from a 3rd party provider your WiFi network might not be password encrypted. We recommend checking your modem’s website to find out more information

If your line and WiFi signal are working fine and you’re still experiencing issues it's possible something on your device is slowing you down:

1. Caching: When you access a page on the internet, your browser will remember it (or cache it), in order to make it open quicker in future. However when your cache becomes full, your browsing speed slows down and websites might not load correctly. On some browsers your cache will clear automatically when you close the page. Learn how to clear your cache.
2. Spyware: It’s important to protect your device from software that can harm it. Antivirus applications will safeguard your device from viruses, or pick up when an advertisement you have clicked on isn’t genuine. You can avail of our eSecurity PC protection offering, or visit www.microsoft.com or www.spybot.info for further information on Spyware removal software.
3. Update your operating system: It's important to adhere to any updates your device prompts you to follow. Just be careful they’re genuine - for e.g. an update from Windows will show as "Windows update".
4. Disable Browser Add-Ons: Browser Add-Ons are programs that extend the capability of the browser you're using (such as search bars and pop-up blockers). If you suspect Add-Ons are causing slow performance, switch them off temporarily (you will find the option in your browser’s settings or by Googling how to do it) and see if the performance improves.
5. Update your browser: It’s important to ensure that the browser you’re using is up to date, as newer versions are the best equipped for showing the pages you want to access online. We suggest you check for the newest browser update on a regular basis:
   • Firefox
   • Internet Explorer
   • Chrome
   • Opera
   • Safari