Resolve speed issues

To determine what speed you’re actually getting (as opposed to what your broadband provider claims), start by visiting your router configuration utility and look for the current and maximum rates (remember to divide kbps by 1,000 to get the equivalent figure in Mbps). These should be considered your benchmark rates.

In reality you won’t get anywhere near these rates, but get in the habit of performing regular tests using a tool such as www.speedtest.net. You’ll find speeds vary according to time of day based on how many users are sharing your connection – you may also find speeds capped during peak rates if you’re a heavy user. Check your ISP’s pages for details of its fair-use policy.

Remember your connection is shared between all the devices on your network, so periods of slow performance may coincide with family members gaming online, or choosing to stream a movie in 4K instead of HD. It may also be down to an individual application on your PC – cloud sync apps can bring connections grinding to a halt without upload and download limits in place – use Task Manager to track network usage.