Working from home - Is your broadband up to the job?

If you’re currently having issues with slow internet access, making it harder to work from home, here are a few things you can try to ensure you’re getting the most out of your broadband, before considering an upgrade.

1. Location, location, location!
   Altering your home into a remote workspace can often lead to creating home workspaces in unlikely places. Try to choose a space that receives a clear WIFI signal whenever possible. This may involve some experimentation and adjustment, either moving your workspace to a new area or rearranging the room.
   
   
2. Install your router at the correct height
   The height at which you install your router can actually have a large impact on your WIFI signal. Think of it like a speaker, speakers that are higher in the air are easier to hear with better sound quality. The same idea applies to your router. Adjusting the height of your router is a simple method to improve your internet connection while working remotely.
   The best height for your router is between 1-1.5 meters, or 3-4 feet, off of the ground. Make sure you don’tset it too high, as this can cause your signal to degrade.
   
   
3. Change your wireless channel
   If you’re struggling with a poor Wi-Fi connection, you might want to try changing your wireless channel settings. If your Wi-Fi router is broadcasting on the same channel as your neighbours, it could be slowing your internet down.
   
   
4. Run a speed test
   If you’re not 100% sure what broadband speed you’re actually getting, then run a quick speed test in order to get a clearer idea. This will help you decide if you need to “ration” your bandwidth. If you only have access to download speeds of around 10Mbps, you’re going to have to be much stricter with your internet usage while working from home than if you had 67Mbps, for example. Using the internet for emails and searching Google won’t place a huge amount of strain on your connection, but if your job includes video calling or downloading and uploading large files, then you might need to look at increasing your package.
   
   
5. Limit the number of devices connected to Wi-Fi (if you can)
   In an ideal world, when working from home you would ensure your broadband is at peak performance by limiting the number of connected devices. However, if you have kids who are home while you’re working, this may not be possible. Streaming movies, music and games is going to slow down your connection and potentially affect your download and upload speeds.   If this is the case for you then why not check if Ultrafast Fibre is available for you with average download speeds up to 900Mbps.

Superfast broadband technology uses a fibre optic cable which gives you a much higher download and upload speeds.

Our Superfast Fibre - Self Install has no setup fee. Self install means you plug in the pre-configured router and you are ready to go online.  

There is no setup fee for our standard unlimited broadband if you choose the 24-month contract. If you choose the 12-month contract, there is a £20 set up fee.

You will get a free router when you switch.

- How close do you live to your telephone exchange

- The length and the quality of your telephone home wiring

- Whether your broadband microfilters are correctly installed

- Processing speed of your computer, router or modem

- The speed of connection between your computer and router/modem (an ethernet cable is faster than WIFI)

A: If there’s any problem with speed and you’re not getting the speeds we’ve told you your line is capable of, we’ll do our best to resolve the issue. If you’re not completely satisfied after 30 days of reporting your problem, you can walk away, no questions asked. This promise applies for the duration of your contract with Your Co-op Broadband.

This guarantee only applies if the issue is due to problems with the broadband service we provide. It does not apply to problems with the copper line supplying your home, or with your Wi-Fi connection from the router to your device (for example if you get good speed in one room and poor speed in another, it is likely to be down to the router signal, not the broadband speed).

The guarantee applies if you are not getting the minimum specified broadband speed in your order details. It does not apply to the advertised average or ‘up to’ speeds. You must use our speed checker at https://www.speedtest.net/  so we can view the speed you are achieving and confirm whether you are achieving the minimum specified speed or not.

Also please note the following:

• If you cancel a planned engineer visit, we may extend the deadline by a reasonable period so that we have time to work together and resolve the problem.

• If you can’t attempt to diagnose or resolve the problem when you report it to us, for example if you are away from home or the affected premises when you report the problem, we may extend the deadline by a reasonable period.

• If you repeatedly miss planned engineer appointments or fail to take reasonable steps as requested by us – meaning that we can’t help to diagnose or solve the problem – the guarantee will no longer apply, and you will be charged for your broadband as originally agreed and a missed appointment charge will be added to your bill. You will be told when this has happened and we will clearly explain why.

• There may be other exceptional circumstances beyond our control – for example, a missed or delayed Openreach appointment, the need to obtain street works permissions or severe weather which causes multiple faults across parts of the UK – which make us technically unable to resolve the speed problem. In this instance, we may ask you for more time to see if we can fix the issue.