Why your internet is slow and what to check

Define the symptom

Does everything feel slow, or only one website? Is the problem a low transfer rate, delayed responses or repeated disconnections? Note when it happens and which devices are affected. Different symptoms require different investigations.

Work from nearby to farther away

1. Pause downloads, backups and other heavy activity.
2. Compare another device on the same connection.
3. Compare Wi-Fi near the router with your usual position.
4. Compare a wired baseline if available.
5. Try another service and repeat at a different time.

Change one condition at a time so you can tell which change helped. Record VPN use and avoid treating a test with a VPN as directly equivalent to one without it.

Avoid premature conclusions

A slow single website might involve its server or route. Poor results only in one room can suggest a wireless issue. A busy household can consume upload capacity as well as download capacity. Restarting equipment can help some transient problems, but a factory reset should not be your first step because it may remove required settings.

Prepare useful evidence

Before contacting support, collect test times, connection methods, affected devices and repeatable symptoms. Avoid posting your public IP or account details publicly. Explain what you already tried rather than sending only one speed number.

Use My IP when you need your current network details, and review correct testing conditions before collecting measurements.