Why am I not seeing the expected download speed on my device?

It is likely to be down to one of these two factors:

Device compatibility. Your laptop or other device may not be capable of supporting the download speed that is being delivered to your router. The general rule of thumb is the older your device the slower speeds you will see. To test your device speed connect it directly to the router using the Ethernet cable and run a speed test. Alternatively, you can ask your device manufacturer about the maximum speed capability for your particular device.

Wi-Fi constraints. The only way of guaranteeing the full potential broadband speed to is to use a wired connection between your router and the device. Any device that is connected wirelessly will be using Wi-Fi technology. Wi-Fi has limitations that affect the speed of the connection and these limitations exist for any wireless router on the market.

We want you to experience the best possible connection quality for devices from your broadband service and we regularly test our wireless routers against other routers on the market. Call Flow only selects equipment that has comparable performance to the most popular routers but does not guarantee the performance is greater or equal to all routers on the market, and Call Flow will not be responsible for wireless coverage from the router.

Radio waves can be blocked by walls and floors. Other objects and devices can interfere with the signal, including the likes of LED lights, microwaves and cordless phones, as well as nearby routers using the same wireless channel. Even the atmosphere can cause issues.  As you move around your home, you can see the strength of your Wi-Fi network connection fall and rise, affecting the speed accordingly. You may even have blackspots in your home where the Wi-Fi signal doesn’t reach at all.

You can extend coverage using a variety of devices such as ‘powerline’ and ‘Wi-Fi extenders’, but Call Flow cannot offer any advice or support as to what might be the most suitable for individual circumstances.

Please note that in many cases Wi-Fi bandwidth is shared, this means the more devices you have using the same wireless signal, the slower all will perform. You can minimise this by ensuring your router is placed in the optimum position in your home, but it’s highly unlikely that you will achieve the same levels of stable performance that you will get from using a wired connection.