Troubleshooting Help Slow Browsing Connection speeds vary depending on some factors; your distance from your local telephone exchange, the quality of your copper phone line, electromagnetic interference (EMI), your cabling and equipment set up and applications or processes running on your computer. To achieve ADSL2+ speeds, you must have an ADSL2+ compatible modem/ router. Distance from your local telephone exchange can affect the speeds you can achieve. The further away from the exchange, the slower the speed: Page 1 of 6
Troubleshooting Help: Before troubleshooting, we strongly recommend that you check our Service Status http://servicestatus.tpg.com.au/ to check for any known outages. Before troubleshooting, we strongly recommend that you check our Service Status http:// servicestatus.tpg.com.au/ to check for any known outages. Before proceeding to the following steps, it is best to power cycle your ADSL modem/ router. This means to turn off or unplug your ADSL modem/router from the power outlet, wait 30 seconds to a minute, then turn it back on. This allows your equipment to reestablish a connection to our server. If you are still unable to browse websites, proceed with troubleshooting by following the instructions below. 1. Start by checking the actual speed of your connection. Simply: a. Turn on your computer. Make sure you aren t running any programs or applications. b. Open your internet browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Firefox) c. Visit http://www.tpg.com.au/test3.iso. d. A prompt will appear. Choose to save the file to your desktop. A small file will then begin to download. e. While the file is downloading, you should see the transfer rate or the Page 2 of 6
speed of the file being downloaded. Watch carefully as the speed will fluctuate up and down. Take note of the speed at its most stable rate. Cancel the download once you have this number. f. Multiply this number by 8. Refer to the above graph to check how your speed compares to expected speeds for your connection. 2. If the result of the TPG speed test is close to the estimated speed of your connection based on the graph above, it could mean that any slow browsing experience is a result of applications, processes or programs running on your computer. Here are some things you can check on your computer to resolve slow browsing speeds: a. Make sure that the anti-virus or security software on your computer is up to date b. Run a full anti-virus scan on your computer. Viruses and other malicious software you may have downloaded unknowingly can cause browsing difficulties. c. Sometimes your own security software (e.g. firewall or anti-virus) could be set to a very high level of sensitivity that may stop your browser from being able to access websites. If you know how to change the settings of your security software, then we suggest you lower its sensitivity. We also suggest to temporarily disable it to check whether you would be able to browse with the program turned off. d. For assistance with the security software, it is best that you contact the software vendor. e. Make sure no other applications are running on the background such as Peer-to-peer software that could slow the computer down. 3. Still having speed issues? Try following these instructions to reset your browser settings: If you re using Internet Explorer 8: Open Internet Explorer. Click Tools from the top menu bar of your browser. Then click on Internet Options. Page 3 of 6
Under the General tab, click on the Delete button below Browsing History. Tick all boxes and click Delete. Click on the Security tab. Select Internet and set the slider bar to Medium-high. Click on the Privacy tab and set the slider bar to Medium. Click on the Connections tab and click on LAN settings. Untick all boxes to disable automatic settings and proxy server and then click OK. Click on the Advanced tab and click on Restore advance settings. Click Apply and OK. You may now have to re-start your browser. If you re using Mozilla Firefox 3.6.12: Open Firefox, click Edit from the top menu bar of your browser. Then click on Preferences. (In some versions of Firefox, you ll have to click Tools then Options) Click on the Privacy tab, and click clear your recent history. In the time range to clear select Everything. (Please note this will delete your browsing history of sites you have visited). Tick all the boxes and click Clear Now. If the check boxes are not shown click on the drop-down arrow before Details. Click on the Advanced tab, click on Network and click on Settings. Page 4 of 6
Select No Proxy and click OK then click on Close. You may now have to re-start your browser. 4. Still having speed problems? Let s check your physical set up your equipment and cabling to check whether any part of your internet set up is causing problems. Check if the ADSL cable is properly connected to the ADSL port on the modem. The other end of the cable should be connected to the wall socket or the ADSL port of an ADSL filter (if you have a filter). Naked ADSL does not need filters. You can also try a different cable in case it is faulty. It is recommended that the ADSL cable is no longer than 3 metres. If connecting via wireless through the modem/router, connect the computer to the modem directly via an Ethernet cable. If your speed problems get resolved after doing this, it could indicate a problem with your wireless modem/router. To check for a faulty ADSL filter, you may either replace the filter or directly connect the ADSL cable from the modem to the wall socket. Avoid placing the modem near other electronic equipment other than the computer as those devices may generate static interference. Avoid placing the modem on a carpeted floor as carpets are good conductors of static electricity. Once the above steps have been completed, power cycle or reboot the modem by simply turning it off for about 30 seconds to a minute and turning it back on. This will refresh the device. Check if the speed improved after doing these steps. If problems persist, perform an Isolation Test and check the connection. º An isolation test involves removing all telephones and other devices Page 5 of 6
(answering machine, fax machine, alarm system, etc) from your telephone wall sockets, then connecting the modem directly to a wall socket. If a spare modem is available to you, try to configure it with your settings (including your username and password) and see if it works. Please refer to http://www. tpg.com.au/helpdesk/support.php?type=pppoe&soft=layerchange for modem configuration guides. If possible, try connecting your modem/router to a different telephone wall socket on your premise or from a different location (e.g. a friend s house with TPG ADSL) where you know the connection is working. You may perform the speed test after each step to determine the cause of the problem. If your ADSL connection is still slow, we apologise for the inconvenience. Please contact our Help Desk at 13 14 23 for further assistance. Please indicate which steps you ve already completed to speed up the troubleshooting process. Page 6 of 6