Welcome to the Solway Communications Support page. We always aim to help solve any issues as soon as possible, and that includes a few tips on things you might be able to do from your own home or business. The main quick fixes are listed below, but please get in touch if you still need assistance.
First, we recommend checking your line speed. For this go to SpeedTest. We suggest you use the ‘change server’ button to select the Solway Communications server; then click ‘Go’.
The upload and download speeds you see are measured in Mbps. Your package determines the speed you can expect to get. As a guide, watching high-definition video on BBC iPlayer uses about 2.5 Mbps; normal web browsing and YouTube videos use much less. If you feel you want a larger package, call us to set one up.
If the speeds seem slower than you expect, try again in 10 minutes or so – it may be that something else in your home was using a lot of data. If it still seems slow after 10 minutes, check if one of your connected devices is updating its software, or if someone is viewing or downloading high-definition video. If so, wait until they’ve finished and try again.
Next, the problem may be something local to your building. To check, turn off any WiFi boosters and internal equipment; connect a PC using a wire Ethernet connection to the Router (the black box with an aerial that was installed by your Solway installation engineer); and try running SpeedTest again. If the result is still slow, please contact Solway support to address the problem.
If, however, you see a fast connection with a PC directly connected to the router, then the problem is local to you. First, check if there’s an antenna on the router. If so, it needs to be tightly screwed in and to point upwards; to screw it in, just turn it clockwise.
If you’ve checked all of the above, and have still got problems, take a look at the ‘I’ve a problem with a particular device’ section for suggestions.
Check if other devices in your house (PC, smartphone, pad, smart TV) have connectivity, if so the problem is with only one device. Take a look at the ‘I’ve a problem with a particular device’ section for suggestions.
Next, check there are lights on the Router (and any other boxes installed by your Solway installation engineer). If not, check there the mains power to it, and fix the problem if not. If there is power to it and the lights aren’t on, please call Solway Support.
Next, try switching off power to the router, waiting 30 seconds, and switching on again. If that fixes the problem, happy days!
If not, it’s time to please call Solway support.
While we’d love to be able to help you with all the possible issues you may have, it wouldn’t be scaleable to all our customers and Solway would not be able to offer the excellent prices we do. But our engineers have some suggestions how to do your troubleshooting.
First, try restarting the device. Often this is enough to sort out connectivity problems.
Next, if you have WiFi problems with just one device, it may be an issue with WiFi coverage. Find another device that works when it’s right next to the router, and see how it performs when it’s next to the troublesome device. If it has similar problems, then consider moving the device, or using an additional Wireless access point and perhaps powerline adaptors. Or you might have a problem with an existing WiFi extender.
Otherwise the problem may be in the device itself. We recommend a Google search for “<device type> slow wifi” or for “problems with <device type> internet connection”, where <device type> is whichever device you’re having problems with; and to follow the suggestions you find there.
Good luck!
