The office internet is slow or keeps dropping

The cable test is what separates blaming the provider from blaming your own network, and it takes two minutes: connect a computer to the router with an Ethernet cable, disable Wi-Fi on that machine, and test the speed. If it comes close to your subscription speed, the problem is entirely internal and nothing to do with the provider — which saves you a support call that would not have helped.

Then classify the pattern, because each has a different cause: slow everywhere all the time = the subscription or the router. Slow only in distant areas = coverage, remedied with an extra access point rather than a stronger router (a stronger router does not penetrate concrete walls, and this is the commonest pointless purchase). Drops at particular times = congestion from a device downloading or streaming. Drops only on certain devices = a driver or setting on those devices.

Two causes overlooked in offices specifically: the router’s placement inside a cabinet or under a metal desk, which cuts coverage severely and where moving it alone can fix the problem, and the number of connected devices — a home router serving twenty staff with laptops, phones and printers exceeds its limit and drops under load even when the line speed is ample.

• Test on cable first — it separates provider from your network in two minutes
• A coverage problem? An extra access point, not a stronger router
• Move the router out of the cabinet — it may fix things by itself
• A home router for twenty staff drops under load, not from slow speed