Ethernet speed
Ethernet is the fastest, most stable and most secure method of connecting to the internet, but sometimes you might find it is not providing the service it should be. Poor speeds can have a wide range of effects on your browsing experience, from videos buffering slowly to pages hanging or timing out.
In this article are some steps you can try yourself to improve your speeds, and details on how to contact us in the event the issue is not resolved.
Troubleshooting steps
You can check your your account to see the maximum speeds available at your accommodation. You should be able to achieve the speed on your account to within a few mb/s over Ethernet.
You should close all running programs, leaving a single browsing window with speedtest.net loaded, and see if that has any effect on the speeds. Make sure to check for any downloads you might have running in the background, such as Steam.
You can also try flushing your device's DNS cache. This is a temporary database that stores addressing information about the sites you've recently visited:
- For Windows:
Press and hold the Windows key (
or 
) and press the letter "R" > In the box, type "cmd" and press Enter > In this new window, type 'ipconfig/flushdns' and press Enter. - For Apple Mac:
Perform a Spotlight search (cmd ⌘ + space) for Terminal > Open the program and type 'sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder', then press enter.
Next, you can check the Duplex settings on your device:
- For Windows:
Press and hold the Windows key (
or ) and press the letter "R" > In the box, type "dev.mgmt" and press Enter > In this new window, under the section "Network Adapters", double-click the Ethernet/Wired network card > Go to the Advanced tab > In the 'Property' list (on the left), select Speed & Duplex > Make sure the 'Value' (on the right) is set to 100mb full (full duplex). - For Apple Mac:
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences > Select Network > On the left, select Ethernet, then on the right click Advanced > Go to the Ethernet/Hardware tab > Next to Configure IPv4, select 'Manually' from the drop-down menu > More menu options will appear - select 'Speed: 100baseTX' and click 'Ok' (ignore the Duplex menu) > Close the Networks window and retest your connection.
Lastly, you should make sure your device is free from any viruses or malware. Any free Anti-Virus software will work for this, such as AVG Free or Avast.
Contact the ServiceDesk
If the issue persists, we will need to speak with you in order to work out the best way to improve the connection. You can either call us on 0333 123 0115, or alternatively you can email us some information, and we’ll contact you.
First, we need to you capture some data from your device when it is connected to the port in your room.
First, we'd like you to record the speeds you get throughout the day, by running three speedtests and recording the ping, and the upload and download speeds. For example, you might run one at 10am, one at 2pm, and one at 10pm.
The below instructions will create a report that will tell us about your device, and will help us identify any configuration issues and trace your issue on the network:
- Press and hold the Windows key ( or
) and press the letter "R" > In the box, type "cmd" and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter at the same time > A black window will appear. You may receive a pop up notification asking you to allow the program to make changes. As we are not actually making any changes, only obtaining information, click Yes. - With Command Prompt open, copy the below commands one at a time (by highlighting, right-clicking and selecting Copy), then change to the Command Prompt Window and press Ctrl+V to paste them.
- Once a command line is pasted, press Enter (the next line will be blank, this is normal). Please do this for the two commands below:
netsh wlan show interfaces > "c:\interfaces.txt"
ipconfig /all > c:\ipdetails.txt - Next, find the files you have just created:
- For Windows 10: Right click the Start menu> Open File Explorer > Find This PC on the left-hand side > Click Windows (C: ).
- For Windows 8: From the Desktop view,Right click the Start menu > Open File Explorer> Find This PC on the left-hand side > ClickWindows (C: ).
- For Windows 7/Vista: Open My computer > Find and doubleclick Local Desk (C:) on the left.
Find two text files (interfaces.txt and ipdetails.txt) here.
- Click the Apple icon (top left) > Select System Preferences > Select Network > Select Ethernet on the left and then click Advanced on the right.
- On the Hardware tab, please give us the MAC Address.
- On the TCP/IP tab, please give us the IPv4 Address and the Router Address.
- On the DNS tab, please give us the DNS addresses.
Please Copy all this information and Paste it into a TextEdit document, then save it with the title DeviceDetails.txt.
Next, consider the following questions:
- How does this affect your use of the internet? Do you notice it more on certain websites or applications?
- When did you first notice this issue?
- Do you notice it at any specific times during the day more than others?
- Have you tried another Ethernet cable?
- Are you using any personal networking equipment e.g. a router or switch/splitter?
Please send these screenshots as attachments, along with the answers to the above questions in an email to us, and we will endeavour to get in touch as soon as we can. Alternatively, you can contact us using the form below, and send the attachments when prompted later on. You must include either your Username or Account ID in the email.