One of the most common problems that may cause your internet connection to become slow is a malware or virus infection in the machine. The symptoms of such an infection are usually a connection that begins to get slower over time and may eventually seem altogether broken. Often, you may experience your browser changing homepages no matter how many times you attempt to change the page back. Strange toolbars in your browsers that you do not remember installing, or icons in your dock may be symptoms. Programs that pop up and inform you of potential infections and request that you upgrade your scanning software to clean them are also likely malware or viruses themselves. These types of malicious programs are growing more sophisticated every year, and a simple virus scanner program is often not enough to detect them. It is often best to use a multi-step approach to protect your device from infections. Some suggestions:

• Many ads found on common websites are actually malware sources. Web-based games, clickbait sites found on Facebook (such as Buzzfeed, Distractify, etc.) may often contain links that will silently install malware on your machine. Browser-based games that target young children are often sources of infection. To combat these types of infections, installing a browser extension such as AdBlock or NoScript will help keep these types of infections off of your computer. These browser extensions are free and regularly updated. Watchdog extensions such as Web of Trust (WOT) will help alert you if you are about to accidentally visit an untrusted site based on active community reviews.
• Never open an email attachment you are not expecting. A large percentage of virus infections occur in this way. Likewise, many links found in emails redirect the user to sites that install malware. These should generallly not be trusted unless you recognize specifically where the link will take you. Anti-virus and anti-malware monitoring programs often help in filtering out attachments and preventing malicious sites from installing such programs.
• You can find links to recommended programs for malicious software prevention and control in our links section
• If you believe you have a malware or virus infection, but are unsure of how to tell, you can always - certain signs in your data usage may be red flags for viruses that we may be able to determine from our end.

Most households employ a home router in order to allow multiple devices to connect to the network. These devices connect to the Internet through the router via a wireless or wired (Ethernet cable) connection. More often than not, when there is a loss of internet connection, the router is to blame. Routers, like many electronic devices, are very sensitive to electric surges, unreliable power grids and other fluctuations in electricity. In the case of an electrical surge or spike, the router often takes the brunt of the damage before any other devices are harmed. In many of our service areas, the power grids are older or under-developed, and may cause fluctuations in power that are not initially noticeable, but are significant to electronic devices. Some suggestions:

• Your router (and any other electronic equipment) should be plugged into a surge protector rated to handle more power than your equipment draws. A power strip is not necessarily a surge protector, and often will cause further problems as it facilitates overloading the circuit.
• If you are having problems with your wirelessly-connected devices, you should attempt to bring them closer to the wireless router. If the connection improves by proximity, you may have an issue with distance, thickness of walls, or your wireless antenna in the router may be failing.

If you suspect your router may be malfunctioning, the best way to logically test this is to remove it from the signal chain. To do this, you will need to remove the Power Over Ethernet device as well as the radio connection cable (pictured) from your router's internet port and plug it directly in to a desktop or laptop computer. This is referred to as bypassing the router. If, after bypassing the router, your internet connection returns to normal, then it probably follows that your router is the cause of your connection problem and should be replaced, or you should contact your router manufacturer for support (unless you have a Speed of Light Broadband managed router, in which case you should contact us immediately so that we may repair or replace it). If, after bypassing your router, the internet connection still remains down (or has not improved), then the router may not be to blame and you should contact us, as the problem may be with your radio.

The radio mounted on or near your house is the last point of contact between you and the access point from Speed of Light Broadband. The radio equipment is serviceable only by a Speed of Light technician, and all problems with our equipment are serviced for free. There are a few ways you may be able to determine if there is a problem with your radio. These are:

• The PoE device is responsible for powering your radio, allowing it to function. The power plug for this devise should display a constant light (green for most models, white for some others – pictured). If there is no light on the device, the radio is not receiving power, and will not function. At this point you may try connecting the power to another outlet (assuming no device on that power source is receiving power). If it appears that the PoE device is not receiving power, you should contact us so that we may replace it.





• Your radio must be aligned with the tower access point in order to get a proper signal. If you have recently experienced severe storms or exceptionally high winds, your radio may have come out of alignment. If your radio appears to have moved drastically, you should contact us to repair the alignment.
• If your radio has taken a direct lightning strike, it will be obvious. You should contact us immediately so that we can replace the radio.

Your radio connects to the tower access point through a stream that is based largely on line-of-sight, and any obstruction to this path may cause signal problems. Any physical object, such as heavy trees, billboards, buildings or other structures may cause problems with your connection. Generally, these problems are assessed and accounted for at the time of install, but over time tree growth or new construction could cause this initial scenario to change. If you feel there has been a significant change in obstructions on your property, you should contact us so that we may assess whether or not this may be causing an issue.

If you are unable to connect through a smart TV, tablet, smartphone or other smart device, you should first check to see if you are able to connect through a laptop or computer. A wired connection is always preferable in this case, as it is the most stable and reliable form of network connection. Speed tests performed on smart devices are largely unreliable as these devices lack the processing power to properly handle the stress of the speed testing software, and will often return an incorrect result. A tablet, phone, or smart television is not a reliable source for testing speeds or connectivity. You should always test your internet connection on a desktop or laptop computer.

If you find you are able to connect on a desktop or laptop computer, but unable to connect via a smart device, there may be a problem with connectivity between your device and your router. In this case, resetting the connection by restarting the device is a good way to restore connectivity. If you find the device is still unable to connect at this point, you may wish to contact the manufacturer of the device's technical support line, or your service provider (in the case of smartphones).

If you find that you are unable to connect regardless of the device used, or if your household only utilizes smart devices, you should contact us so that we may help you troubleshoot the connection.