If you're dealing with a slow internet connection, we feel your frustration. It can be hard to pinpoint the exact cause, since a range of factors can cause slow speeds. We can walk you through several things you try to fix a slow connection.
Start by learning about how internet speed works below. Then, run through our troubleshooting checklist before calling on a technician for help. You can also follow our video instructions at the bottom of the page.
NOTE: If you have one of these (called a SmartNID), then you have CenturyLink Fiber with Premium WiFi. Some of the instructions on this page will not apply to you. Visit our Premium WiFi troubleshooting page for specialized help.
Different online activities use up your available bandwidth. The more devices you have active at the same time, the more you may see slower speeds.
Web hosts: Content providers and websites manage high-bandwidth sites and platforms worldwide. If a provider is getting more demand than their servers can handle, this can cause buffering or slow load times on that specific platform.
A tech support agent would walk you through several steps to isolate the source of the issue. In other words, you need to try lots of different things that could fix your slow internet if you're not sure what's causing the problem. Open each section to go through the checklist and questions.
Once you've gone through the checklist, run the internet speed test to see your current download speed. You can compare this to your plan speed in My CenturyLink. Keep in mind that the plan speed means total bandwidth. After running a few speed tests, which statement best describes your situation? Click below to see solutions.
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