Why Am I Not Getting the Speed I Pay For?

By Gllownite Technology • Published 1 November 2026

Getting less than your plan speed is common, and often the cause is inside your home. Before you blame your provider, rule out the unit mix-up, Wi-Fi and your own equipment.

First, check that you are comparing the same unit

Plans are sold in megabits per second (Mbps), but download apps usually show megabytes per second (MB/s). A 100 Mbps plan downloads at about 12.5 MB/s at most. That is normal, not a fault. Our Mbps vs MB/s guide explains the difference.

The most common reasons for lower speed

• You are testing over Wi-Fi. Distance, walls and interference all reduce speed, and many phones and laptops cannot reach the full speed of a fast plan over Wi-Fi.
• Your router or cable is the limit. A router with 100 Mbps Ethernet ports cannot deliver more than that over a cable, even on a 300 Mbps plan.
• Your device is the limit. An older phone or laptop may have a slow Wi-Fi chip or network port.
• Other devices are using the connection during the test.
• A VPN is on, which adds overhead and an extra stop for your data.
• It is peak time. Provider networks are shared, so speeds can drop in the evening.
• Protocol overhead takes a small share. Real data rates are normally a little below the headline number, even on a healthy line.

How to test your speed properly

1. Connect a laptop or PC to the router with an Ethernet cable.
2. Close other apps and pause downloads on every device in the house.
3. Turn off any VPN.
4. Run a speed test three times and note each result.
5. Repeat in the morning, afternoon and evening for a few days.

GenSpeed saves your past results in your browser, so you can compare them and export them as a CSV file.

What to tell your provider

Share your plan speed, your wired test results with dates and times, and the steps you have already tried. Ask them to check the line and your plan settings. If the wired result is good but Wi-Fi is poor, your provider is probably not at fault, and improving your Wi-Fi setup is the real fix.

Frequently asked questions