1. Quick Speed Test & Diagnosis
Before you start pulling cables out or ringing your ISP, take 60 seconds to figure out exactly what's going wrong. The single most useful thing you can do is run a proper speed test — but you need to do it the right way.
How to Run an Accurate Speed Test
Head to speedtest.net (by Ookla) or use the official nbn® Speed Test at speedtest.nbnco.com.au. But here's the critical part most people miss:
Connect via Ethernet Cable
Plug your laptop or computer directly into your router/modem with an ethernet cable. This removes WiFi from the equation entirely and tells you what your actual NBN line speed is. If you only test over WiFi, you're measuring two things at once and you won't know which one is the problem.
Close Everything Else
Stop all streaming, pause downloads, disconnect other devices if you can. You want a clean test with nothing else eating your bandwidth. Yes, that means telling the kids to pause Fortnite for two minutes.
Test at Different Times
Run the test at 10am, then again at 8pm. If your speed drops dramatically in the evening, that's network congestion — an ISP-side issue. If it's slow all day, the problem is likely your connection or equipment.
Record Your Results
Write down your download speed, upload speed, and ping. Compare these to your plan. On an NBN 50 plan, you should be getting 40–50 Mbps down during off-peak. If you're getting 15 Mbps, something is wrong.
If your ethernet speed test shows full plan speed but WiFi is slow, the problem is your router or WiFi setup — not the NBN. Skip ahead to our WiFi dead zones section.
2. Most Common NBN Problems in Perth
We've been fixing internet issues across Perth for years — from Joondalup down to Rockingham, Midland to Fremantle. These are the problems we see week in, week out.
NBN Dropping Out Every Few Hours
The most common complaint we hear. Usually caused by an overheating router, a faulty NBN connection box (NTD), or a loose coaxial cable on HFC connections. In older Perth suburbs like Mount Lawley, Subiaco, and Bayswater, ageing copper in FTTN areas is often the culprit — especially after rain.
Slow Speeds Despite a Fast Plan
You're paying for NBN 100 but getting 25 Mbps. This is extremely common on FTTN connections where your home is more than 400 metres from the node. WiFi interference from neighbouring apartments (hello, East Perth and Northbridge) also tanks speeds. The ISP-supplied router is often part of the problem too.
WiFi Keeps Disconnecting
Your devices randomly lose WiFi and you have to reconnect. Often caused by channel congestion (your router and your neighbour's router fighting over the same channel), outdated router firmware, or too many devices on a single-band 2.4GHz network. Perth's increasingly dense suburbs like Scarborough, Victoria Park, and Rivervale are hotspots for WiFi congestion.
Buffering on Streaming & Video Calls
Netflix pixelates, Teams calls freeze, YouTube buffers endlessly. This can be a speed issue, but more often it's latency (high ping) or jitter. Common when your router's QoS (Quality of Service) settings aren't configured, or when someone else on the network is downloading large files. Work-from-home households in Perth are especially hit by this.
Dead Zones — No Signal in Parts of the House
Strong WiFi in the living room, nothing in the bedroom or out on the patio. Perth's double-brick construction is notorious for killing WiFi signals. A single router simply can't push through those thick walls, especially in sprawling homes across suburbs like Dianella, Morley, and Karrinyup.
Connection Drops When Multiple Devices Connect
Works fine with one or two devices, crashes when the whole family gets home. Cheap ISP-supplied routers often have a practical limit of 10–15 simultaneous devices. With smart TVs, phones, tablets, laptops, smart speakers, and IoT devices, the average Perth household now has 15–25 connected devices.
3. WiFi Dead Zones — Router Placement & Mesh Systems
If your speed test shows decent NBN speeds via ethernet but WiFi is hopeless in half the house, the issue is your wireless setup. Let's fix that.
Router Placement Rules (Most People Get This Wrong)
Where you put your router matters more than how much you spent on it. Follow these rules:
- Central location: Place it as close to the centre of your home as possible. If your NBN box is in a back corner (common in Perth homes), use a long ethernet cable to relocate the router centrally.
- Elevated position: WiFi signals radiate outward and slightly downward. Put the router on a shelf at chest height or higher — never on the floor, never inside a TV cabinet.
- Away from interference: Keep it at least 1 metre from microwaves, baby monitors, cordless phones, fish tanks (yes, water blocks WiFi), and mirrors. Large metal objects like fridges are particularly bad.
- Antennas vertical: If your router has external antennas, keep them pointing straight up for the best horizontal coverage across a single-storey Perth home. For two-storey homes, angle one antenna sideways at 45 degrees.
- Away from double-brick walls: Perth's beloved double-brick construction is WiFi's worst enemy. Position the router so it has a clear line of sight through doorways rather than blasting through walls.
When You Need a Mesh WiFi System
If your home is larger than about 150m², has double-brick walls, or is multi-storey, a single router simply won't cut it. A mesh WiFi system uses multiple units that work together to blanket your entire home in consistent coverage.
A WiFi extender (or repeater) is cheap but terrible — it halves your speed and creates a separate network name. A mesh system is a proper solution: all nodes share one network name, your devices seamlessly roam between them, and you keep full speed. Always go mesh.
Best Mesh WiFi Systems for Perth Homes (2026)
| System | Best For | WiFi Standard | Coverage | Price Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Nest WiFi Pro | Easy setup, smart home integration | WiFi 6E (tri-band) | Up to 375m² (3-pack) | $500–$650 |
| TP-Link Deco XE75 | Best value tri-band | WiFi 6E (tri-band) | Up to 370m² (2-pack) | $350–$500 |
| Netgear Orbi 970 | Large homes, maximum performance | WiFi 7 (quad-band) | Up to 600m² (3-pack) | $1,200–$1,800 |
| ASUS ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro | Double-brick Perth homes | WiFi 7 (tri-band) | Up to 510m² (2-pack) | $800–$1,100 |
For most three- to four-bedroom Perth homes, the TP-Link Deco XE75 or Google Nest WiFi Pro hit the sweet spot of price and performance. If you've got a larger property in suburbs like Dalkeith, City Beach, or Applecross, step up to the Orbi or ASUS system. For Perth's double-brick homes, always choose a system that supports ethernet backhaul between nodes — it makes a massive difference when WiFi has to punch through those walls.
4. NBN Connection Types Explained
Not all NBN is created equal. The type of connection you have determines your maximum possible speed and reliability. Here's what you need to know about each one — and which Perth suburbs are affected.
| Type | How It Works | Max Speed | Reliability | Perth Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTTP Fibre to the Premises |
Fibre optic cable runs directly to your home. The gold standard. | Up to 1000/400 Mbps | Excellent | Parts of Ellenbrook, Butler, Baldivis, newer developments |
| FTTC Fibre to the Curb |
Fibre to a small box at the kerb, then short copper to your home. | Up to 100/40 Mbps | Very good | Parts of Como, Manning, Wembley, Canning Vale |
| FTTN Fibre to the Node |
Fibre to a street cabinet, then existing copper phone line to your home. Speed drops with distance. | 25–100 Mbps (distance dependent) | Variable — worst after rain | Morley, Dianella, Yokine, Bayswater, many inner suburbs |
| HFC Hybrid Fibre Coaxial |
Uses the old Foxtel/pay TV coaxial cable network. | Up to 1000/50 Mbps | Good (can suffer congestion) | Scarborough, Innaloo, Doubleview, parts of Karrinyup |
| Fixed Wireless | Radio signal from a tower to an antenna on your roof. | Up to 75/10 Mbps | Weather dependent | Hills area, outer metro — Mundijong, Serpentine, Chittering |
Visit nbnco.com.au/check-your-address and enter your street address. It will show your technology type, maximum available speed tier, and whether any upgrades are planned. If you're stuck on FTTN, you may be eligible for nbn's Technology Choice program to upgrade to FTTP — though it comes at a cost (typically $2,000–$5,000+).
Why FTTN Is Perth's Biggest Problem
A huge portion of Perth's inner and middle suburbs were connected using FTTN during the original NBN rollout. The issue is that your speed depends on the length and quality of the copper phone line between the street node and your home. If you're more than 400 metres away, speeds drop significantly. If the copper is old or has corroded joints (common in Perth's clay soils), rain can cause line faults that lead to dropouts and sync speed drops.
If you're on FTTN and consistently getting poor performance, your best options are:
- Report a fault to your ISP and request a line test — they can check your sync speed and line attenuation remotely
- Request an nbn technician visit to inspect the copper between the node and your home
- Investigate the nbn FTTP upgrade pathway (costs vary but delivers a permanent fix)
- Consider 5G Home Internet from Telstra or Optus as an alternative if you have good 5G coverage in your area
5. Step-by-Step Fixes You Can Try Right Now
Before you call anyone, work through these fixes in order. They're ranked from quickest to most involved, and they solve the problem about 60% of the time.
Power Cycle Everything (Properly)
Turn off your modem/router, your NBN connection box (the white box on the wall), and any switches or WiFi extenders. Wait a full 60 seconds — not 10, not 30. Then power on the NBN box first, wait for its lights to stabilise (about 2 minutes), then turn on the router. This clears cached DNS entries, resets the DHCP lease, and forces a fresh sync with the exchange. It fixes more problems than you'd think.
Check All Physical Connections
Inspect every cable. The ethernet cable from the NBN box to your router, the power cables, and if you're on HFC, the coaxial cable connection. Push each one firmly in. Look for bent pins, frayed cables, or loose connections. On FTTN, check the phone line connection at the wall socket — these can work loose over time. A dodgy $2 cable can cripple a $100/month connection.
Change Your WiFi Channel
Log into your router (usually at 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 in your browser — check the sticker on the bottom of your router). Navigate to WiFi settings and change the 2.4GHz channel to 1, 6, or 11 (these are the only non-overlapping channels). For 5GHz, try channels 36, 40, 44, or 48. Use a free app like WiFi Analyzer (Android) or NetSpot (Mac/Windows) to see which channels your neighbours are using and pick one that's less crowded.
Update Your Router Firmware
While you're logged into the router admin panel, check for firmware updates. Manufacturers regularly release patches that fix bugs, improve stability, and boost performance. Look for a section called "Firmware Update", "System Update", or "Administration". Many modern routers can auto-update — make sure this is turned on.
Change Your DNS Servers
Your ISP's default DNS servers can be slow or flaky. Switch to one of these faster, more reliable options:
- Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 (fastest, privacy-focused)
- Google: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (reliable, well-known)
- Quad9: 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112 (security-focused, blocks malware)
You can set these in your router's WAN/Internet settings (affects all devices) or on individual devices in their network settings.
Separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz Networks
If your router uses "smart" band steering (one network name for both bands), try disabling it and creating two separate network names — e.g., "HomeWiFi" (5GHz) and "HomeWiFi-2G" (2.4GHz). Connect your main devices (laptops, phones, streaming boxes) to the 5GHz network for speed, and leave smart home gadgets, printers, and IoT devices on 2.4GHz for range.
Check for Background Bandwidth Hogs
Windows updates, cloud backups (OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud), game updates on Steam/Xbox/PlayStation, and smart home cameras uploading footage can silently consume your entire upload bandwidth. Check each device's active downloads. On Windows, open Task Manager > Network. On Mac, open Activity Monitor > Network. You might be surprised what's running in the background.
Quick Troubleshooting Reference Table
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Slow on WiFi, fast on ethernet | WiFi congestion or poor router placement | Change channel, relocate router, or add mesh |
| Slow on both WiFi and ethernet | ISP congestion, FTTN line issue, or faulty NTD | Test at off-peak times; if still slow, contact ISP |
| Drops out after rain | Water in copper joints (FTTN) or pit flooding | Report line fault to ISP for NBN tech visit |
| Drops out in the evening | ISP network congestion (CVC under-provisioning) | Switch ISP (Aussie Broadband, Superloop are good options) |
| Drops out when microwave is on | 2.4GHz interference from microwave | Switch devices to 5GHz WiFi band |
| Some devices can't connect | Router device limit reached or IP conflict | Reboot router, upgrade to a higher-capacity router |
| Good speed, but video calls lag | High latency/jitter, poor upload speed, or no QoS | Enable QoS in router, prioritise video traffic |
| NBN box lights flashing red | Line fault or outage in your area | Check ISP outage page; if no outage, call ISP |
6. When Your ISP Is the Problem
Sometimes you've done everything right and the problem is simply your Internet Service Provider. Here's how to tell, and what to do about it.
Signs Your ISP Is at Fault
- Fast speeds in the morning, terrible in the evening (7pm–11pm window)
- Your ethernet speed test shows speeds well below your plan, consistently
- Frequent micro-dropouts that your ISP's status page doesn't acknowledge
- Latency spikes during peak hours (ping jumping from 10ms to 100ms+)
The evening slowdown is the biggest giveaway. It means your ISP hasn't purchased enough CVC (Connectivity Virtual Circuit) bandwidth from nbn for your area. In plain English: too many customers, not enough pipe.
How to Escalate Effectively
- Document everything: Screenshot speed tests with timestamps over a week. Record the time, date, download speed, upload speed, and ping for each test. This evidence is powerful.
- Call your ISP and reference the data: Don't just say "it's slow". Say "I'm on an NBN 100 plan and my ethernet speed tests show 22 Mbps at 8pm over 7 consecutive days. Here are the screenshots."
- Request a line test: Ask them to run a remote diagnostic on your line. They can check your sync speed, attenuation, and error rates without sending a tech.
- Escalate to the TIO if needed: If your ISP doesn't fix the issue within a reasonable time, lodge a complaint with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) at tio.com.au. ISPs take TIO complaints seriously because each one costs them money.
Perth ISP Options Worth Considering
If your current provider isn't delivering, these ISPs consistently perform well in Australian speed and satisfaction surveys:
- Aussie Broadband — Consistently rated top for speed consistency and customer support. Australian-owned, no overseas call centres.
- Superloop — Competitive pricing, good CVC provisioning, strong in WA.
- iiNet — Perth-born ISP (founded in a Subiaco garage!). Now owned by TPG Group but still has a strong local presence and WA-based support options.
- Telstra — Most expensive, but their CVC provisioning is generally generous and they have the widest 5G Home Internet coverage as a backup option.
- Leaptel — Smaller provider but excellent for tech-savvy users. Transparent about their CVC usage.
Changing NBN providers typically takes 1–3 business days with minimal downtime. You keep the same NBN connection box and infrastructure — only the ISP account changes. There's no technician visit required in most cases. Most ISPs also let you BYO modem, so you don't have to return hardware either.
7. When to Call a Perth Network Tech
We always encourage people to try the DIY fixes first — that's why we wrote this guide. But there are situations where you genuinely need a professional, and throwing more hours at Google won't help.
You Should Call a Tech If:
- You've tried everything above and the problem persists — there may be a hardware fault, cabling issue, or configuration problem that needs hands-on diagnosis
- You need ethernet cabling run through walls or ceilings — this is the single best upgrade for any home network and it's not a DIY job in most Perth homes
- You want a mesh system set up properly — placement, configuration, and ensuring ethernet backhaul where possible makes a huge difference to performance
- Your home has more than 15 connected devices — you may need a business-grade access point, proper network segmentation, or a managed switch
- You work from home and can't afford downtime — a tech can optimise QoS settings, set up a separate VLAN for work devices, and ensure your video calls always get priority
- You're dealing with a strata/body corporate building — MDU (multi-dwelling unit) connections have their own quirks and often need someone who knows how to navigate the shared infrastructure
Need a Hand With Your WiFi or NBN?
Our Perth network techs diagnose and fix internet issues every day. Same-day service available across all Perth suburbs. No fix, no fee.
Book a Network Tech Now or call us on 08 6385 7940What to Expect From a Geeks Perth Visit
When one of our techs comes to your home, here's what a typical network assessment includes:
- Full speed and signal audit — We test your NBN line speed, WiFi signal strength in every room, and identify interference sources
- Equipment assessment — We check your router, modem, cabling, and NBN connection box for faults or outdated hardware
- Optimisation — We configure optimal WiFi channels, DNS settings, QoS priorities, firmware updates, and security settings
- Recommendations — If you need a new router, mesh system, or ethernet cabling, we'll give you honest, specific advice (we don't sell hardware at a markup — we'll tell you exactly what to buy from JB Hi-Fi or online)
- Setup & testing — If you've purchased new hardware, we'll set it up, optimise it, and test it in every room before we leave
WiFi & NBN FAQs — Perth
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