Slow TalkTalk Broadband

Slow TalkTalk Broadband

MTU stands for Maximum Transmission Unit and defines the maximum size in bytes of a data packet that can be transferred over a network. If you try to send data packets that are larger than the MTU you will experience problems ranging from slow performance through to failed website loading

The MTU for ethernet and Cable broadband is 1500, but for ADSL internet connections it can vary between Internet Service Providers.

The TalkTalk broadband network has an MTU of 1432 bytes and their routers should be automatically setup to that figure.

However, if you are suffering a slow TalkTalk broadband connection TalkTalk themselves recommend that you change the MTU to 1431. This can dramatically increase speed (eg 440kb/s was increased to 6000kb/s!).

(I’m guessing, but if the MTU is 1432, and the bytes are numbered from 0 then the 1432nd byte will be number 1431........?)

For safety it is probably wise to set your router to an MTU of 1400 - then it should work with any ISP.