cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Welcome to our blog

Check out the latest on everything from staying safe online to getting the best from your service.

Re: Help make Broadband better

As you know, here at TalkTalk we're always working to make our broadband as good as it can be. Now you can help too. We’re delighted to invite you to take part in a trial with SamKnows, the world leaders in broadband measurement. They’ve partnered with Ofcom to research broadband performance across the UK and this is your chance to play a part. 

 

What does the trial involve?

All you need to do is connect your TalkTalk router into a device (a whitebox), this will then measure your broadband connection. Please note - your internet usage won't be recorded – only the quality of your connection.

When you volunteer you'll be given access to a secure online portal. There, you'll be able to see all of your own data, allowing you to follow the performance of your connection as well. 

 

Where do I sign up?

If you're interested in taking part in this trial, all you need to do is sign up with your name, email address, postcode and the name of your ISP which is TalkTalk. 

If you have further questions about the trial, take a look at the installation guide and FAQ's on the SamKnows website. 

Community
TalkTalk
Technology
7 Comments
an1sa_k
Problem Solver

Will everyone who signs up get a Sam Knows Whitebox or is it only selected people? 

0 Likes
Anonymous
Not applicable

A little clarification required.

 

I don't think that everyone who signs up will get a white box, that has never been the case in the previous trials and TT have promoted at least two. I think the key statement in the Ts & C's is :-

 

"You will receive an email informing that you are now on the waiting list."

 

I've registered twice before and I'm still on the waiting list, never seen a white box.

 

 

0 Likes
Anonymous
Not applicable

And as a p.s. as I can't see any way to edit my previous post, , SamKnows description also contains this statement :-

 

"Kindly note that not everyone who registers their interest in a Whitebox will be selected to receive one."

0 Likes
an1sa_k
Problem Solver

Thanks for that information @Anonymous

0 Likes
bf1-1
Whizz Kid

I've had a SamKnows Whitebox since Oct 2016, and it's awesome. It monitors all the technical bits of your connection throughout the day, and you can view the details through a dashboard:

https://ibb.co/m4Vafq

 

I think the reason not everyone gets one is because it's about research and data - if you and your neighbour both have the same ISP and the same broadband speed, there's not much point giving you a Whitebox from their perspective.

 

It's really useful if you have an issue, like connection drops or if your internet starts going slow, because you're suddenly able to provide details of all the historical stats of your connection for the past month without you needing to know what any of it means, or taking any measurements yourself, so the TalkTalk support people instantly have a lot more data to go on. It's really useful if you're able to say "I'm getting intermittant internet, and if I check my SamKnows I can see I've had 50% packet loss this week whereas for the prvious 3 weeks it's been 0%", and you can simply screenshot the graph into your support ticket. You just plug the box into the back of your router, do the initial sign-in, and that's it, you forget about it and it monitors your connection quality forever.

 

It's easy to imagine that they use the data for identifying hotspots, network congestion, and use this to provide recommendations for future infrastructure upgrades. They can basically lobby for you personally to have better connection quality without you doing a thing.

0 Likes
Chris-TalkTalk
Support Team

Hi an1sa_k,

 

As others have said, as I understand it everyone who registers isn't guaranteed to get a whitebox but if I hear anything to contrary I'll let you know.


Chris

0 Likes
Chris-TalkTalk
Support Team

Hi bf1-1,

 

Thanks for your comments, glad to hear you're happy with your whitebox 🙂

Chris

0 Likes

More like this