User guide
How to get started, solve problems, and start surng
2 KAROO TECHNICAL HELP DESK 01482 606 101
Contents
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4-5
6-8
9-11
12-13
14-15
Getting started and personalising your account
• Your username
• Your internet login
How to get the most out of your service
• How to get the best speed possible
• Tips for top speeds
Using your broadband product
• An introduction to GB usage
• Frequently asked questions
• Checking your usage
Email
• Your email address
• Setting up your email account
• Setting up more than one email account
• Anti-spam and email anti-virus settings
• Common email problems
Hardware
• Problems with your router
• Configure your wireless router securely
Settings and Support
• Useful Karoo settings
• Other help and support
• Karoo support boundaries
3
Getting started
Welcome to Karoo!
You will be receiving your router shortly. This will come with a Quick Start
guide, which will tell you how to install it. Just follow the instructions on the
guide, entering your username and password (confirmed on your welcome
letter) where prompted.
You will then be taken to our online configuration page which will set up your
Karoo account and email settings automatically. Once this is done, simply
reboot your router when instructed and you are ready to go online!
Personalising your account
Your username
When you first signed up for Karoo Broadband, you will have been asked to
choose both a username and a password. So, for example, Paul Smith may
have chosen a username of paul72, and a password of broadband. These
details will also have been confirmed in your welcome letter.
Fill in your username and password in the boxes below – you will need them
to access the internet.
Enter your username here
Enter your username here Enter your password here
Enter your password here
Your internet login
Using the information above, your internet login should look something like
this: paul72@karoo
4 KAROO TECHNICAL HELP DESK 01482 606 101
How to get the most out of your service
Signing up to Karoo Broadband is not simply about getting online. We
want you to experience everything the internet has to offer, so in this
section we explain how to achieve the best possible performance.
How to… Get the best speed possible
Karoo Broadband offers our fastest speeds ever – up to 8Mbps. You won’t
always be able to surf this fast, but there are things you can do to make sure
you always get the fastest possible speed that your line can reliably support.
Understanding your broadband speed
Karoo broadband will give you the fastest possible speed on your line and this
will vary from home to home. This is because the speed of your connection
can be affected by several factors. For example:
• How far you are from the local telephone exchange – the further away,
the weaker the signal.
• The wiring inside your home – poor quality wiring will affect your speed.
• The type of activity you are performing – basic websites can be seen
easily, but your experience of downloading files or viewing content-rich
websites can depend on how that particular website performs.
• The time of day you use the internet – most people go online between
6pm and midnight, or at the weekend. More traffic means slower speeds.
5
Tips for top speeds
Tip 1: Use your main phone socket
Wherever possible, use your main
telephone socket to connect to your
broadband service.
Tip 2: Check your micro-filters
Micro-filters should be fitted to all
your home telephone extensions e.g. your TV set-top box, cordless
telephone base stations, dial-up security alarms, analogue modems, or
fax machines. Check they are working correctly.
Tip 3: Extension leads and wiring
Some extension leads (e.g. long telephone cables) can cause
disconnections and slow speeds. We strongly recommend that if
you need to use an extension, it should be a broadband specific
extension lead such as the RJ11. However, for optimum service it is not
recommended to run any more than 2 metres of cabling, as although
you may still be able to use your service over extension cables, the
performance is often severely degraded.
Tip 4: Check your router
To avoid disconnections, check the manufacturer’s website of your
modem/router for any software updates (which are usually free to
download).
Ethernet-based routers provide an ‘always on’ connection, and usually
automatically reconnect after a service interruption. They also allow you
to connect more than one computer to broadband – wired or wirelessly
(depending on model).
Tip 5: Power cycle your router
From time to time, you may need to re-set, or restart your router/
connecting device. We would recommend that every seven days or so,
you give your router and internet connection a break and re-set it. If you
are having connection problems, this could also help.