Overview/Guides
// Plain-English guides — written between jobs
Guides
from the van.
Slow broadband, weak WiFi, the 2027 switch-off, what a real callout actually involves. These are the questions I get asked twice a week on the doorstep. Here are the honest answers.
The 2027 PSTN Switch-Off: What every London home needs to know
Openreach is retiring the copper phone network by January 2027. What it means for your landline, your alarm, your careline pendant — and what to do now.Slow broadband in a London flat? Nine causes I see every week
From bell wire in the 1980s to scotchlok'd risers in mansion blocks. Nine real reasons your line is slow, and what actually fixes them.Cat5e vs Cat6 vs Cat6a: Which cable do you actually need?
A straight answer instead of a marketing brochure. What I install in a Fulham townhouse, what I don't, and why most homes don't need Cat6a.WiFi dead zones in Victorian houses: Why it happens and how to fix it
Double-brick walls, lath-and-plaster ceilings, and the router stuck by the front door because that's where the master socket is. The real fix.Openreach vs hiring a private engineer: When to call each
Some jobs I won't touch. Some Openreach won't. An honest breakdown of who is responsible for what — and when to wait vs ring me.How to move your master socket without losing broadband speed
Where the NTE5c lives matters more than people think. How to move it cleanly, how long it takes, and what the broadband sync does after.Why your broadband speed test lies — and what an engineer tests instead
Speedtest.net is the equivalent of a thermometer in the wrong room. Here's what we actually measure at the master socket.WiFi to a garden office: The three best methods ranked
Powerline (no), mesh extender (sometimes), buried Cat6 in conduit (yes). What I install in a Chiswick garden and why.Your broadband drops every evening at 6pm. Here's why.
Two causes. One is your ISP's problem. The other is a cheap LED dimmer switch in your neighbour's hallway.Hidden wiring vs surface-run cable: Look, finish, and when each makes sense
Concrete floors say no. Stud walls and skirting voids say yes. When hidden is possible, when it isn't, and why we do it as standard.Adding an ethernet point behind your smart TV (and why WiFi isn't good enough)
4K streaming over WiFi is a coin flip. Here's how a single Cat6 run from your router to the TV solves it for good.Got something not covered here?
Most queries I get start with "this might be a stupid question, but…" — and most of the time the answer is two minutes on the phone. Ring me — we'll figure it out together.