If your connection is slow or intermittent, it's possible there's a problem somewhere along the entire route between you and the destination server.
In this instance, the traceroute is less useful because it only shows a one-off snapshot of that route.
A far better option is to use MTR (aka MyTraceRoute) which runs a traceroute continously, logging statistics over time to help pinpoint slow or intermittent problems.
MTR is a tool that provides a live, continuously updating view of the route between your device and a remote server, revealing not only where your packets travel, but how the performance of each hop changes over time.
To learn more, visit our dedicated guide to MTR, which includes a short video explainer.
MTR is not installed by default on Windows or Mac, so visit out our multiplatform guide on how to download, install and run MTR.
We recommend running an MTR test to a server you know is very likely to be up and running (such as google.com/8.8.8.8)
MTR is a bit more difficult to understand the results than a standard traceroute, so we recommend watching our video guide (coming soon), or the section on our MTR page called Understanding MTR results
A speed test is another really useful tool to diagnose slow connections, but only if they are run in the correct way. A simple one-off test, is not really conclusive.
Visit our page on how to run a speed test properly (and why the results can mislead) which includes a video overview and a detailed testing methodology.
We also have a guide to the best speed test services along with a free Google sheets speetest template to log the results.
If your speed test shows consistently slow results AND it's using a server near or on your ISP's network, this gives you a clue the problem is either with your ISP or inside your own network.
Meet the Little Blue Box™.
Designed in-house, and available exclusively for our Managed by Enlink customers, it simply plugs into your router and gets to work, monitoring your network in real time. So if something goes wrong, we can quickly pinpoint the fault — whether it's at our end or yours.
Enquire for more details