Ugh! 4.6Mbps Download

[engine]

Clearly, there's something wrong when i'm getting 4.6Mbps download and 9.35Mbs upload on a broadband speed test. It's been like this for a couple of days, and now it's becoming very frustrating. </rant>

[not2easy]

Oh, how I wish I could see speeds like that. Ever. Over the past 30 days I see a peak of 35.3Kb/s. But you're right, there should not be faster upload than download speed, that makes no sense. My peak upload (Jan. 23) shows 2.58Kb/s upload speed.

Why I so dislike auto-play and can't wait to see the satellite grid become a thing. People who live in the middle of nowhere deserve bandwidth too. ;)

[tangor]

Reminds me that when I complain about 12Mb/s that things could be worse! Wishing all happy resolutions!

[blend27]

People who live in the middle of nowhere deserve bandwidth too. ..

And a Band and a Ban and a Bath and everything that starts with Bath... Oh Look, I could do it over there... Middle, Aim, Go!

[rustybrick]

My gigabit is running a bit slow [speedtest.net...]

[topr8]

totally unaffiliated in any way - except as a happy customer.

have you tried andrews and arnold? imho the very best uk isp ... plus you get tech support when there's an issue from someone who knows what they are talking about - not a call centre in india reading off a sheet.

caveat - it more expensive than most. ... but you get what you pay for - not an empty promise!

[lammert]

Is this low speed measured on a hard-wired connection or a Wifi connected device? I once had my network internal speeds severely impacted by a neighbor's high-power wifi access point which was interfering with my communications. Wifi network speeds dropped to the single-digit range.

[engine]

Oh, how I wish I could see speeds like that. Ever. Over the past 30 days I see a peak of 35.3Kb/s. But you're right, there should not be faster upload than download speed, that makes no sense. My peak upload (Jan. 23) shows 2.58Kb/s upload speed.

Aaaaaargh, that must be terribly frustrating.
One of the things is, if you've never had it you don't miss it.

Thanks rustybrick, that's just made me green with envy.

@topr8 noted, thanks.

Is this low speed measured on a hard-wired connection or a Wifi connected device?

Thanks, it's wired. I have seen problems with wifi in the past for the reasons you mentioned, which is why I prefer wired connections.

The ISP was totally useless and was a waste of time even phoning them. They go through all the usual tests which i've already done, yet they want me to go through them again before escalating it.
After an hour of getting nowhere I decided to drop out of their support line.
I looked through my old "stuff" and found an old router, which i plugged in, and, suddenly, problem resolved, performance much better. Plugging the original router back in resulted in the same poor performance, so i'm now using the old router for the time being.

I have a brand new router on the way.

[edited by: engine at 11:23 am (utc) on Feb 12, 2020]

[graeme_p]

@engine, the big ISPs generally provide low quality routers.

Either get your own, or check what the provide. Zen supply a Frtizbox which is good.

I get 30Mbps+ download and around 7 upload with FTTC with them and good latency. Theoretically slower than what I used to have from Virgin, but feels faster and is more consistent and customer service is better (support seem to have clue for a start)

[JorgeV]

Hello,

I have 70 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up. One day, there was a huge storm. I disconnected all my electronica devices (tv, computer, modem box). The next day, when I plugged back everything. My Modem had some components roasted anyhow. and I was at 0.1 Mbps in upload. Once the box was replaced, all went well again. But ouch, feel like back to the dark age. You know, with all the complexity of online video stream platforms, your upload impact your download a lot.

[engine]

@graeme_p
Thanks, and I hadn't heard of Fritzbox.

I do already use my own which is much better than the ISP-supplied device, however, my system detected and blocked an attempted intrusion a while back. I wasn't able to update the firmware as there wasn't a newer version, and decided to change back to the ISP-supplied router. It solved the problems of the attempted intrusion.

I really don't need the highest speeds as it makes little difference. Up and downloads are automated and happen in the background quite fast enough, and the bandwidth allows all that's needed. I left the isp-supplied device on as it was working fine, until a couple of days ago.

[engine]

Quick update: New router working fine, although, the firmware seems a few years old, so i ran a check for an update and it's no newer on the update site. How odd.
Hopefully I haven't got another forgotten router.
It's much faster than the original ISP-supplied router, by at least 15-20%.

[lucy24]

Fritzbox

One of those brand names that make you ask What were you thinking?

[lammert]

What were you thinking?

Just a German first name :) They are so common on this side of the Atlantic that the only association with the name I have is a red overheated box. These routers are versatile with a lot of functionality crammed in a small space. But it causes them to get warm which often is the reason for premature death. I burnt three of them and now switched to a brand with less functionality but hopefully a longer lifespan.