"Fast" internet speed but, slow download speed

[er100]

I have 50 mbps on both download and upload speeds. I have checked on speedtest.net and it gives me those speeds, but whenever I try to download something, It downloads like at 350 KB. This happens to almost all websites except Steam. I can download games at full speed from there. I even tested files from http://www.thinkbroadband.com/download/
and it stays at 350 KB even though that website is made for fast download speeds. Can anything be done to fix this?

 

[jimmyEatWord]

it's their servers not something at your end

 

[er100]

it's their servers not something at your end

Do you know of a website where I can download a random file to test my internet speed? I just want to know since the slow download speeds seem to happen at every website I download a file from, except steam.

 

[burdenbound]

it's their servers not something at your end

Do you know of a website where I can download a random file to test my internet speed? I just want to know since the slow download speeds seem to happen at every website I download a file from, except steam.

You can download some free to play games like RIFT, WildStar, etc.... Obviously you don't have to download the entire client, but these are large files where you can test your speed.

I venture to say if your able to download from steam fine, and speed test, it's probably the sites in question which are responsible.

 

[er100]

it's their servers not something at your end

Do you know of a website where I can download a random file to test my internet speed? I just want to know since the slow download speeds seem to happen at every website I download a file from, except steam.

You can download some free to play games like RIFT, WildStar, etc.... Obviously you don't have to download the entire client, but these are large files where you can test your speed.

I venture to say if your able to download from steam fine, and speed test, it's probably the sites in question which are responsible.

But, do you know of a website other than steam that works fine for you? I just want to make sure it's not something else.

 

[kittle]

Try downloading something from microsoft.com (offline install package for visual studio) or a video driver from nvidia.com or amd.com (depending on your GPU).

You can also goto oracle.com and try downloading the OFFLINE installer for java. or even one of their database clients - those can be 600mb or so.

 

[burdenbound]

it's their servers not something at your end

Do you know of a website where I can download a random file to test my internet speed? I just want to know since the slow download speeds seem to happen at every website I download a file from, except steam.

You can download some free to play games like RIFT, WildStar, etc.... Obviously you don't have to download the entire client, but these are large files where you can test your speed.

I venture to say if your able to download from steam fine, and speed test, it's probably the sites in question which are responsible.

But, do you know of a website other than steam that works fine for you? I just want to make sure it's not something else.

Those games are not associated with steam.

 

[er100]

it's their servers not something at your end

Do you know of a website where I can download a random file to test my internet speed? I just want to know since the slow download speeds seem to happen at every website I download a file from, except steam.

You can download some free to play games like RIFT, WildStar, etc.... Obviously you don't have to download the entire client, but these are large files where you can test your speed.

I venture to say if your able to download from steam fine, and speed test, it's probably the sites in question which are responsible.

Try downloading something from microsoft.com (offline install package for visual studio) or a video driver from nvidia.com or amd.com (depending on your GPU).

You can also goto oracle.com and try downloading the OFFLINE installer for java. or even one of their database clients - those can be 600mb or so.

it's their servers not something at your end

Do you know of a website where I can download a random file to test my internet speed? I just want to know since the slow download speeds seem to happen at every website I download a file from, except steam.

You can download some free to play games like RIFT, WildStar, etc.... Obviously you don't have to download the entire client, but these are large files where you can test your speed.

I venture to say if your able to download from steam fine, and speed test, it's probably the sites in question which are responsible.

But, do you know of a website other than steam that works fine for you? I just want to make sure it's not something else.

Those games are not associated with steam.

Those downloads also seem to download at that speed. 🙁 Some of them perform even worse.

 

[kittle]

Those downloads also seem to download at that speed. 🙁 Some of them perform even worse.

Sounds like the issue is somewhere in your local city/county/province. Since this is all outside of your home, there is nothing you can do short of moving or getting a different ISP

Speedtest.net also has the option to pick other servers. try picking servers a long ways away from you.
Then report this to your ISP and see what they can do.

lastly - are you using wireless in your home? or is your PC directly connected to your modem via a cable?

 

[er100]

Those downloads also seem to download at that speed. 🙁 Some of them perform even worse.

Sounds like the issue is somewhere in your local city/county/province. Since this is all outside of your home, there is nothing you can do short of moving or getting a different ISP

Speedtest.net also has the option to pick other servers. try picking servers a long ways away from you.
Then report this to your ISP and see what they can do.

lastly - are you using wireless in your home? or is your PC directly connected to your modem via a cable?

I am connecting my computer directly to the router using an ethernet cable. I have tried testmy.net and speedof.me and they both give me about the same speeds as my downloads. What I find strange is that the only downloads that download at full speed are the ones coming from Steam.

 

[kittle]

Those downloads also seem to download at that speed. 🙁 Some of them perform even worse.

Sounds like the issue is somewhere in your local city/county/province. Since this is all outside of your home, there is nothing you can do short of moving or getting a different ISP

Speedtest.net also has the option to pick other servers. try picking servers a long ways away from you.
Then report this to your ISP and see what they can do.

lastly - are you using wireless in your home? or is your PC directly connected to your modem via a cable?

I am connecting my computer directly to the router using an ethernet cable. I have tried testmy.net and speedof.me and they both give me about the same speeds as my downloads. What I find strange is that the only downloads that download at full speed are the ones coming from Steam.

ok good, so there is no wireless flakyness to confuse the issue.

Its not all that strange actually. Different servers on the internet take different paths to get to your PC.
Steam is very popular so they are going to make sure they have good bandwidth Everywhere. Other websites .... not so much.

But in the end it sounds like the problem is outside your home, and its something your ISP needs to fix. but they wont do anything until you can give them evidence that something is wrong. So do some speedtest.net tests to other servers in other cities showing how the download speed is super slow, and then call their support line to complain -- and be prepared for a lot of runaround.

 

[er100]

Those downloads also seem to download at that speed. 🙁 Some of them perform even worse.

Sounds like the issue is somewhere in your local city/county/province. Since this is all outside of your home, there is nothing you can do short of moving or getting a different ISP

Speedtest.net also has the option to pick other servers. try picking servers a long ways away from you.
Then report this to your ISP and see what they can do.

lastly - are you using wireless in your home? or is your PC directly connected to your modem via a cable?

I am connecting my computer directly to the router using an ethernet cable. I have tried testmy.net and speedof.me and they both give me about the same speeds as my downloads. What I find strange is that the only downloads that download at full speed are the ones coming from Steam.

ok good, so there is no wireless flakyness to confuse the issue.

Its not all that strange actually. Different servers on the internet take different paths to get to your PC.
Steam is very popular so they are going to make sure they have good bandwidth Everywhere. Other websites .... not so much.

But in the end it sounds like the problem is outside your home, and its something your ISP needs to fix. but they wont do anything until you can give them evidence that something is wrong. So do some speedtest.net tests to other servers in other cities showing how the download speed is super slow, and then call their support line to complain -- and be prepared for a lot of runaround.

Ok, thanks for the advice. I'll call my ISP and let them know the issues i'm having with their internet. Hopefully, they'll fix it.