Internet Speed Issues

[CPantaleon]

Hello,

I had my internet connected two weeks ago. It was a 1 Mbps connection. Speedtest showed that I had a download speed of 1.04 Mb/s. Sure, for the first five days, it was fine. But after that, the connection became slow, having download speeds as slow as 0.25 Mbps (as rated by Speedtest.net). Is there anyway to solve this issue?

Oh, and, if it helps, here are my system specifications.

Samsung R530 laptop
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2 GHz
4 GB RAM
NVidia GeForce 310M 512 MB
Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 WLAN driver v 3.0.0.128
Windows 8 Release Preview

 

[eibgrad]

DSL, cable, WISP? Are you connected directly to the modem or using a router? Wired or wireless? Do wired and wireless show different results?

 

[CPantaleon]

DSL. I am connected directly to the modem, wireless.
Nope, no difference at all. Still 0.25.

 

[eibgrad]

So it sounds like this is a combination modem+router device.

If wired and wireless produce the same results, and you're using a combination device, there's really not much more you can do. Whatever issues you have are most likely the fault of the ISP. It's not unknown for ISPs to deliver less than promised, esp. after they have you as an established and otherwise happy customer. Things look good initially, but perhaps they start cutting back your internet access in order to serve more customers.

The only other test I would recommend (if possible) is using another desktop/laptop, just to eliminate the possibility it’s an issue w/ your current machine. If that’s not possible, you might grab a live Linux CD (e.g., Ubuntu), boot it (don’t worry, it won’t harm your current install, it runs completely in memory), and try from a different OS. If that suddenly worked, then it would suggest a problem w/ your PC (e.g., virus/malware).

Come to think of it, I’d perform an anti-virus/anti-malware scan as well. And make sure you're not running any *active* anti-virus/anti-malware products too (these can dramatically slow your speeds as they examine each and every packet for threats).

Anyway, if all the above checks out, it’s most likely the ISP. Tell them you tested it via wired and wireless, multiple machines, ran your scans, etc., no differences.

 

[CPantaleon]

Best answer selected by CPantaleon.

 

[Pyree]

This topic has been closed by Pyree