Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Internet speed test: I'll show you mine if you show me yours
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August 25, 2011 at 8:39 pm #600309
rwParticipantRecent service disruptions prompted me to check on my Comcast Internet connection speed. It’s a good idea to do this periodically, because a) you want to be sure that you are getting the service from Comcast (or whoever your ISP happens to be) that you paid for, and b) it can also help you identify potential issues with your own wifi configuration.
For example, I’m paying Comcast for “up to” 20 Mbps (this is mid-day), and am getting about 10.5. I think their service to West Seattle is still not fully back to normal from their recent technical problems, otherwise I would expect to see figures in the 12-16 mbps range during mid-day hours, a bit higher during off-peak hours, and a bit lower during peak early to mid-evening hours.
A few months ago I noticed that my speeds had slowed to a measly 1-3 mbps range, but determined that the problem was with my wireless router. After a bit of research I reconfigured the router and my throughput improved dramatically.
You can check your connection speed at http://speakeasy.net/speedtest/ . Follow the instructions and wait for the test to complete.
Post your results here, along with what you think your connection speed should be and your location.
And if your results are significantly worse than what Comcast (or any ISP) promised you, remember that the cause may not be with Comcast.
August 25, 2011 at 8:57 pm #732929
oddrealityParticipantAugust 25, 2011 at 8:59 pm #732930
austinMemberI don’t know what I’m supposed to be getting, it’s just the normal comcast internet connection. I’m pretty sure my connection here was suffering yesterday but I wasn’t in Seattle to experience it. Speakeasy speed test using the Seattle location returns 21.76 mbps down and 3.62 up. I’m using an 802.11n router that I’m about 25 feet away from with no intervening walls. From the neighborhood I don’t know the name of, sort of between luna park and admiral.
August 25, 2011 at 9:06 pm #732931
richwseattleParticipant18.66 mbps download and 3.59 mbps upload. I’m near Alaska junction.
August 25, 2011 at 9:56 pm #732932
clark5080Participant21.95 down 3.56 up Comcast in Arbor Heights
August 25, 2011 at 9:58 pm #732933
clark5080ParticipantI assume everyone is choosing the same city for the test because the further you go the readings are going to be different
August 25, 2011 at 11:23 pm #732934
rwParticipantDang. Now I’m feeling some throughput envy. I need to see whether I can bump up my network performance.
So I just rebooted my router, and my performance dropped to 5-7 mbps download. Not good. Next I rebooted my router AND my modem. Download speed jumped to 15.5 mbps. To really see where I am at some point I will run the same test from my wife’s computer, which is connected via a network cable rather than via wireless.
But remember, Comcast offers different speeds for different prices, so comparing against one another is useful but not the final answer. The important thing is to get the performance — and reliability (in case anyone from Comcast reads this thread) — that you paid for.
August 25, 2011 at 11:39 pm #732935
dhgParticipant30mbps download / 5 download
Want better speed? Get a better router. If you router is a few years old it can’t keep up with comcast. Also, Comcast will pawn off their slower network devices. You can buy a Motorola Surfboard Extreme at Amazon.com. It’ll save you money in the long run and MAY increase your access speed.
August 25, 2011 at 11:56 pm #732936
rwParticipantThat’s a great point, dhg.
But we have the Comcast “triple play” service, which pipes both phone and Internet service through their modem. I don’t see any mention of a comparable non-Comcast Internet modem that offers both phone and Internet. Does anyone have experience or recommendations on non-Comcast modems that include phone capability?
August 26, 2011 at 12:55 am #732937
dhgParticipantI’ve seen some people with split cables, one running to the box that serves the phone plus tv and the other is the more capable Comcast box. Typically these are in businesses but also some homes.
August 26, 2011 at 3:06 am #732938
JayDeeParticipantDo I feel so 1999:
1.33 Mps Download
0.73 Mps Upload
Qwest 10,000-feet from the substation speed…
August 26, 2011 at 3:34 am #732939
catladyMemberAugust 26, 2011 at 5:00 am #732940
S5Member27.92 Mbps download and 5.33 Mbps upload. I have Comcast (Triple Play) and live in the Hiawatha area.
August 26, 2011 at 5:11 am #732941
dr-ghostMemberAs of now I’m getting 20 down and 4.25 up (advertised speeds are 20 and 5), and 8ms ping time. So it looks like Comcast has resolved their problems.
By the way, speedtest.net is an excellent tool, but you really need to run 3 or 4 tests to get a good indication. Speeds vary, and single readings don’t tell you much.
August 26, 2011 at 7:01 am #732942
todd_ParticipantFWIW – I seem to be consistently about 18.7 download / 5.5 upload, in Admiral.
August 26, 2011 at 6:50 pm #732943
amaliaParticipantI’d be interested to see more Qwest results. Mine’s super slow and won’t stream anything on Netflix except short shows. Thinking of switching to Concast. Any way to tell whether it’s the router and the service?
August 26, 2011 at 7:32 pm #732944
chrismaParticipant@amalia: the lowest download speed you should be getting with Qwest is 1.5 Mbps, which should be enough to stream both Netflix and Hulu (albeit with some buffering). Probably not HD. Next tier up is 5 Mbps, which is what I have and we stream Netflix daily without issue.
I would do a speedtest and see what you get, and if it’s lower than you should have, contact their tech support. My recommendation would be to call in the early afternoon, as you’ll be more likely to get their US based support staff.
There are other factors that can affect your streaming performance: other internet users in your house using bandwidth, local applications running in the background, even your web browser.
In fact, as a test, I’d recommend trying to stream Netflix in at least two different browsers to see if they both have performance issues. At one point, I lost the ability to stream Netflix in Chrome and Firefox, but IE worked. There are alot of variables.
You can also try uninstalling Microsoft Silverlight and then re-installing. That will sometimes fix the issue, according to Netflix support.
My Qwest (now Century Link) results:
7.12 Mbps Download
0.82 Mbps Upload
August 26, 2011 at 8:18 pm #732945
amaliaParticipantThanks, Chrisma. That should greatly help me identify the culprit (although I’m trying to stream on TV, not my computer). Will do the speed test tonight.
Appreciate it!
August 27, 2011 at 1:41 am #732946
JayDeeParticipantChrisma:
Just retested, same result. Qwest didn’t offer tiers for me. It’d be nice to go faster — I have a new iMac so it probably isn’t the computer. I will try checking with them tomorrow if CL works on the weekend.
August 27, 2011 at 4:26 am #732947
dhgParticipantJayDee: I’m guessing you live on Alki. DSL speed is crap there. You need to be within 4500 ft for high speed.
August 27, 2011 at 7:40 am #732948
chrismaParticipantI had lots of problems when I first got my DSL here in Seattle (I’m about a block from the Morgan Junction, by the way). The main problem was my internet connection would drop every 5 minutes or so, and also speed was an issue. So I just bugged them about it.
I had to go through several rounds of the obvious first tier troubleshooting, nd was even told that Qwest was upgrading lines in my neighborhood and it would be a few weeks until things were fixed (I don’t think that was true). Eventually, I called one early afternoon and got someone in Boise who was a native English speaker and was able to go through all the troubleshooting steps with me and then dispatch a technician to check the house connections. And that seemed to do the trick. The tech did something at the outside service point that made everything work, and I’ve been good ever since.
I don’t know what the situation down at Alki is, but if it’s limited by the available infrastructure, you may have to go with a different provider. I know when I lived in Bremerton in the early 00’s there was no DSL available at all. It was Comcast or dialup.
Can anyone speak to how Clear’s service is down at Alki?
Good luck, JayDee, amalia, and all you other DSL’ers out there.
August 27, 2011 at 5:28 pm #732949
KevinParticipantSat 8/27/11 @ 10:15 AM
Speakeasy speed test from Arbor Heights.
Sea 27.97 down 5.02 up
NY 12.3 down 3.73 up
Dallas 17.97 down 4.82 up
I must admit that I’m paying a bit extra for the next up from the basic service level.
Comcast rep told me that some older routers will actually slow your connection WAY down. I replaced my aging router with a new one and was quite pleased.
August 27, 2011 at 11:39 pm #732950
JayDeeParticipantdhg: Thanks for confirming my fears. Maybe Century Link will improve things. Or perhaps global warming is imaginary.
August 28, 2011 at 1:32 am #732951
dhgParticipantI loved Speakeasy but now that they are Megapath I am not so sure. The issues of DSL and cell phone service on Alki helped me to understand what it means to be living on the edge of a community. When planners are installing radio towers they look at the maps, they see all that water and they shoot for the center of the land mass and hope the signal will reach the outer areas. It’s the price you pay for living on the edge.
August 28, 2011 at 4:50 am #732952
mpentoParticipantSaturday 27 Aug 9.22 1.22Mbps download and 1.14 Mbps upload According to the price I’m paying to comcast “Downloads up to 12 Mbps, uploads up to 2 Mbps with PowerBoost®” That reading was typical for about 3 tests about 5 minutes apart. I wonder how this tiered system works since they are offering multiple different packages with different speeds. Yes I have a router and it is not that old but I still have the original comcast modem (maybe 5-6 years old) Came across this article after a quick google search http://www.lonniewest.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=129:comcast-internet-speed-problems&catid=9:technology&Itemid=9 Surprising that politicians seem to be avoiding what should be an easy target that would make them look good. I wonder why?
http://news.muckety.com/2011/06/21/comcast-spent-57-million-on-lobbying/33051
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