Question from Kellie L.: I have Comcast Internet and the plan I’m on is for 200 Mbps download speed.
I read your post about SpeedTest.net and used it to run several speed tests yesterday and again this morning. The fastest speed I got was around 65 Mbps.
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I called Comcast this afternoon and they ran some kind of test from their end and said I was getting all the speed I’m paying for.
Mar 13, 2008. Aug 18, 2015.
Is there something I’m doing wrong when I run the speed test or is Comcast just blowing me off?
Mac Slow Download Speed
Rick’s answer:Checking actual Internet download and upload speeds can be a little tricky, Kellie.
While there’s always a chance that the Comcast tech you spoke with just told you that to get you off the line, I have a hunch that you are indeed getting the speed you’re paying for.
You didn’t mention how many computers and other devices were using your Internet connection at the times when you ran your tests, and that makes a huge difference. I should have mentioned that in the post about SpeedTest.net so I plan to go back and add it.
Please allow me to explain why having multiple devices in use while you’re running the speed test matters…
You said you’re paying Comcast for a download speed of 200 Mbps. That means Comcast is promising to deliver 200 Mbps to your modem/gateway. That 200 Mbps is then divided up among all the computers and devices that happen to be using your Internet connection at any given time.
For example, if someone in your house is watching a movie on Netflix while you’re watching a Youtube video, neither of your devices are going to be receiving data at the full 200 Mbps. Instead, that amount will be shared between those devices.
Put another way, every additional device that’s actively using your local network will lower the effective download speeds for every individual device that’s in use at that time.
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In fact, even a tablet or smartphone that’s accessing a website or reading Facebook can lower the effective speeds delivered to other devices on your network by at least a small amount.
Here’s a little experiment for you to try:
1 – Make sure your computer or mobile device is the only device in your house that’s actively using your Internet connection while you run the test.
You can do that by either turning the other devices off, temporarily disconnecting them from the network or placing them in Airplane Mode.
2 – Run SpeedTest.net again from your computer.
I have a hunch that the speed you’ll get from your “isolated” speed test will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 Mbps. If it isn’t then Comcast should send a tech out to your house to see what’s going on.
I hope this helps Kellie. Good luck!
Update from Kellie: I did what you suggested Rick, and the meter ended up reading 213 Mbps at Speedtest.net. I sure can’t complain about that. Thanks for your help!
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There are few things more frustrating than an internet connection that’s very slow. Thankfully, there’s a great deal you can do to troubleshoot the problem and speed up your connection. Here’s how to do it.
Why is my download speed so slow?
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So what is a fast download speed? Normally, anything that’s above 100 Mbps is considered good Internet. This means, your Mac will handle multiple simultaneous online activities without major interruptions. Still, there’s no limit to perfection. If you want to reach the optimal speed to make downloads faster, there are a couple of things you can try.
First, you need to find out whether the slow download speed is due to your broadband connection or your wireless network. Since your wireless network is the bit over which you have control, you should check that first. In any case, optimizing and fine tuning your home or office wifi will improve performance.
How to increase Internet speed
Firstly, look at where your router is situated. Ideally, it should be in the centre of your house, so that every room gets a good signal. It should be away from walls, the floor and the ceiling as much as possible. And keep it away from metal furniture, which will reflect radio waves rather than allow them to pass through. Modern routers support both 5GHz and 2.4GHz networks. The latter allows for faster speeds, but the former suffers from less interference from other devices like microwave ovens and cordless telephones. So connect to the 5GHz network on devices that support it. If you have devices that only support 2.4GHz, place your router away from appliances like a microwave or cordless phone.
Here are a few simple steps you can take to improve your Internet speed:
How to get better Internet speed
When you’re satisfied with your router and it’s in the best possible location, time to analyze your wireless network. The following solutions will not only help you run a speed test, but also understand how to improve Internet speed.
NetSpot will produce a full analysis of all the wifi networks within range of your home or office and highlight any problems. It produces a heat map of your home or office and highlights ‘dead spots’ where wifi signal strength is low or non-existent. It can also advise on the best placement for your wifi router, and really useful suggestions to troubleshoot your networks.
WiFi Explorer allows you to identify conflicts with other networks, identifies signal overlaps, and provides a graph of signal to noise ratio. By maximizing the signal v noise, you can improve signal performance and speed up downloads.
One possible cause of poor wifi performance is interference from other wifi networks in your street. WiFi Explorer and NetSpot analyze how fast Internet is by analyzing those networks and let you know if they are causing a problem.
If there are lots of routers in your neighbourhood using the 40MHz spectrum, known as wide band, it can cause congestion – wide band occupies seven channels, compared with five used by 20MHz networks.In this case, switching to the 20MHz band may actually increase Internet speed by reducing interference. To do that you’ll need to access your router’s admin page in a web browser. You’ll need to consult its manual, or look for a sticker on the bottom of the router, for an IP address, username and password.
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How to download torrents faster
Despite the negative publicity BitTorrent has had in recent years, there’s nothing illegal in using it or in downloading torrents. As long as the content you download isn’t protected by copyright or, if it is, you have permission from the rights owner to take it, you’ll be fine. What’s more, it’s totally safe to use selected third-party tools to increase upload speed on torrent.
Additionally to Folx download manager it is also a torrent client. It has several features to make torrent download faster.
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There are a number of things you can do to boost up Google Chrome’s speed:
Downie does a similar job, even allowing you to down; pad 4K-resolution videos from streaming video and social media sites. Just copy and paste the URL for the video page into Downie or use its browser extension. Once you’ve downloaded the video, you can use Permute to convert it to any format you want.
Watch and download video at the same time
If you’re downloading videos from streaming sites, Elmedia Player can help. It has a built-in browser and download manager. Paste the URL for the video into the address bar in the downloader, then when it displays a list of all the files it’s found on the page, click Download next to the one that corresponds with the video file.
To view videos you’ve downloaded, click on the Downloads tab and press Play next to the one you want to watch.
If all else fails, check with your broadband provider
Check that your broadband provider hasn’t reported a fault in your area by calling its helpline number.
Once you’ve ruled that out you need to find out whether the problem is your wireless network or is caused by your router failing to connect to the broadband network. If you have a Mac that has an Ethernet port or you have a USB to Ethernet adapter, connect it directly to an Ethernet port on your router to try speed up your Internet. Obs studio mac os download. If your download speed is much faster when connected by Ethernet, your wireless network may be the culprit.
Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do to troubleshoot and improve the speed of your wifi network.
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