Need help with your equipment?
rrbunn's profile

Teacher

 • 

15 Messages

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 10:24 PM

Paying for 18mbps - significantly slower speed

Hello,

 

I'm seeing variable performance in my internet speed and I was hoping someone could look at the results of UV Realtime for me.

 

Basically all I want to do is play Modern Warfare on my xbox.  The game lags terribly though making it unbearable.  I'm not sure if UV Realtime is capable of monitoring this performance or not so I'm looking for help.

 

rrbunn

Teacher

 • 

15 Messages

11 years ago

Thanks for the input.

 

I am using a wired connection for both my computer and xbox.

 

I ran the speedtest through Chrome using my Mac (OS X).  The UV stats are from me running UV on my Windows 7 virtual machine (VM Fusion).  Not sure if this matters or not.

 

I ran testmy.net this morning:

 

Screen Shot 2013-02-21 at 9.35.41 AM.png

 

I don't do bittorrent or other sharing programs, or an online backup program.  I'll try to see if there's anything running in the background that I'm unaware of.

 

I don't really do anything that should require 18Mbps - if this variance is just due to other people using UVerse around me I'd just rather pay less I guess.

1 Attachment

New Member

 • 

25.7K Messages

11 years ago

I like what SJ7777 is saying.  Look below at the Internet VDSL line stats.  Your way up there on your upload usage.  Something on your network is uploading a ton of stuff.  Maybe try taking everything (unplugging) off the network except your computer and see if that helps.  Disconnect the wireless devices too.  Check it again and see if you get the same behavior.

 

Have you also checked to make sure no one has hacked into your wireless signal?  Go in and change the password on this page under the security settings: http://home/xslt?PAGE=C_2_1.

 

  Screen Shot 2013-02-20 at 6.14.42 PM.png

1 Attachment

New Member

 • 

25.7K Messages

11 years ago

Yes it does matter what you run the speed tests through. Virtual machines will mess up the results. Again, run the test in your actual operating system, not some Virtual machine.

Teacher

 • 

15 Messages

11 years ago

Thanks BeeBee, I will try this later this afternoon.  

Teacher

 • 

15 Messages

11 years ago

Hi Greg,

 

I'm running the speed tests through the actual operating system (all of the speed test images are through Chrome on OS X).  My question is with UV - since there is not a Mac version I have to run this through the virtual machine.  I'm not sure if this makes a difference or not.


@gregzoll_1 wrote:
Yes it does matter what you run the speed tests through. Virtual machines will mess up the results. Again, run the test in your actual operating system, not some Virtual machine.

 

Teacher

 • 

15 Messages

11 years ago

Final question for everyone and I'll stop posting -

 

What level of performance variance should I expect to see based on the network usage of other individuals?  During peak times is it reasonable for me to see download speeds below 5 Mbps, or is a 18Mbps connection speed supposed to perform at 18Mbps throughout the day?

 

Thanks for all of your help.

Teacher

 • 

15 Messages

11 years ago

Okay, thanks guys.  I'm going to cancel the 18Mbps plan and reduce the bandwidth since I don't see it anyway.  

 

Thanks for the time everyone!

New Member

 • 

25.7K Messages

11 years ago


@rrbunn wrote:

Okay, thanks guys.  I'm going to cancel the 18Mbps plan and reduce the bandwidth since I don't see it anyway.  

 

Thanks for the time everyone!


Something else is going on with your computer, nothing is wrong with your connection.  So even if you downgrade, it still will not change the fact that you have issues with your computer & not telling the whole story of what is going on.

Teacher

 • 

5 Messages

11 years ago

I don't profess to know anything near as much as the experts in here, but I have been on the Net since it was invented by Al Gore, and that was back in the days when we were discussing how a 56K modem does not give 56K speeds.

 

You can see my "compliment 6Mbps" thread I just posted, but I agree with you, if you are not getting the speed you are paying for, might as will downgrade your plan to the speed your are getting (e.g.., I am on the "up to 6Mbps" plan for $35 month.)

 

Now I'll share some tips from what I know:

 

- I used to have Comcast Broadband, for years, I think about seven. Comcast was great, but I HATED the price. So when they would not renew the promo price I get every year (on expiration of the current promo price) I canceled and looked for an alternative.

 

- Where I live in San Francisco there are few choices because of where my building is situated and there's not much in terms of hard wire options (Comcast, AT&T, that's it). So I decided to give wireless a try (and even on that there were few options. Verizon who wanted $60 monthly for a 5GB plan, and Clear, who had wireless unlimited for $50, but speeds where iffy in my locale.

 

- I ended up going with Clear because I really wanted to give Comcast the boot.

 

- Clear was great for two months then it started acting up to where I could not get a signal from the WiFi fob to my computers. Something was interfering with the signal. There was interference inside my place from something emitting electronic interference or there were people in the neighborhood interfering my signal with their WiFi (Windows Network would detect about 20 WiFi connections in the pop-up menu.) Also, the building next to me has a HUGE radio tower. From Google Earth I could see there were all kinds of antennas and towers affixed to it. So any one or all of those could be interfering with the quality of my signal.

 

Get this: I could not get a connection to my computers, but after sunset I could. Then when sunrise occurred, my connection would cease! That happened like clockwork. So I dunno why that happened, was it ultraviolet rays, radiation, someone flicking on office lights, just don't know. But that was bizarre. I did a test to confirm what was going on. I played a movie via the wireless connection. At 7:10 in the morning I lost the connection, exactly when the sun rose. (My Clear device had to sit on a window ledge facing east.)

 

- Anyway, here is what I posted in my other comment. Your quality of signal could be dependent on any of these things happening. For example, how old is the wiring in your building? Any rodents? Is anyone else in the building sharing the trunk that goes into the building? How far are you from the "vault."

 

- Note: You may want to have an AT&T technician come out. They can do all kinds of tests and troubleshooting to see what the problem is. Here is my experience last week:

 

When I used the self-installation kit I did not get a signal, so AT&T sent out a tech the next day. He spent a few hours getting me connected, here's the basics of what went on:

 

- The wires from the basement to the four units in my building were all messed up. He said that no one in the building had land line service or data. So he was able to cut wires and do anything he wanted.

 

- Things were so messed up that he installed a new set of wires that ended up making a direct connection from my place to the basement. He said that my wiring was really old anyway, and that the two new "dedicated" wires were better for use with U-Verse.

 

- He then went to the "vault" that was a block way and checked on a few things.

 

- When he got the connection working he performed a test and said "this is not operating at the speed you are supposed to be getting (I looked at his tablet that had a diagnostic test running. It indicated about 760K speed. Yikes.

 

- He then diagnosed that the problem was in the copper wire running from my basement to the "vault." He then spliced two wires directly to the wires coming from the vault to the trunk in the basement. After that he walked to the vault and "hard wired" two little wires to my spot on the panel (that had about 1000 to 2000 residence connections on the panel).

 

- After all this he said "If this does not work I am going to have to have a 'street technician,' or some term like that, to come out and rewire the wire going from the vault to your basement, because the wire is really old, plus there may be a partial break in the wire caused by construction or something else."

 

- After he did all this and ran the diagnostic, it performed at the 6Mbps that was my "up to" plan speed.

 

So you might want to consider all these things before giving up.

 

Here is the comment I posted before:

 

FYI: A connection speed is dependent on many, many variables that will make your experience different than mine. Some things: the quality of your phone wires, the age of the wiring, the quality of the connection to your computers, how many people are sharing your wiring in the building, the distance from the AT&T "trunk" or "vault" to your residence, interference in the wiring from any number of sources, including rodents chewing the wires somewhere inside the walls or some guy jackhammer the sidewalk and weakening the wires, how many people are sharing the wires and cable, and even pirates stealing part of your bandwidth.

Bonus Tip: If you are paying for 12 or 24 Mbps but can't get higher than 6Mbps, for example, maybe you can downgrade your plan to 6Mbps and end up paying less for service.

Teacher

 • 

15 Messages

11 years ago

I'm not sure what else I need to show you Greg.  If my connection speed is constant at 18Mbps then why do I not see these speeds?

 

I have a laptop.  When I connect at school I see not trouble at all.  Sometimes when I'm at home I have no trouble.  Other times I experience incredibly slow speeds, and this is frustrating.

I ran mytest.net once this morning, on a wired connection with nothing else running.  Here are the results:

Screen Shot 2013-02-22 at 9.01.10 AM.png

 

error2.pngbitload2.pngoptable.pngInterfaces-2013-02-22-09-04-37.png

 

 

5 Attachments

Not finding what you're looking for?
New to AT&T Community?
New to the AT&T Community? Start by visiting the Community How-To.
New to the AT&T Community?
Visit the Community How-To.