Mentor
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19 Messages
Speed issues with Netflix streaming
To start off I'm a knowledgeable Linux Systems Engineer with over 20 years experience in Internet related technologies so I've done my fair share of troubleshooting on this topic. We also live in the city limits of St. Louis and are told that our area has completed it's Uverse network upgrades.
Since we switched to Uverse we have consistent issues streaming Netflix. The initial 10-15 seconds of any video plays great, but then the picture quality severely degrades, sometimes enough that you cannot read text within the video because it is so pixelated. I was warned before switching by other users in our area that there is a severe over subscription issue with Uverse Internet. The more I look at this the more I am inclined to agree, but wanted to get community feedback.
We experience the issues the worst during peak times (4pm-midnight) but also at 4am we cannot stream movie in full HD without degradation of the picture due to throughput issues. This alone leads me to believe my area is oversubscribed on Internet and there simply is not enough bandwidth upstream to handle the streaming appropriately.
We've done the following to troubleshoot:
Moved all wireless devices to wired.
Restarted router/modem (too many times to count).
Had our lines checked by a tech.
Run speed tests during - these tests are inconclusive because we have the 24Mbps package and even during trouble times we sometimes get speeds up to 18Mbps which is more than sufficient for Netflix HD streaming (you only need 5Mbps sustained).
Multiple devices are affected including the Apple TV that never once had an issue in its 5 years of service while using Charter cable services. To re-iterate, never once, have we experienced what we are experiencing now with Charter cable services, but it consistently happens every day with AT&T.
Calls to AT&T have gone no where. Techs say everything is fine, one even went as far as to tell me this is a common problem and he sees a lot of people cancel Internet services and go back to Charter for them. I priced it out and we can get just Internet through Charter at 30Mbps (guaranteed steady throughput, not UP TO like AT&T) for $54.99/month without having to have cable TV through them. That is considerably cheaper than I'm paying for 24Mbps Internet through Uverse.
All of that said is there anyone who can actually help me fix this problem? I'd much prefer not to give another penny to Charter, but if this is the quality of Internet service we can expect from AT&T there is no way I am going to continue paying them for substandard service at a higher rate than the cable company.
Am I doomed with Uverse or is there hope?
JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35K Messages
10 years ago
It could be AT&T shaping the traffic. Or it could be traffic in excess of AT&T's peering capacity where Netflix's CDN sends traffic to you. Either way you see the same result.
However, for the former to be true, AT&T would have to deliberately affecting large amounts of traffic to large number of customers, knowing that these customers will be dissatisfied and could blame them and change providers.
For the second to be true, AT&T would be conducting business as usual and trying to make their customers happy while having portions of their network connections overloaded by a third party with whom they have no financial connections.
Which seems more likely to you?
If it helps you decide, notice that all major ISPs have some customers complaining about these sorts of problems (and most also have customers without any issues), so now you have to accept that these major ISPs are all colluding to cause these issues deliberately.
Also, note that some see relief simply by changing their DNS settings, which gets them different CDN servers and a new path for basically the same traffic. This demonstrates that AT&T doesn't seem to discrimate on the traffic itself, but that the route it takes to enter the network is causing the issue for these customers. Which scenario does this fit?
Basically, I tend to accept the simplest explanation that fits the symptoms until I can prove it doesn't.
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jesserehmer
Mentor
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19 Messages
10 years ago
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35K Messages
10 years ago
Look, I'm sorry but their telephone customer support is only good when they find the right script page to read. If they go off script, they have no idea what they're talking about. (When they're on script, provided they're on the right page, they often still have no idea what they're talking about, but at least the information is more accurate.)
So, you don't know what is meant by "oversubscribed," only that some one in Customer Service said those words to you in an attempt to get you off the phone and give her a good rating?
What do you think it means?
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jesserehmer
Mentor
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19 Messages
10 years ago
The term oversubscribed comes directly from Customer Service and both install techs who have been to my house. Both techs (specifically the second one who came out after I starting having issues with Netflix) stated that I would not be happy with AT&T's Internet if I streamed video.
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35K Messages
10 years ago
Okay, so you don't know what you meant when you repeated the term "oversubscribed," but you used it anyway. What neither tech told you was that you may not be happy with any Residential Internet Access Provider if you stream video, depending on where you are and what video provider.
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maxwellsbp
Tutor
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2 Messages
10 years ago
im sorry you folks are having these problems but thanks so much for posting. I signed up for uverse last night and have had nothing but trouble ever since. I will be cancelling this mess before its installed. You have saved me a great headache
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35K Messages
10 years ago
You just signed up last night, haven't installed yet, but have had nothing but trouble?
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fredmanwalking
Teacher
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8 Messages
10 years ago
I'm having the same issues. Too many troubleshooting steps have been done to repeat them here. I've had an inside tech here three times and an outside tech three times. Modem has been replaced twice. I replaced all cables involved multiple times. AT&T has checked the wiring, found an issue with it and fixed it. No difference with Netflix, however. If I use my smartphone as a hotspot, I can stream in HD to my hearts content. Since this issue has been going on at least two months, I'm going to be dropping my U-verse service.
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fredmanwalking
Teacher
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8 Messages
10 years ago
As a follow-up to my previous post, I ordered Charter cable internet last week and, after using it a week, it has been working great and I am having none of the issues that I have with U-verse. Time to cancel U-verse. FYI, I am in Madison, WI for those in the area with the same problems.
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AllenAllen
Teacher
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10 Messages
10 years ago
NetFlix (you say) uses 1/3 of the internet traffic. I can see that as leaching on AT&T's infrastructure.
Here's the irony: The only reason most of us are paying for more than basic internet speed is NetFlix.
Without NetFlix I couldn't care less when I see speed advertised for an internet provider.
Think of it that way.
Perhaps it is the case that the only reason AT&T has 1/3 of it's business is because of NetFlix.
As a more practical matter:
I don't think most of us know what a CDN is. And suggestions are offered here but It would be great to have a 'how to' list to be able to try these things.
Use a VPN? I have no idea?
Change DNS Settings. I think I know how to do that but change to what?
Why doesn't AT&T save itself some trouble and just ask, "Hey, are you primarily interested in getting good NetFlix?" Then provide a standard setup geared towards that.
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