Download Speed Problem With Comcast

[Coolant]

Hi, first post. I've been having pretty slow download speeds for the last two weeks on my iMac. I have Comcast internet and the official connection speed is supposed to be 1.5 MBs, but for the last two weeks it's been around 150 to 180 kbs. I have no idea why this is happening. I've called Comcast, they said the modem seems to be working fine (I have no router). I've scanned the computer for spyware, viruses, etc. I just did a download test on here and it accurately reflects the slow speed I'm getting right now (unlike speedtest.net or other sites). Any tips or suggestions? I have no idea what to do next. I'm going to call Comcast one more time and if they can't fix this I'm just going to have to get DSL.

[zalternate]

I suppose you rebooted the modem. Thats too easy though.

Maybe a loose connection somewhere in the house? Added any splitters? Maybe Comcrap has a piece of equipment partly break in one of their nodes?

DSL is nice too.

[CA3LE]

What model iMac is it... what year?

Do you have any other computers on the network?

[Coolant]

Yeah, I've rebooted the modem several times. I believe it's a 2007 or 2008 iMac. I have no other computers on the network. I just noticed a very small crack on one end of the ethernet cable so I'm going to get a new one today and hopefully that is the problem. What are the odds that is the problem? Not very good?

[zalternate]

Yeah, I've rebooted the modem several times. I believe it's a 2007 or 2008 iMac. I have no other computers on the network. I just noticed a very small crack on one end of the ethernet cable so I'm going to get a new one today and hopefully that is the problem. What are the odds that is the problem? Not very good?

Even ethernet cables that look good, can go bad. Helps to have spare parts around, when something goes weird. I have a nice pile of stuff next to my desk.

[mudmanc4]

Hell , I have a nice pile of stuff , it is my desk lol

Anymore in this room and I'll become completely cyborg and meld into it as one .......

Let us know if the new cable takes care of it

And for your own safety , please get a router !!!!!

You can go into system preferences > Network > Ethernet > Advanced > ethernet ......and make sure it's set to automatically (configure)

<---------> I have a nice pile of stuff next to my desk.

[Coolant]

Looks like it didn't work. I appreciate the tips, guys. I don't know what else to do at this point. I even changed my DNS server numbers. What's bizarre is pages seem to load fast, it's just the download speed that is slow. The only other thing I can think of is when I turn on my computer there's a warning about Time Machine backup disk being unrepairable or something like that.

[zalternate]

The only other thing I can think of is when I turn on my computer there's a warning about Time Machine backup disk being unrepairable or something like that.

Do you have an online backup program running? Or another program constantly accessing the Internet?

Do your speed tests speeds vary, or stay about the same speed range.

EDIT: Time machine(which you have) versus Time capsule(which has some faulty units out there).

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20010237-263.html

Apple has acknowledged a problem with time capsule devices released between February and June in 2008, where the devices will not turn on or will randomly shut down after starting up. This may cause hangs and other interruptions in Time Machine backups as well as other network activity.

In a recently released knowledgebase document, Apple provides a range of serial numbers (XX807XXXXXX - XX814XXXXXX) which may contain problematic components that lead to the power problems. If your Time Capsule is in that range, and you are experiencing these problems, Apple will replace the unit free of charge if you take it in to an Apple store or another authorized Apple service provider.

This replacement program will cover devices for up to three years from the date of purchase, so you have until June 2011 to get the device replaced. If you need to retrieve your data off the Time Capsule, Apple will provide some options to do so; however, you should first try to get it off yourself because Apple claims no responsibility for lost data.

UPDATE: This replacement program is not a recall by Apple, so if you have a working Time Capsule Apple will not replace it with a new one. Instead, the program is basically a warranty extension for a specific serial number range of devices, and will only be observed if your device has the symptoms described here. If your Time Capsule is in the range of serial numbers listed but does not have any symptoms, you will probably not have any luck getting it replaced. Likewise for if your device has similar symptoms but is not within the serial number range listed.

Edited July 25, 2010 by zalternate

[Coolant]

Thanks for the info. As far as I know I i have no online backup programs running. The only thing that is connected is a Magicjack, but that is supposed to take up very little bandwidth. The download speed tests have been all consistent on here, I've done 4 tests now. It's saying I'm getting about 22% of host averages.

[CA3LE]

Hey DoobieBrothers, at this point in your troubleshooting you should, if at all possible, try another computer on the connection. Perhaps a laptop or friends laptop, just......

• Make sure ahead of time that you're using a computer of known quality... something that you already know runs fast.
  
• Connect your cable with a nice clean piece of coax... none of that gold plated radio shack bullshit, I don't care if it's monster cable, gold plating on coax will only benefit you if you're using it for an air connection. With gold plating or copper shielding the cable can and often times will pickup interference from the air. This is why cable providers only use cables shielded in aluminum (I worked for Cox Communications for 5 years by the way).
  
  • Go strait to the modem, no splitters, no DC-6 or DC-9 taps (yet) and no signal boosters of any kind (yet)
    
  • If you have a DC-6 or DC-9 tap installed before your modem first take it off and reset the modem. These are sometimes installed to intentionally drop your signal strength. It's actually necessary in some instances because if the signal strength is too high or too low the modem can't function.
    
  • If you have a signal strength booster on your line take it off, for the same reasons above.
    
  • You may want to put the DC-6 DC-9 or booster back on the line. Sometimes these along with splitters can cause issues. They sometimes will just go bad, sometimes weather damages them and in other cases the reasons for them being put on (e.q. DC taps and boosters) has been resolved further down the pipe. Signal levels fluctuate and sometimes that has to be compensated for... A great example of this is if your cable comes in on an aerial line and if there is drastic temperature changes. The cable actually contracts and expands given different temperature scenarios. I really saw this first hand as a cable tech in Phoenix, I was also a tech during Solar Maximum, another phenomena that effects communications companies. Actually, I think we're getting pretty close to solar max again... techs will have their work cut out for them. I think fiber is the only solution. Cable providers adjust for this stuff but they really do have their work cut out for them.
    

  [*] One more thing... you may have to search around your house for your "D-Mark" or the place where your cable spilts. This can be in closets, behind panels, laundry room, garage or on the side of your house... sometimes in the attic, well often times if you happen to be trying to do this during the summer (Murphy's Law).

  [*] Reset the modem with a 10-15 second unplug.

  [*] Make sure you've got a strait shot to the modem... strait shot to the computer... reset everything...

Test your speed and see what you're getting. and hit us back.

- Damon

[mudmanc4]

<-----> The only other thing I can think of is when I turn on my computer there's a warning about Time Machine backup disk being unrepairable or something like that.

I dunno how familiar you are with your mac , but time machine is your built in backup solution. You do not need to use it, in fact at this point , you should go into your prefs and disable it. You can go back and deal with that ( which is simple btw ) once you locate the issue.

Take ca3les advice , go through one by one his suggestions, if you have already or are finished , then it may be a port issue , on the ISP side , maybe a node card gone south or about to, it could also be that someone on the node is uncapped , or several people are in one way or another hogging what bandwidth is available.

Idé also have to say that chances are as ca3le said , this heat has effected a physical aspect of the physical connection somewhere along the line.

as OSX is known for it's ease and fluent speed. You are using safari arent you ? If not , use it.

Get a program that no mac user should be without little snitch , it is a highly configurable firewall, cheap and effective, I wont run a mac w/o it. There is a free version , but you'll be limited as to the time it will run per session , it will run forever though , you just have to keep restarting it, just buy it.

[Coolant]

Thanks again for the tips, guys. Ca3le, I don't even know what some of those things are! I'm not much of an expert on most of this stuff. My connection is straight into the modem. It'll probably take a couple of days to check with another computer but I'll definitely try it. Is the D-mark the box where the cables go? That's out in the hallway of my apartment. There are two cables coming out of the modem and cable box behind my TV that go into a splitter and into one cable, but that's probably not what you're referring to. Mudmac, I disabled the time machine a few days ago. I've been using Firefox, but I did try using Safari a couple times and there wasn't a difference in the download speed. I guess I can try it again. Could the USB ports on my computer be causing a slow down? The Magicjack is plugged into one, there's a usb splitter in another (with 4 usb ports, all connected) and the third USB is connected to a USB preamp for garageband.

[Coolant]

OK, so I tested my connection with a friend's computer. The same exact download speed (150-180 kbs), I think it's safe to say the problem isn't with my computer. Any guesses on what it could be? I'm calling Comcast tomorrow and if they can't fix it, then I guess I'll just have to get my internet from someone else.

[zalternate]

OK, so I tested my connection with a friend's computer. The same exact download speed (150-180 kbs), I think it's safe to say the problem isn't with my computer. Any guesses on what it could be? I'm calling Comcast tomorrow and if they can't fix it, then I guess I'll just have to get my internet from someone else.

Disconnect the splitter(as you stated you have in your connection in a previous post) and connect your cable modem direct to the cable that comes in from the wall.

Edited July 30, 2010 by zalternate

[Coolant]

Alright, so I tried connecting the splitter directly right into the modem. No difference. Comcast really fucking sucks, I've had it with those guys. I just called them (I was out of town last week), explained everything I've done, including testing another computer which had the same exact download speed (150-200 kbs). The Comcast rep stated that everything looked fine, including the modem, etc. and that he couldn't send anyone out based on that. He then stated it had to be "my equipment", I said "Nope!" unless that other computer (which is a year old) is also not working correctly! Looks like I'll have to get another internet provider, no way am I paying $30 a month for download speeds that slow, which is what I told him before hanging up.

[zalternate]

Alright, so I tried connecting the splitter directly right into the modem. No difference. Comcast really fucking sucks, I've had it with those guys. I just called them (I was out of town last week), explained everything I've done, including testing another computer which had the same exact download speed (150-200 kbs). The Comcast rep stated that everything looked fine, including the modem, etc. and that he couldn't send anyone out based on that. He then stated it had to be "my equipment", I said "Nope!" unless that other computer (which is a year old) is also not working correctly! Looks like I'll have to get another internet provider, no way am I paying $30 a month for download speeds that slow, which is what I told him before hanging up.

Does Comcrap have a loyalty and retention department? Ask for it from support. Or tell them you want to cancel and ask for loyalty and retention. Maybe they are still trying to help people's speed problems.

I for some reason think that they turned down your speed and no one is good enough to check. Al they see is no errors on the line and have a nice day.

[Coolant]

I think that too, zalternate. This problem started almost immediately after I canceled my phone service with them and downgraded my TV service (about 3 weeks ago). Just a coincidence? The woman rep I talked to about it was trying to sell me all this extra stuff and actually seemed a little pissed off that I still insisted on canceling the phone, etc. I just don't buy that they can simply check over the phone and their computer to see that everything is working correctly, obviously that isn't the case. What a horrible company, if they didn't have such a monopoly on things I wouldn't ever use them for anything. It was amazing that the guy I talked to tonight did virtually nothing to try to get me to keep their internet service, great customer service! This is about the 5th or 6th rep I've talked to over the last few weeks.

[zalternate]

Some consumer organizations are trying to stop all the 'bundling' crap. The companies sell someone a bundle on a two year contract and then who cares if the customer has a good experience, ya got two years of their money coming in. And then some 'special' deal at two years time to try and keep them from bundling with anyone else, that is 'if' there is anyone else.

Edit: And everyone is a tiny little program on the server for all their line settings. It would be so easy to ahemmm 'adjust' a customers speed after dropping a bunch of add-ons. But only the people who know their consistent speeds would catch on to the ummmmm adjustment.

And depending on the provider, the support worker gets a commission for 'up-selling'

Shaw Cable in Vancouver BC was selling it's cable Internet at way below cost(and then some), since a fiber to the building/apartment company had started up. It's completely unfair and some would call it illegal to undercut that severely. But Shaw was only offering in buildings that the Fiber company was going in to. So Novus fiber 'suggested' that consumers outside of the areas also ask Shaw for the deal to their homes. Shaw wasn't having any of that.

Shaw was promoting, 10 bucks a month for TV. 10 bucks a month for phone. 10 bucks a month for internet. Canadian censorship of U.S. channels for free.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/08/24/novus-shaw-television-predatory.html

aug 25 2009

While television and internet prices are going up elsewhere in the country, some Vancouver residents are getting the deal of a lifetime thanks to an increasingly hostile price war raging between Shaw Communications and upstart Novus Entertainment.

Vancouver-based Novus says Shaw is going after its customers with "very, very aggressive pricing." Shaw is offering its entire lineup — including high-definition TV programming, home phone and high-speed internet — to Novus customers for $9.95 a month each, Novus says.

Novus co-president Doug Holman said Shaw is being predatory and does not offer the same deals to customers outside his firm's service area.

"That number [$9.95] is way below our cost. We don't know what Shaw's cost is, but it's hard to believe it could be that low and that their cost savings could be that much better than ours," Holman said. "If we price matched on that, we'd be losing buckets of money."

Novus, which is backed by Terry Hui, the chief executive officer of real estate developer Concord Pacific, provides television, phone and internet services through high-speed fibre-optic connections to about 225 high-rise buildings in the Greater Vancouver Area. The company has a potential reach of 30,000 households and has about 9,000 customers.

The company filed a complaint over Shaw's pricing in July with the Competition Bureau and launched a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court.

Calgary-based Shaw, which has more than two million customers, mostly in Western Canada, has fired back by filing a defamation lawsuit against Novus in B.C. Supreme Court.

Shaw president Peter Bissonnette said Novus is spreading misinformation. The offer isn't just targeted at Novus customers but residents of West Vancouver in general, which is a "highly competitive" market.

"They've publicly stated in the past that they're going to become the bane of the life of Shaw," Bissonnette said. "True to their word, they've embarked on this defamation campaign."

Aside from Shaw and Novus, many Vancouver residents can also get television, internet and phone services from Telus, Canada's second-biggest phone company. Holman said Novus has had no problems with Telus.

Street teams woo customers

Shaw started going after Novus customers back in February with cheap offers, but laid off a month later, Holman said. The cable provider resumed its efforts in July with a more aggressive deal, which it promoted by slipping flyers under doors and with "street teams" that would stand in front of buildings and ask people entering and exiting whether they were Novus customers. If they were, they would get the $9.95 offer, he said.

Bissonnette said Shaw has indeed used direct marketing representatives to make offers, but he added that Novus has for the past three years blocked access to Concord Pacific buildings, where Shaw has not been allowed to lay wiring while they were being built.

"Those buildings up until recently have never had access to our services," he said.

Novus is expanding service to three or four buildings each month and has plans to grow out of its core area of downtown Vancouver over the next year. The company also has a broadcast license, as well as space for a head office and satellite dishes, in Toronto, the country's largest television market.

Setting up in Toronto, however, would bring the company into competition with two firmly entrenched players, Bell Canada and Rogers Communications. Shaw also sells satellite television service in Toronto under its Shaw Direct banner, formerly known as Star Choice.

"Novus will only consider entering the Toronto marketplace if its current problems with Shaw are resolved and there is some confidence that an analogous situation would not manifest itself in the GTA," Holman said.

Both Bell and Rogers are introducing a new 1.5 per cent TV price increase on Sept. 1 to cover their contributions to a fund that will help pay for local programming in small markets. The companies are blaming the increase on a requirement from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Neither Novus or Shaw has any plans to pass on the new regulatory charge to their customers.

"We will accrue for this fee in our accounts and will comply with the CRTC requirements when they have issued definitive instructions on such," Holman said. "It is not our intention to charge our customers an additional 1.5 per cent fee on top of their TV services at this time, unless told to do so by the CRTC."

Shaw, an outspoken opponent of such fees, is being more coy about its plans.

"We're not doing anything. We may have a different tack on this," Bissonnette said. He refused to elaborate.

Edited August 10, 2010 by zalternate

[Coolant]

That's just it, there is NO one else! It's a monopoly. I live in Seattle and I've been checking online for other internet service providers. Qwest is like the only one I can find and they suck too. There are some providers that provide super fast speeds but I don't need speeds that fast, nor do I want to pay that much either. Does anyone know of any decent internet providers in Seattle not named Comcast or Qwest?

[zalternate]

That's just it, there is NO one else! It's a monopoly. I live in Seattle and I've been checking online for other internet service providers. Qwest is like the only one I can find and they suck too. There are some providers that provide super fast speeds but I don't need speeds that fast, nor do I want to pay that much either. Does anyone know of any decent internet providers in Seattle not named Comcast or Qwest?

Had a quick look , since I was wondering if there was 'third party' providers that rent the main ISP's line. The companies need to be checked out for quality of service mainly. And if there is a line problem, to see if it takes a week or a couple of hours to fix.

In Canada, we have TekSavvy as a third party and for the most part people like them, except for a few that are having issues with Bell as the line provider. Transfer of lines over can be like pulling teeth. But if going to DSL from cable or the other way, you keep one live for a week after the expected transfer. Expected transfer may be delayed one to two eeks in some cases due to the mailine provider.

Heck knows if this page is up to date. It's saying 2004 as last update. And a bunch are dead or re-directs to new pages of whatever content.

http://www.scn.org/help/isp/

Edited August 10, 2010 by zalternate

[Coolant]

Thanks for the link. I was actually on that site a couple weeks ago and was trying to find it again today but couldn't. Hopefully there's some options on there.