Internet speed, bandwidth etc

Russ Smith

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In another thread I mentioned issues I had with delays on Sling tv, I think that's figured out, it works perfectly using my Roku on a tv, so the delay seems to be laptop specific. either the app, or possibly the Win 10 "disk full" issue. I've tried all the recommended fixes for the disk full issue, eventually I'll probably just have to reinstall fresh.

But now I have a different issue cropping up that's apparently fairly common and has people quite suspicious with Comcast. Last night we were watching Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime, the 8th episode we've watched and halfway through the picture got fuzzy, started getting the spinning wheel, and it eventually said you don't have enough bandwidth. this was on our smart tv but using Roku, because the smart tv Amazon Prime app won't work it apparently doesn't get enough speed where it is but the Roku does. I hit the home key on Roku and used the settings to test the connection and it came back saying the connection was good and I got all green checks, which is supposed to mean that according to Roku, we had enough bandwidth. I switched over to Sling and put on a game for a test and no delay at all. I eventually stopped, unplugged the Roku, and plugged it back in and we were then able to finish the show.

After googling, apparently lots of people are seeing this issue on Amazon Prime now, they're being told they don't have enough bandwidth, but when they do speed tests they're getting 65-100 mbps results which is MORE than enough to stream. They are all saying similar things, I can stream Netflix or Hulu or Sling, but when I try Amazon Prime I get that message. The claim is that Amazon is insisting the problem is NOT on their end, nothing has changed on their end and this problem only recently started popping up.

So of course what people think, and this is on a Comcast message board, is that Comcase is practicing the new Net Neutrality rules and is intentionally throttling back speed on people using Amazon Prime so that they will either watch Comcast On Demand, or pay to upgrade to a higher speed thinking that will solve the problem. This is one of those boards where Comcast has unofficial experts, who are not employees, but who answer questions and as you would expect they are insisting Comcast is not throttling back the speeds.

Near as I can tell there's nothing in the app that allows you to test the speed within the Amazon Prime app, when I go into settings there it just tells me the connection is live, it doesn't have a test feature that I can see.

I think it's an interesting question, is Comcast to blame, does Amazon have an issue, is it Roku and Smart TV's having the issue?

I have to admit my initial suspicion is Comcast is throttling, but the only reason I'm hesitant is that I've also noticed recently my garage Nest Camera keeps going offline, as much as an hour at a time. It appears to be strictly a speed issue, in the garage the wifi is not nearly as good. I googled that too and found another interesting thread on Comcast where someone suggested he thinks Comcast is throttling speeds to nest cams too because Comcast makes their own security and wireless camera system now and they want you to use theirs not Nest. I'm again suspicious but several posters on that thread insist that it's possible to tell by serial # and MAC address what devices are that are connected to the wifi and that it's entirely possible for Comcast to program it so that certain devices get less bandwidth. So you can be standing in the garage and get 25 mbps on your laptop wifi, and the camera 10 feet away from you is not getting anywhere near 25 and is offline due to low bandwidth.

What do you think?
 

Town Drunk

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I think it’s Comcast throttling. I had the same issues with Directv Now through my fire tv. Constant buffering despite having a 250 meg, hard wire connection. I tried a VPN and the buffering went away. Several other people on the Xfinity message boards have suggested that they’re throttling their speeds on different services.
 

MrYeahBut

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Hmmm.. Netflix was buffering on my TV last night. Hasn't done that in ages. I have Xfinity broadband.
 

Town Drunk

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Hmmm.. Netflix was buffering on my TV last night. Hasn't done that in ages. I have Xfinity broadband.

It’s not a coincidence. Comcast has always been a terrible company. They took down their net neutrality statement after the FCC repealed it. I’d switch providers if I had another option but of course I don’t.
 

AsUpRoDiGy

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Net Neutrality repeal is the ultimate con-job. Comcast will probably be the first to offer "premium streaming options", so they can start charging you extra for watching Netflix or Prime. Hopefully these clowns in the FCC get overturned in Congress and NN can be put back in place.
 

BillsCarnage

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In another thread I mentioned issues I had with delays on Sling tv, I think that's figured out, it works perfectly using my Roku on a tv, so the delay seems to be laptop specific. either the app, or possibly the Win 10 "disk full" issue. I've tried all the recommended fixes for the disk full issue, eventually I'll probably just have to reinstall fresh.
The days of windows reinstalls are pretty much over. You might see if shadow copies are filling up the drive.

You can also get a visual of what is filling up the drive - sans shadow copies - with this https://windirstat.net/

I'm again suspicious but several posters on that thread insist that it's possible to tell by serial # and MAC address what devices are that are connected to the wifi and that it's entirely possible for Comcast to program it so that certain devices get less bandwidth. So you can be standing in the garage and get 25 mbps on your laptop wifi, and the camera 10 feet away from you is not getting anywhere near 25 and is offline due to low bandwidth.
If the hardware is plugged in or connecting to a Comcast device directly, it's plausible.
 
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MrYeahBut

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It’s not a coincidence. Comcast has always been a terrible company. They took down their net neutrality statement after the FCC repealed it. I’d switch providers if I had another option but of course I don’t.


Yeah, I have no choice either. I pay $88 a month for what is supposed to be high speed. On the best day, I get maybe 15mg. Qwest is the only other option and their 'high speed' is about 7... what a freaking joke. For all of Directv's faults, at least I get that with no problem.


Rant:

I do have a problem with Directv, I have the Genie wireless system and it works fine and I can stream live tv through the app on my phone. For the life of me I cannot get the HDR to connect to the internet from my router... well I can get it connected and then it drops it. When it's working I can stream 'on demand' etc but I can't get access to out of home recorded content. I have pretty much tried everything I know... which is to designate a static IP address for it in the router and then hard enter that address in the HDR... drives me crazy. I know just enough to be dangerous. I called Directv and they sent a service guy but he said he's not allowed to mess with the router, he says to call Comcast.. they say it's Directv problem... you know that drill. Hate!!

Rant over:
 
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Russ Smith

Russ Smith

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The days of windows reinstalls are pretty much over. You might see if shadow copies are filling up the drive.

You can also get a visual of what is filling up the drive - sans shadow copies - with this https://windirstat.net/


If the hardware is plugged in or connecting to a Comcast device directly, it's plausible.




Thanks I'll try the link for the windows issue. The main reason I haven't just reinstalled is of course I don't have win 10 I have win 7 and got the free upgrade to 10 when everyone else did. I've read horror stories of people trying to reinstall that way and finding out they can't upgrade to 10 now without paying in which case it's better to just get a fresh copy of 10.

Right now the issue seems to be ok.

I have a Comcast Gateway for my internet so everything in the house is running either hardwired or wifi off that. We're not seeing anything on the phones, but Amazon Prime and one of the 2 wireless cams is. the other wireless cam is 5 feet from the Gateway so they'd REALLY have to throttle it back since I get about 70 mbps right now.
 
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Russ Smith

Russ Smith

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Ok, random question for those who use Comcast, can you use your own hardware?


They have a list of approved routers that you can use but I've heard it's essentially dependent on who you get in help if you have any problems at all. Some people will get you taken care of quickly, others will spend an hour telling you that even though your router is approved, the problem is your router.

When we got Comcast at the house we're renting we went down and picked up the gateway in person, installed it. 2 days later they shipped us a gateway by UPS. That was the day I blew out my knee so I had surgery a few days later and couldn't drive and we just put the gateway off to the side and forgot about it. Then I was having a connection issue and when I called, someone asked me if I was calling about the extra equipment charges on my bill, which I knew nothing about. Come to find out they'd billed me 2 months in a row for the 2nd gateway that they sent me after I'd picked mine up in person.

We took it back in person, I was on crutches then and the guy was about to have knee surgery himself so he was sympathetic and credited us for the charges.

You really have to watch them.
 

BillsCarnage

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You could probably save yourself some headaches by using your own hardware - modem & router combo. By using their equipment they can probably throttle bandwidth at your house even before it gets to their servers.

I'm not sure if I've ever heard a positive story about Comcast.
 
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