General / Off-Topic So this is weird.

CMDR_Vyse

C
For the last couple of days, my internet has been particularly      poor. I have poor internet at the best of times (download speed of 145 kbps). It's been that way since at least 2008. But in the last couple of days it's been restricted to around 84 kbps downloads, and while stable it was particularly terrible.

Well I finally decided to power cycle the whole setup to see if it fixes the issue and all of a sudden I'm getting 350 kbps to 400 kbps downloads. Not great, but way, WAY better than normal. I'm not complaining at all, but I don't understand what's happened. I worry that my ISP is going to increase the bill. I'm not in charge of the net here, and I'm positive that the one who has hasn't renegotiated the plan.

Can anyone maybe explain what's happened here? Because I can't grasp it.
 

CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE

CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE
Routers get confused every now and again. Bless them. Especially cheaper models or ones supplied by ISPs. Might have been getting hot. Make sure it has plenty of air around it and dust it off every now and again. Blow dust out of any vents.

I don't understand why you think the ISP would increase the bill. Assuming you are on a metered connection they base it on usage not speed.
 

CMDR_Vyse

C
MAIN SEQUENCE said:
Routers get confused every now and again. Bless them. Especially cheaper models or ones supplied by ISPs. Might have been getting hot. Make sure it has plenty of air around it and dust it off every now and again. Blow dust out of any vents.

I don't understand why you think the ISP would increase the bill. Assuming you are on a metered connection they base it on usage not speed.
Click to expand...

I believe we have an unlimited data plan. It is true that the contract is old, but to my knowledge it hasn't been re-negotiated at all. So the sudden increase in download speeds is baffling, since all I did to fix the original problem is unplug the modem and plug it back in a minute later. We've had 145kbps download speeds for years and previous power cycling when it went offline didn't provide such an increase.

Either the ISP increased the speed in error, or there's been a general update to the ISP's capability locally and we're just getting a dividend for it; power cycling the modem triggered an update. I can only hope it's the latter, as if it's the former then we're just going to get dialed back again.
 

Surfinjo

Surfinjo
What little I know about US net connections is they generally get worse as they get older.

You really need to be looking at alternatives. But check your current plan to be sure you aren't tied to some ridiculous leaving penalties.

There really is no excuse at all for poor service, especially in urban areas. But sadly, too many seem ready to put up with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom