Router Slow Internet

So... I was wondering if anyone has and had this problem.

I have Comcast internet with the power boost that gives me up to 8 mbps, And normally with my router i was getting an average of 4-7 mbps. I have a wireless router from linksys and have two laptops connected wirelessly. And the as for the past 2-3weeks I have not even been able to get up to 1mbps!

I Decided i would connect my laptop with the an ethernet cable from the router, still very little change, but still cant get 1 mbps!

So i plugged the ethernet into my comcast cable modem, and than my laptop. Higher speeds, yes but only up to 4 or 5 mbps, but it will not stay that fast! it goes back down to maybe 1 or 2mbps.

I kinda want to get this fixed, as I will be buying an Xbox 360, and playing xbox live, and i am going to use the router, but i dont want to be lagging.

Is the Router going out on me? do they only last so long? or is it comcast?

Any help i would really appreciate it very much!

thanks!

 

Are there any other wireless devices taking up bandwidth?

 

Also note that if there are many users in your neighborhood that have Comcast, that's going to boggle your speeds. I usually experience the lowest traffic at around 7-8PM, during the day is where my speeds are sluggish.

 

No its just two laptops. And what is weird is the modems activity button is always blinking, even when my laptops are off. I Used a LAN searcher to see if anyone was on my wireless network, but nothing. I have it locked down with security from linksys.

 

yea and i heard about that too, but mine is constant. i wouldnt be so bummed if it just at a certain time of the day. I have been up at 2am, and experince nothing really faster than normal.

 

lol i wonder what would you do if you have a 1mbps like me and have to wait till 12 at midnight to play online games, Cause on day time i get something like 3kbps download speed

 

huh! Wow, are you serious? That is horrible! how can you stand that, i would be so mad, do you have comcast too?

 

First, disconnect the cable from the modem to the router and see if the activity light quits. If so you know it's your pc.
If you have any BT software loaded, shut it down. It will consume all the bandwidth.
If you installed any software from Comcast, un-install it. If you load a bunch of TR ( right tray), messenger, itunes .... all of these constantly poll the lan. Most can disable or turn off till you locate the source.

You may also need to run a AV & root kit scan.

Look at your msconfig startup list and see how much garbage is being loaded and what is required. example Adobe preload it viewer to save time, a hold 2-3 sec, and speech is loaded in the startup file. None of this is required. The leaner you run the faster you will be.

As for testing I assume you are using the Speakeasy Speedtest. Most all sites have some form of bandwidth limiting, most are around 200k. MS and some sites that has larger files generally provide more. The only true test is FTP server, or use Netstat to see the actual number.

You also need to run an optimizer for your net connections. I recommend Cablenut, get the aux pack too. This has been the best one I have tried and can correct a lot of speed issues.

Comcast is like a party line, the more connected the slower it gets, lag has always been an issue. The reason I switched to FIOS.

 

Great information thank you, I did try what you proposed, seems i did get somewhat faster, so I guess this is a success, however I am intrested in FIOS. We in colorado do not have that option, only comcast cable internet or qwest DSL.

I have heard Fios was pretty fast, but how fast is it compared to cable internet and how does it work?

 

FIOS is Verizon's Fiber Optic service to home users. So to use it, your neighbor hood must be wired/installed with it. They actually bring Fiber optic to your house, install a transceiver to convert the light to 100baseT (cat5e) directly to the router. I just have the basic service 5/2mbps for $35/mo. After having Comcast prior to FIOS, (actually had both ISP's for 1 mo.), FIOS is by far faster. When I had both services I was doing beta testing on my FVS338 router for Netgear, including VPN, which is hard to do without to independent networks. I have a few friends that access my FTP server from Comcast service and they are always amazed at how fast my uplink speed is. It consistently test around 1.8+mbps, and never seams to slow down. They love it. I do not play games but with comcast I would send an email and wait for it to happed 15 sec later. It happens instantly with FIOS, so there servers are not nearly as loaded as comcast. But with the higher speed every things happens faster. The slower 5mbps download speed is not felt at all. I would wager to say it's actually faster even though it's rated slower. I have a few neighbors that have the 15mbps download speed. Do not know of any that selected the 20/5 service. The only port that is blocked is port 80, no servers are allowed to run on residential service.

I use VPN when I'm away from home. If I'm at a freinds that has a 3/3mbps DSL it's almost like I'm home. So the service is great. I have phone and digital TV service all coming off the same FO line.

So if its ever offered in your area, jump on it, you will like it.

 

Wow! That is amazing!! defintly, i will juimp onm it, verizon advertises Veriozon high speed internet on tv here, but its still not here. So i will continue to wait, and hope they Bring it to Denver very soon! Thank you for all your information!!!!

 

Verizon has mailed us a FiOS flyer every single day since about a year ago when they made their service avaliable in my neighborhood. They're offering a $95 a month super bundle of their digital TV, VoIP phone, and 20/5 Mbps internet service. That's with a one year contract - and the price rises after the first year.

The cable service I get now is perfectly fine. Cablevision offers digital TV, VoIP phone, and 15/2 Mbps internet service for $90. There's no contract or rate hiking, and they've been 100% reliable (when a very tall car hits your cable line, it's not their fault).

When I signed up for the bundle (dropped Verizon phone service), the promotional materials talked about "the optimum network" and worked the word "fiber" into every sentence They also increased the speed from 10/1 to 15/2, so Verizon's precsence is nudging them along. I can see why FiOS would be the choice of people stuck with bad cable, DSL, or dial-up.

 

Yea, i guess I have to wonder.. maybe its just really high traffic here in my neighborhood, Because its always slow now? Or someone is downloading torrent after torrent constantly. which yes i do as well from time to time, but its only once a week after i go to bed. And yes they are legal (mostly) but if this is the reason why i am slow, i am going to be very upset... I hate sharing lol

 

That'd be a good reason to get FiOS. Like DSL, you get your own connection to the ISP, so theoretically that should keep your internet slowing down because of a node serving too many users. It really depends though.

 

If I were to call Comcast and tell them about a slow connection, besides unplugging and restarting eveything? has anyone called comcast about this problem? what did they do?

 

Nothing.

I'm serious too.

They might get a technician to come out and check your connection but I doubt anything will get resolved. In some cases, the underground cables are too thin so they might replace them with thicker wiring.

Most of the time, I had the usually, "Have you cleared your IE cache and cookies?" "What about the temporary files?" lol.

I'm not retarded lady. Heck, I was the one who installed the freakin' modem/router after the Comcast guy couldn't figure out how to install it on my parent's computer.

 

With cable you have to watch the number of connections made. If more than 2-3 splitters before you get to the modem will degrade the signal. My neighbor had that problem, she moved her connection to another location creating the problem.

Cable is a party line, the more user the slower the speed. One other reason to switch to FIOS. The phone line is digital, not quite the same as VIOP, does not effect the TV or internet.