# Solved: Internet speed maxed-out at 50KB/s



## grothdmal (Dec 25, 2008)

The internet service I pay for promises 6MB/s, however I'm only capable of reaching 50KB/s.
I'm relatively certain that the speed was specified in megabytes, not megabits.
Even if it were in megabits, that would mean I should get 750KB/s while I'm only getting 50.
I know I'm getting 50KB/s because when I download from reliable servers (such as MS or iTunes) the download speed caps at 50KB/s, but is usually less (~30)
Using speedtest.net I got the following results:

However, I'm not nearly getting 355KB/s of internet speed. 
This also provides me with reason to believe that the service promised was in fact 6 megabytes as the upload speed given to me was 750KB/s, and the results shown were 385KB/s of upload. If the speeds were measured in bits instead of bytes my upload speed should've shown up as ~90KB/s

My system specs are as follows:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name:	Mac Pro
Model Identifier:	MacPro1,1
Processor Name:	Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed:	2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors:	2
Total Number Of Cores:	4
L2 Cache (per processor):	4 MB
Memory:	4 GB
Bus Speed:	1.33 GHz
Boot ROM Version:	MP11.005C.B08
SMC Version:	1.7f10
Serial Number:	G86500WGUPZ

AirPort:

Type:	AirPort
Hardware:	AirPort
BSD Device Name:	en2
IPv4 Addresses:	10.0.1.6
IPv4:
Addresses:	10.0.1.6
Configuration Method:	Manual
Interface Name:	en2
NetworkSignature:	IPv4.Router=10.0.1.1;IPv4.RouterHardwareAddress=00:14:51:5b:f0:7a
Router:	10.0.1.1
Subnet Masks:	255.255.255.0
IPv6:
Configuration Method:	Automatic
AppleTalk:
Configuration Method:	Node
Default Zone:	*
Interface Name:	en2
Network ID:	65420
Node ID:	230
DNS:
Server Addresses:	205.152.37.23
Proxies:
Proxy Configuration Method:	Manual
Exclude Simple Hostnames:	0
FTP Passive Mode:	Yes
Auto Discovery Enabled:	No
Ethernet:
MAC Address:	00:19:e3:09:52:40
Media Options:	
Media Subtype:	Auto Select

System Software Overview:

System Version:	Mac OS X 10.5.5 (9F33)
Kernel Version:	Darwin 9.5.0
Boot Volume:	MAC PRO OS X HD
Boot Mode:	Normal

Note, I'm working on a wireless network. My internet has not always been this seriously slow. After initially upgrading, the promised download speeds were met, but after a week they began to slow down. Then I switched to opendns, which surprisingly brought me back to full speed, again for about a week. I have been forced to switch from FireFox to Safari as the slow speeds combined with all my FF addons render pages unable to load. Even in Safari, pages load slowly, to the extent where I am unable to watch videos on youtube or google video without letting them load completely first.
Something else I found funny: loading the same page on FireFox vs iPhone Edge network and the iPhone loaded faster. =/

Does anybody have any idea why this is happening?
My first guess would be that the Mac is downloading updates in the background and this is hogging up internet speed, but it usually prompts me when it's downloading updates (or at least shows a swirling icon in the top right).
I'll gladly provide any system specs necessary if I left any out.
Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I found a speedtest from right after I upgraded:


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

It looks as if you have a 384 connection.
Is this dsl


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

the second one looks much better

thats 4 and a half meg which is good


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## grothdmal (Dec 25, 2008)

This is a DSL connection.
The second one is from almost immediately after I upgraded, the first is from about 10 minutes ago.


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

It appears as if they throttled you back for some reason.
this can be common with satelite but not with dsl
just to make sure the problem isnt on your end reboot all your equipment
dsl modem and router
leave em unpugged for a couple minutes
then after plugging them back in wait a minute and boot your machine back up.
dsl first then router then notebook
check speeds

also see what speed you get with a wired connection.
straight from the dsl modem.

post back


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## grothdmal (Dec 25, 2008)

My network works like this: Modem feeds to ethernet switch, switch feeds to hardwired computer and Wireless transmitter. I reset them in the order: Modem off, Switch off, WiFi off, Modem on, Switch on, WiFi on.

Wireless after reset:


Wired after reset:


The wired gets a better upload speed, but surprisingly a lower download. =/
Oh, and the problem seems fixed for now… but this is exactly what happened after I switched to opendns. I wonder how long it'll take before it gets slow again?

Do you know of any permanent fix for this other than resetting the modem every week?


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

4 meg thats more like it
I would see how long i can go without rebooting the modem
Every few days isnt bad.
I dont know of a permanant fix for the problem right off the top of my head.
Did this happen immediatly after you went to open dns?


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## grothdmal (Dec 25, 2008)

I never actually did a speed test after switching to openDNS, but download speeds went from ~30-50KB/s to ~300-500KB/s (like what happened now)


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

Look in your connections properties and see if your dns got changed when rebooting the modem


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## grothdmal (Dec 25, 2008)

the IP of the Airport Extreme is the openDNS servers, both before and after the reset
The DNS Server Address found in the system specs was the same before and after reset.
DNS:
Server Addresses:	205.152.37.23


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

we cant blame it on the dns then
Which means the reboots took care of it.
If it does it again we will run some trace routes on it to find out if you are being dropped somewhere.and you can use the information and contact isp.
generally speaking they wont listen to a person when they call unless you can verify where the problem lies with a trace route.


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## grothdmal (Dec 25, 2008)

Alright, thanks so much. I'll probably be back :-/


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## aka Brett (Nov 25, 2008)

cool
when it messes up next time dont reboot equipment we will do a trace route


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