Incredibly slow connection today, no idea why. Need Help.

jp_bl_68 · 21 Nov 2010 at 20:33

It started this afternoon. My download speed dropped to almost nothing. I thought it would sort itself out but I've just got home from work and it's still playing up.

SpeedTest.net says that my upload speed is anywhere between 0.08mb/s and 0.20mb/s which isn't that unusual to be honest, but my download speed is less than 0.20mb/s (it's normally closer to 7mb/s). My ping is in the mid 30s which is normal for me.

I've tried clearing all my internet history, restarting my computer, resetting my router (which normally fixes any little problems), but nothing's working.

I'm with BT, connecting wirelessly via the original BT Home Hub router, to a Macbook ('09 model) and an iPod Touch (2G).

Any idea what's wrong?

I don't think BT are choking my connection (intentionally anyway) as they've never throttled me this badly in the past. Is it possible that someone else is using my wifi and hogging my bandwidth? If so, how can I find out about it and is there anything I can do to stop it?

edt- Just rechecked SpeedTest.net and now it's saying my stats are: d/l - 3.21mb/s, u/l - 0.26mb/s, p - 36ms :confused:

Maybe it's a problem at BT's end?

2nd edit- d/l - 0.17mb/s, u/l - 0.08mb/s, p - 288ms :mad:

jp_bl_68 · 21 Nov 2010 at 20:58

Ethernet cable seems to have temporarily fixed the problem. I think my router's wirelessly capability is playing up. Right now I'm only a metre from the Home Hub and it's still not working properly.

A phone call to BT might be in order (going on past experience I'm not sure how productive that'll be). Is there anything else I can try first?

kg648 · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:01

Peak times? congestion? BT is prolly your problem

Get a decent ISP

jp_bl_68 · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:03

It's never been this bad before. And my connection is fine when I'm wired to the router.

jp_bl_68 · 21 Nov 2010 at 21:42

OK, I managed to get hold of another router. This one seems to be working (d/l - 5.34mb/b, u/l - 0.91mb/s, p - 53ms). I guess my old router is frazzled.

Azuse05 · 21 Nov 2010 at 22:09

It's a home hub. A shoebox with a coat-hanger would make a better router

kg648 · 21 Nov 2010 at 22:20

Offtopic, but someone has been watching too much of the IT Crowd

jp_bl_68 · 21 Nov 2010 at 22:26

Turning it off and on again is the 21st century equivalent to penicillin. It cures all ailments!

jp_bl_68 · 22 Nov 2010 at 10:38

jp_bl_68 said:
OK, I managed to get hold of another router. This one seems to be working (d/l - 5.34mb/b, u/l - 0.91mb/s, p - 53ms). I guess my old router is frazzled.

Had difficulty staying connected to the new router (BT Home Hub 2). I switched from b/g/n to b/g and changed to a less busy channel. This seems to have solved the problem.