What speed is the 'speed test' at my ISP website testing ?

[John Galt III]

My ISP has a website with a speed test button. It doesn't clearly state what it is testing. It implies the speed is the speed they are sending me, on their side of my modem. It is very low. It ranges between 0.7 and 1.3 Mbps. On 2 occasions it was 37.0 Mbps. But 95% of the time it is around 1.0 Mbps. I am signed up for 100 Mbps. Thanks

 

[RetiredHappy]

Try speedtest.net. If you are not getting the speed that you paid for, you should call them.

 

[GenXguy]

Try speedtest.net. If you are not getting the speed that you paid for, you should call them.

See this:

https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...e-downloads-drivers-120511-3.html#post3035914

 

[RetiredHappy]

See this:

https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...e-downloads-drivers-120511-3.html#post3035914

I run NORD VPN and there is a small degradation of speed compared to VPN being off.

 

[GrayHare]

To test real world d/l speed, I visit the Library of Congress site, and download one of the many humongous TIFF image files they offer and measure how long it takes.

 

[MTB4me]

There are a lot of variables to consider in those speed tests:

• Are you connected directly to your home router or are you connecting through Wi-Fi (wirelessly)?
• Are you using a VPN (for added security)?
• Is anyone else in your house also using your ISP service at the time of your testing (like streaming a TV show or doing a backup to a cloud provider?
• Is your PC/tablet/phone busy doing anything besides the speed test?

The first consideration above can have a lot of impact on the speeds you observe. Poor wireless connectivity can really degrade Speedtest performance.

If you are connected directly to your cable router and your test device (e.g., PC) isn’t busy, then you should expect to get in the neighborhood of 60-95% of your contracted rate. You don’t indicate whether or not your connection is cable company (typically asymmetric - much higher download speed than upload speed), DSL (typically symmetric, but usually only 10-20 Mbps), or some sort of fiber service (typically symmetric at speeds of 50Mbps up to 1Gbps, depending on contract).

More details on your service and testing scenario would help the group here to give you better advice and feedback.

 

[GenXguy]

There are a lot of variables to consider in those speed tests:

• Are you connected directly to your home router or are you connecting through Wi-Fi (wirelessly)?
• Are you using a VPN (for added security)?
• Is anyone else in your house also using your ISP service at the time of your testing (like streaming a TV show or doing a backup to a cloud provider?
• Is your PC/tablet/phone busy doing anything besides the speed test?

The first consideration above can have a lot of impact on the speeds you observe. Poor wireless connectivity can really degrade Speedtest performance.

If you are connected directly to your cable router and your test device (e.g., PC) isn’t busy, then you should expect to get in the neighborhood of 60-95% of your contracted rate. You don’t indicate whether or not your connection is cable company (typically asymmetric - much higher download speed than upload speed), DSL (typically symmetric, but usually only 10-20 Mbps), or some sort of fiber service (typically symmetric at speeds of 50Mbps up to 1Gbps, depending on contract).

More details on your service and testing scenario would help the group here to give you better advice and feedback.

You must have missed the other threads he started about this and that I linked to (one of them) earlier in this thread which would pretty much answer all that. He's not using a router. The old PC is connected directly to the new cable modem he bought.

 

[target2019]

This is one of several threads by OP that fit together to describe various observed issues.

The problem in this thread is related to, at minimum, a replacement cable modem he purchased, and a PC (or two) and OS that are no longer supported.

With an ISP modem, the company tech can remote to a modem and look at values to find out if the cable modem is functioning properly.

With a user-supplied modem, all bets are off as far as support. An ISP tech may come to the location and deal with it, or not. I would expect support charges for that call.

Connection and speed problems can be external to his network and cable device, and the responsibility of the ISP.

Connection and speed problems can be internal to his network and devices. The devices may be infected, not set up properly, and so on.

If this were me, I would log in to the cable modem and start looking at signal levels. I would also check the curb to house cable, and internal runs. Most connections are screw-in, and may contain filters and splitters. If a cable runs outside, it may be split or chewed by rodents.

 

[jim584672]

Did your ISP provision the cable modem? They usually need to do something on their end or it may not work right.

 

[John Galt III]

No one has answered my question (unless I missed it). I will re ask it. When I see a 1.0 Mbps result from the speed test, does that mean that the ISP is sending my modem 1.0 Mbps on THEIR SIDE ? (Due to congestion, or throttling, or whatever, on their side) I know my PC is very slow and that youtube is barely usable. ANother, related question: would a problem on MY SIDE (my equipment and sotfware) possibly result in a slow speed on THEIR SIDE (of my modem) ?

 

[braumeister]

No one has answered my question (unless I missed it). I will re ask it. When I see a 1.0 Mbps result from the speed test, does that mean that the ISP is sending my modem 1.0 Mbps on THEIR SIDE ?

No, that normally tells you the throughput.

 

[Aerides]

No one has answered my question (unless I missed it). I will re ask it. When I see a 1.0 Mbps result from the speed test, does that mean that the ISP is sending my modem 1.0 Mbps on THEIR SIDE ? (Due to congestion, or throttling, or whatever, on their side) I know my PC is very slow and that youtube is barely usable. ANother, related question: would a problem on MY SIDE (my equipment and sotfware) possibly result in a slow speed on THEIR SIDE (of my modem) ?

This is the most your setup can take in/out. It's not that "they" are sending you only 1mbps.

This is like trying to use a 25 year old tube TV to connect and see the Superbowl. Not gonna be pretty. There's frugal, and there's....this

 

[John Galt III]

Did your ISP provision the cable modem? They usually need to do something on their end or it may not work right.

They may have. Don't know. It is my own modem and they know that. I was on the phone with them and they said all was OK on their side, and I ought to be connected. But I wasn't, using PC 1. I switched the ethernet cable to to computer 2, and it connected instantly. Said thanks, hung up, and started to use computer 2 to browse the web, although the old OS prevented me from seeing 80% of the websites I wanted. After I figured out my bios problem in computer 1, and could connect, I switched the cable back to computer 1, since it has a newer OS (Windows 7) and started checking out websites I could not get to with computer 2. Like Youtube, which runs very slowly for me. Then the speed test, and onward to the present. Maybe they 'provisioned me' for computer 2, and I need to be provisioned again for computer 1 ?

 

[John Galt III]

OK, thanks for clarification. Throughput. So my side could be causing the slowness. So if I call the cable co, they would say they are 'trying' to send me 100 Mbps, but my side is only allowing 1.0 Mbps to come through, right ?

 

[John Galt III]

Well, I guess I can figure out, eventually, what is slowing things down on my side. I know someone who has Windows 7 Ultimate, and an ancient PC ( an Emachine), who can access youtube with ease. It plays properly. This person is on another cable co, and her download speed is much higher than mine. Something like 150 Mbps. So her ancient equipment and Windows 7 is working just fine. HMMM. I have to find out what's different between my settings and hers.

 

[Aerides]

Do you have a smart phone/tablet, or more current PC to try first?

Those would probably yield a better result. You can of course call your provider, let them know your speed is slow, and they will come out and make sure their connection (ie, from the box in the street into your house) is optimal.

But beyond that, yeah, time to go shopping.

 

[GenXguy]

OK, thanks for clarification. Throughput. So my side could be causing the slowness. So if I call the cable co, they would say they are 'trying' to send me 100 Mbps, but my side is only allowing 1.0 Mbps to come through, right ?

They are capable of sending about 100 Mbps, but there's a bottleneck somewhere. Usually the actual tests will vary. I have 75 Mbps service and it usually tests closer to 90 Mbps. If you had a wireless router in the mix as I have been recommending, you could do a bandwidth test with your smartphone to see if it matches up with your computer. It would be highly unusual for the old computer to have an issue that slows traffic to 1 Mbps.

 

[John Galt III]

Do you have a smart phone/tablet, or more current PC to try first?

Those would probably yield a better result. You can of course call your provider, let them know your speed is slow, and they will come out and make sure their connection (ie, from the box in the street into your house) is optimal.

But beyond that, yeah, time to go shopping.

No smartphone or newer computer. Yes, would be good to borrow a laptop running windows 10 and see what happens. Still wondering why my friend's Windows 7 runs Youtube fine. Maybe some setting on my computer. The previous owner used it for gaming. For some reason the 'onboard LAN' was disabled, and enabling it allowed an internet connection, finally. Maybe something else lurking that has to be corrected for the speed to increase. Buffering, cache, whatever. Poking around there. Also hoping a cable tech can find some external problem and fix it. Or 'reprovision' my modem for the newer computer it is now hooked up to. Also wondering why I somethimes get 37 to 40 Mbps, seemingly out of nowhere. Makes me think it is network congestion suddenly releasing. I remember getting 37 Meg download and 3 Meg upload around 5:30 PM about a week ago. Hmmm.

 

[braumeister]

Also hoping a cable tech can find some external problem and fix it. Or 'reprovision' my modem for the newer computer it is now hooked up to.

I think you're misunderstanding a word here. When jim584672 asked

Did your ISP provision the cable modem? They usually need to do something on their end or it may not work right.

I believe he was asking if they supplied the modem. "Provision" is not an adjustment you make to it.
But you already said it's your own modem, so that would be a blind alley to go down.

 

[GenXguy]

Your cable modem is new, so you don't even know if it's working. Generally, there's no setting in Windows 7 that would cause throughput to drop to 1 Mbps.

Have you logged into your cable modem to see if there are any red flags there?

If the cable modem hadn't been configured for use with your internet provider, you wouldn't get any service at all. I had to contact Comcast when I replaced my cable modem with one I purchased.

 

[GrayHare]

It's the modem that's provisioned, not individual computers. Your symptoms can be due to a virus that's using your internet connetion and thus tying up bandwidth. Your lack of a router can toast most any computing device you attach to it.

 

[target2019]

No smartphone or newer computer. Yes, would be good to borrow a laptop running windows 10 and see what happens. Still wondering why my friend's Windows 7 runs Youtube fine. Maybe some setting on my computer. The previous owner used it for gaming. For some reason the 'onboard LAN' was disabled, and enabling it allowed an internet connection, finally. Maybe something else lurking that has to be corrected for the speed to increase. Buffering, cache, whatever. Poking around there. Also hoping a cable tech can find some external problem and fix it. Or 'reprovision' my modem for the newer computer it is now hooked up to. Also wondering why I somethimes get 37 to 40 Mbps, seemingly out of nowhere. Makes me think it is network congestion suddenly releasing. I remember getting 37 Meg download and 3 Meg upload around 5:30 PM about a week ago. Hmmm.

When the modem is first placed on the internet, it is provisioned by the ISP. This could be a fully automatic process, or it may require you to log in to the ISP and make changes. Alternately you'd call the ISP and ask if the cable modem is up and running, and has downloaded the settings file required to operate properly.

No one here can understand what download or upload you received at any given time, as you are not revealing where you see such a statistic.

 

[Sunset]

OP - Without a router firewall to protect your computer, your computer is literally exposed and under attack from a vast number of bots (software programs running on various infected devices looking to spread the infection).
They look for anything on the internet that is open and unprotected, or vulnerable due to standard factory supplied passwords not being changed.

Wired magazine just had a great interesting story of 3 kids here in the USA, that built bot software and their own bot army was over 100,000 devices. They released the code to hacker sites so anyone could use it (after FBI was getting close, to confuse FBI).
The use of it just exploded after that, as each hacker could run their own bot army, some mentioned were 70,000 devices and 30,000 devices.
Each army would search to infect and increase their numbers.

This is why you need a router, its like having a lock on your front door, so only data and software you want comes into your computer(s).

Also allows you to connect 4 wired devices and unlimited wireless devices to your router and therefore to your internet modem. No need to switch plugs.

 

[Route246]

They may have. Don't know. It is my own modem and they know that. I was on the phone with them and they said all was OK on their side, and I ought to be connected. But I wasn't, using PC 1. I switched the ethernet cable to to computer 2, and it connected instantly. Said thanks, hung up, and started to use computer 2 to browse the web, although the old OS prevented me from seeing 80% of the websites I wanted. After I figured out my bios problem in computer 1, and could connect, I switched the cable back to computer 1, since it has a newer OS (Windows 7) and started checking out websites I could not get to with computer 2. Like Youtube, which runs very slowly for me. Then the speed test, and onward to the present. Maybe they 'provisioned me' for computer 2, and I need to be provisioned again for computer 1 ?

Windows 7 updates ceased 4 years ago (January 2020). You might be dealing with an infected machine. Which browser are you using? When websites don't load it can be an outdated browser environment. Regardless, I would not try to do any banking or e-commerce on a Windows 7 system at this time as you are vulnerable to being hacked.

 

[GenXguy]

He said in the OP, he was getting the speed statistic using the speed button on his ISP's website. I gave him a list of additional websites for testing speed as well in the other thread I linked to earlier.

He said he is using a version of Firefox that is still updated for Windows 7. The router and unsupported OS were also addressed in the other thread.

He mentioned that the traffic statistics for download/upload traffic for the network interface shows that very little bandwidth utilization was taking place.

OP, you should keep your posts on this matter in one thread because most people are not following based on the info you previously provided, and it just makes things more difficult for you and others following.