# 54mbps connection, really slow speed?? whats wrong??



## herbert42

first of all, hopefully im posting in the right section for this. but my problem is i have a 54mbps connection, but im having really slow speeds. its been like this for years and im starting to get angry. i dont really know much about wireless routers and really any type of internet connection for that matter. 80 to 90% of the day my connection is really bad. im getting download speeds under 1mbps. i understand i wont be getting a constant 54mbps connection, but still to me it seems pretty low. my upload speeds are even slower. there usually under 200kbps. i ran a speed test and the results came out a lot higher than they really are. like, a lot higher....





please help.

if you need the name of the router, i can figure it out. i just don't remember it right now.

PS: im really sorry if this is double posted... my internet is being weird and it took like 10 minutes just to post this and i dont know if it did or not because its not showing up. its sad because this is the second time i did this :/


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## herbert42

btw, i just did the same exact speed test again and got this. this just proves how my internet can mess up in a matter of minutes.





the download speed on the test was stuck at 0.15mbps for a long time until it decided to speed up a little


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## linkin

54mbps is the speed of your local network, not your internet connection. 54mbps is Wireless G. LAN is 100mbps or 1000mbps. Wireless N is 300mbps.

Looks like you are suffering network connection. This is your ISP's problem as they are probably over-subscribing and under-performing. They could also be throttling your connection. Are you a heavy downloader?


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## herbert42

I'm not sure what being a heavy downloader would do. But I guess I'd say I'm a heavy downloader. I download a lot of video games mainly.

EDIT: i forgot to mention that a lot of the time my internet seems to stop working all together. i managed to (eventually) connect to the speed test website again and got this


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## linkin

Yeah that looks like your ISP is throttling your download speed. If you use steam for games ring them up and explain. If you're torrenting (which is against the rules here so try not to mention it) then they have a decent enough reason to throttle your bandwidth.


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## tremmor

I agree they may be choking your bandwidth. Mass download. Slowing down others with your provider. worth a call and find out though.


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## herbert42

linkin said:


> Yeah that looks like your ISP is throttling your download speed. If you use steam for games ring them up and explain. If you're torrenting (which is against the rules here so try not to mention it) then they have a decent enough reason to throttle your bandwidth.



alright thanks. its not just steam games though. its my whole internet speed in general. its really frustrating because ever few minutes my internet decides to go obnoxiously slow and i cant even get on google. i kind of hope its my ISP. i was planning on going out and buying a whole new more expensive router and seeing if that helps. my router is like 5 years old :/


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## tremmor

Could be. Something else ask what speed it. Did you buy the slowest?
Intermediate or commercial? I bought Intermediate (middle) speed. 
Another option might switching providers. Do ya have fiber optics?
I think Comcast is a mess with speed. did not like them.


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## pickster

Have you actually logged in to your router page ? might be important logs in there that will help you


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## herbert42

tremmor said:


> Could be. Something else ask what speed it. Did you buy the slowest?
> Intermediate or commercial? I bought Intermediate (middle) speed.
> Another option might switching providers. Do ya have fiber optics?
> I think Comcast is a mess with speed. did not like them.



now that you mention it, i just looked at my ISP's website and there are different speeds. im not sure which one i have. i've never switched ISP's before and i've had the same thing basically all my life. here's the website to the ISP in case you want to see it http://www.armstrongonewire.com/internet/Default.aspx
*EDIT:* if it asks for an address, put the zip code as 44452 (thats mine)

even the lowest one is 768 Kb/s and im getting speeds way below that 



> Have you actually logged in to your router page ? might be important logs in there that will help you



yes. there's nothing really in there to help me. its an older router so there haven't been updates for it for a very long time. so it's up to date


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## soybean

The test results you posted in your first post indicate you probably have a 10Mbps DSL service, which is quite fast for DSL. It's probably the top level available from your ISP.  

I think I'd contact the ISP to discuss this.  They should be able to do a line test without sending a technician to your place.  Now, if they are throttling your speed, that's a separate issue. 

Also, your router is getting old and could be failing to consistently function at optimum speed.  Can you disconnect from your router and connect your computer directly to your modem to test your Internet speed. Be sure to have a software firewall enabled if you do this.


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## FroogleGeek

I don't think there is any ISP that offers a 56mbps connection plan. They usually come in 10mbps, 20mbps, 50mbps, etc.

I'm pretty sure you are talking about your local network which can't be tested with speedtest.net


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## herbert42

soybean said:


> The test results you posted in your first post indicate you probably have a 10Mbps DSL service, which is quite fast for DSL. It's probably the top level available from your ISP.
> 
> I think I'd contact the ISP to discuss this.  They should be able to do a line test without sending a technician to your place.  Now, if they are throttling your speed, that's a separate issue.
> 
> Also, your router is getting old and could be failing to consistently function at optimum speed.  Can you disconnect from your router and connect your computer directly to your modem to test your Internet speed. Be sure to have a software firewall enabled if you do this.



alright thanks. i think i just fixed half the problem. i have turtle beach x41's and they were interfering with my router. i unhooked them and im getting a lot better speeds 

i'll probably get a new router too. im not sure which one to buy though. if anyone could help with that i'd appreciate it.


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