Slow Internet connections: Report here - Page 13 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

FreeRangers · 2012-03-09, 11:13 AM

I just upgraded to the 100mb plan and I'm lucky if I get 20mbps (on both shaw's speed test site and speedtest.net), usually the speeds are around 12.5-16mbps. I have been calling shaw pretty much everyday to get this sorted out (had three different techs out to look at the issue) and yesterday they told me that there is a problem with a node in my area, and this problem has been going on since February. He went on to say that the problem is expected to be fixed today (March 9), somehow I am very doubtful that the problem will be fixed today, if at all. I mean if I took that long at my job to fix a problem that was impacting clients I would have been fired a long time ago.

smokin_joe · 2012-03-09, 02:34 PM

Update: After talking to shaw support and the online concierge several times, they re-loaded? the modem a couple times, had me try the connection without my router, in safe mode, etc etc. speeds just were not any different, and they were erratic, 17Mbps one minute and 2Mbps the next. Mostly they gave me the speech about peak hours it will be slower. The support guy booked a tech to come to my house to test the speeds. Well the tech guy was very knowledgeable and swapped the modem. Now I get consistent speeds 18-20Mbps every time all the time. One happy camper here :-)

Couple of things I learned is that the phone support people are not very knowledgeable and sitting on hold for over 2 hours waiting for them was not very pleasant. The On-Site tech guys were very knowledgeable and helpful, and that made for a very pleasant experience.

roopster77 · 2012-03-09, 05:39 PM

Mine consistently runs as advertised...

Crash7 · 2012-03-12, 02:43 PM

I just had a Shaw tech here and he spent a couple hours checking everything. He swapped my Cisco modem for a Motorola SB6120 which only has one port and lacks wireless but I'm running it through my router anyways. Turns out the slow speeds are a result of the area lines which I figured was the case. He said he put in a high priority repair order and a crew should be out very soon to fix things. Hopefully that will solve my issues with slow speeds.

Ozzmosis · 2012-03-22, 11:06 PM

ARG! So much for Shaw Extreme... Will have to call next week...

janstan · 2012-03-31, 02:56 PM

Seems to me that the Shaw Speed Test is not reporting REAL speed. After upgrading from Extreme to Broad Band 50 (following a week of poor speed performance with Extreme) and getting a new Cisco modem Shaw's Speed Test reports a download speed of about 45-48 MB/s whilst both speedtest,net and Terago report about 5 MB/s. Downloading a 10 MB file from a known fast server resulted in a maximum speed of 50 KB/s.
Support at Shaw claim that there are upgrades going on all over the city. However he had no answer as to why their own speed test shows one thing and all others report something else and the reality of actual computing indicates that their Speed Test cannot be trusted.
Does anyone else share my experience? I am in South Vancouver.

57 · 2012-03-31, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Shaw's Speed Test reports a download speed of about 45-48 MB/s

That's mbps, not B. 8 bits per byte.

Quote:

Downloading a 10 MB file from a known fast server resulted in a maximum speed of 50 KB/s

10MB should only take a couple of seconds - hardly a "test". Download a larger file from a known fast commercial server say 100 MB, which should take about 16 seconds, or 400 MB which should take about 65 seconds. Torrents don't count.

Quote:

speedtest,net and Terago report about 5 MB/s

I have found that Speedtest is usually within 20% of the other sites like Rogers or Shaw, etc. Certainly not off by an order of magnitude (or a factor of 8

)

http://www.rogers.com/web/Rogers.por...n-_-speedcheck

janstan · 2012-03-31, 03:45 PM

I stand corrected about the MB.Of course I meant bits Mb/s

The 10 MB file was on a commercial server which indeed before this speed "slowdown" over a week ago did indeed take a few seconds to download. Now it takes several minutes. Not an accurate test but certainly indicative of a problem.

In the past Shaw Speed Test was indeed always within the parameters vis a vis the other sites as you have stated. What is happening now?

57 · 2012-03-31, 03:51 PM

I don't know. Try the Rogers test site I provided. Try other test sites again. Try a fairly large download from a proper commercial site. Try the test sites at different times of the day. I just tested at Shaw and Rogers and my down/upload speeds were all fine. Here's another where I just tested fine:

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

Make sure you're not using a laptop that's limited by your home network. Connect directly with a wire. We've had numerous people who have home wireless network issues that are totally unrelated to the wired connected speed to the provider.

Alan Bealby · 2012-03-31, 04:04 PM

Testing the speed of Internet connections can be subject to a number of pitfalls. The measured speeds are going to depend on the speed that the source can supply data, the average speed you experience on the Internet structure and the speed of your computer. You may hit bottlenecks anywhere when you run a test that will give incorrect or or misleading results. Remember that the service speeds offered by Shaw are really only for the connection between your computer and the nearest Shaw node.

Also note that Shaw has the feature of delivering higher burst speeds for a brief period at the start of a Internet data request. For example, when I test using speedtest.net I see initial download speeds of 20-30 Mbs which then drop down to a steady much lower speed. My average speeds reported for the test typically range from 15-20 Mbs. I expect if I downloaded a very large file and timed it with a watch, I would see speeds of below my service speed of 7.5 Mbs.

Finally, I would expect Shaw's speed test to give higher speeds because it should not be slowed down by any slower infrastructure outside of the needed structure inside Shaw as long as the Shaw server can supply data at a high enough speed

janstan · 2012-03-31, 07:07 PM

To 57 and Alan

Rogers site gave me a 3.6 Mbps download speed. BTW FYI all upload speeds seemed about the same on all testing sites, viz. about 2.7 Mbps

I am testing using a Hardwired computer Win7 Intel i7.

I have tested at different times, including last night at 1:30 AM and again at 7:30 AM ( Yes I know. I need to get a life). Hardly Peak Times!

I do expect that the Shaw site would be faster but there has never been such a disparity in the past.

I have downloaded from a commercial web site (a company hosting my own website and for which I am a reseller) and one that I know pretty well its capabilities.

I was led to believe that with Broadband 50 there is NO initial "Power Boost".

janstan · 2012-03-31, 07:19 PM

Speakeasy site gave me a download speed of 4.87 Mbps. Immediately after this test I tested on Shaw which reported 44.27 Mbps. So far I have no explanation and regrettably neither have you nor Customer support at Shaw who have scheduled the earliest tech visit they can arrange - April 23 !

However many thanks for your responses. If you have any further ideas or suggestions I would love have them.

das75 · 2012-03-31, 07:22 PM

I don't but much faith in any of the testers . Speakeasy.net just gave me 12.92/0.49Mbps, Speedtest.net 3.69/0.48Mbps, which to believe?

iamdgr81 · 2012-04-01, 12:35 PM

Janstan

I'm also in South Vancouver and I have the same exact problem as you. BB50 had been working great for months. Then last week I noticed a discrepancy between the speeds quoted on the shaw test site vs. other sites (Speedtest, Speakeasy, Terago). I called Shaw technical support and they troubleshooted for an hour. No improvement. They finally concluded that it was a Cisco modem problem and that I needed to exchange it for a properly working one. Well I exchanged it the next day and the problem still exists. Not impressed. Please let me know if you find anything out.

pynner · 2012-04-01, 01:08 PM

Arbutus & 33rd here:

This is a Vancouver wide problem. I too am on the BB50 and about a week or so ago, my speeds dropped of the face of the earth. Yes, shaw has been caught lying about speeds using their speed test.

There's nothing wrong with your modem, it's on shaw and their crappy network.

The tech people at shaw are useless. I have spent many hours on the phone with them, and even after pointing them to various threads, they still say the same crap.
'Un hook your router, use a direct connection, change your modem, blah blah blah.'
There is no time frame for getting this fixed as they (shaw) don't even admit there's something going on.

I am to the point of seriously considering switching providers..

My speedtest this morning: 1.1mb/s down, 2.8 up
Just brutal.

wow, I haven't been here for a while! hddvd??!!?

2012-03-31, 02:56 PM	#186
janstan Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 19	Shaw Speed Test Phoney? - Poor Download Speeds Seems to me that the Shaw Speed Test is not reporting REAL speed. After upgrading from Extreme to Broad Band 50 (following a week of poor speed performance with Extreme) and getting a new Cisco modem Shaw's Speed Test reports a download speed of about 45-48 MB/s whilst both speedtest,net and Terago report about 5 MB/s. Downloading a 10 MB file from a known fast server resulted in a maximum speed of 50 KB/s. Support at Shaw claim that there are upgrades going on all over the city. However he had no answer as to why their own speed test shows one thing and all others report something else and the reality of actual computing indicates that their Speed Test cannot be trusted. Does anyone else share my experience? I am in South Vancouver.

2012-03-31, 03:51 PM	#189
57 Moderator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Toronto, Rogers, 8300HD, eHDD, Panasonic TCP65S1, Denon AVR4310Ci; 8300HD, eHDD & Sony KDL40W3000 Posts: 50,303	I don't know. Try the Rogers test site I provided. Try other test sites again. Try a fairly large download from a proper commercial site. Try the test sites at different times of the day. I just tested at Shaw and Rogers and my down/upload speeds were all fine. Here's another where I just tested fine: http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ Make sure you're not using a laptop that's limited by your home network. Connect directly with a wire. We've had numerous people who have home wireless network issues that are totally unrelated to the wired connected speed to the provider. __________________ 57's Home Theatre (Latest equipment & photos) 57's Optimization Services (Home Theatre Optimization)

2012-03-31, 04:04 PM	#190
Alan Bealby Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kelowna, BC Posts: 1,377	Testing the speed of Internet connections can be subject to a number of pitfalls. The measured speeds are going to depend on the speed that the source can supply data, the average speed you experience on the Internet structure and the speed of your computer. You may hit bottlenecks anywhere when you run a test that will give incorrect or or misleading results. Remember that the service speeds offered by Shaw are really only for the connection between your computer and the nearest Shaw node. Also note that Shaw has the feature of delivering higher burst speeds for a brief period at the start of a Internet data request. For example, when I test using speedtest.net I see initial download speeds of 20-30 Mbs which then drop down to a steady much lower speed. My average speeds reported for the test typically range from 15-20 Mbs. I expect if I downloaded a very large file and timed it with a watch, I would see speeds of below my service speed of 7.5 Mbs. Finally, I would expect Shaw's speed test to give higher speeds because it should not be slowed down by any slower infrastructure outside of the needed structure inside Shaw as long as the Shaw server can supply data at a high enough speed __________________ Gateway and 3 Portals, Samsung FP-T6374 TV, Panasonic DMR-E80, Denon AVR-3808, Sony CX777ES

2012-04-01, 01:08 PM	#195
pynner Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Vancouver, bc Posts: 224	Arbutus & 33rd here: This is a Vancouver wide problem. I too am on the BB50 and about a week or so ago, my speeds dropped of the face of the earth. Yes, shaw has been caught lying about speeds using their speed test. There's nothing wrong with your modem, it's on shaw and their crappy network. The tech people at shaw are useless. I have spent many hours on the phone with them, and even after pointing them to various threads, they still say the same crap. 'Un hook your router, use a direct connection, change your modem, blah blah blah.' There is no time frame for getting this fixed as they (shaw) don't even admit there's something going on. I am to the point of seriously considering switching providers.. My speedtest this morning: 1.1mb/s down, 2.8 up Just brutal. wow, I haven't been here for a while! hddvd??!!? Last edited by pynner; 2012-04-01 at 01:08 PM. Reason: been a long time..

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2012-03-09, 11:13 AM	#181
FreeRangers Rookie Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 3	I just upgraded to the 100mb plan and I'm lucky if I get 20mbps (on both shaw's speed test site and speedtest.net), usually the speeds are around 12.5-16mbps. I have been calling shaw pretty much everyday to get this sorted out (had three different techs out to look at the issue) and yesterday they told me that there is a problem with a node in my area, and this problem has been going on since February. He went on to say that the problem is expected to be fixed today (March 9), somehow I am very doubtful that the problem will be fixed today, if at all. I mean if I took that long at my job to fix a problem that was impacting clients I would have been fired a long time ago.

2012-03-09, 02:34 PM	#182
smokin_joe Rookie Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 23	Update: After talking to shaw support and the online concierge several times, they re-loaded? the modem a couple times, had me try the connection without my router, in safe mode, etc etc. speeds just were not any different, and they were erratic, 17Mbps one minute and 2Mbps the next. Mostly they gave me the speech about peak hours it will be slower. The support guy booked a tech to come to my house to test the speeds. Well the tech guy was very knowledgeable and swapped the modem. Now I get consistent speeds 18-20Mbps every time all the time. One happy camper here :-) Couple of things I learned is that the phone support people are not very knowledgeable and sitting on hold for over 2 hours waiting for them was not very pleasant. The On-Site tech guys were very knowledgeable and helpful, and that made for a very pleasant experience.

2012-03-09, 05:39 PM	#183
roopster77 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Sry/Cloverdale, BC Epson 8350 & 110" Screen... Shaw Gateway & 5 Portals... PS-3 & Harmony One Posts: 265	Mine consistently runs as advertised...

2012-03-12, 02:43 PM	#184
Crash7 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Edmonton Posts: 491	I just had a Shaw tech here and he spent a couple hours checking everything. He swapped my Cisco modem for a Motorola SB6120 which only has one port and lacks wireless but I'm running it through my router anyways. Turns out the slow speeds are a result of the area lines which I figured was the case. He said he put in a high priority repair order and a crew should be out very soon to fix things. Hopefully that will solve my issues with slow speeds.

2012-03-22, 11:06 PM	#185
Ozzmosis Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1	ARG! So much for Shaw Extreme... Will have to call next week...

2012-03-31, 03:45 PM	#188
janstan Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 19	I stand corrected about the MB.Of course I meant bits Mb/s The 10 MB file was on a commercial server which indeed before this speed "slowdown" over a week ago did indeed take a few seconds to download. Now it takes several minutes. Not an accurate test but certainly indicative of a problem. In the past Shaw Speed Test was indeed always within the parameters vis a vis the other sites as you have stated. What is happening now?

2012-03-31, 07:07 PM	#191
janstan Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 19	To 57 and Alan Rogers site gave me a 3.6 Mbps download speed. BTW FYI all upload speeds seemed about the same on all testing sites, viz. about 2.7 Mbps I am testing using a Hardwired computer Win7 Intel i7. I have tested at different times, including last night at 1:30 AM and again at 7:30 AM ( Yes I know. I need to get a life). Hardly Peak Times! I do expect that the Shaw site would be faster but there has never been such a disparity in the past. I have downloaded from a commercial web site (a company hosting my own website and for which I am a reseller) and one that I know pretty well its capabilities. I was led to believe that with Broadband 50 there is NO initial "Power Boost".

2012-03-31, 07:19 PM	#192
janstan Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 19	Speakeasy site gave me a download speed of 4.87 Mbps. Immediately after this test I tested on Shaw which reported 44.27 Mbps. So far I have no explanation and regrettably neither have you nor Customer support at Shaw who have scheduled the earliest tech visit they can arrange - April 23 ! However many thanks for your responses. If you have any further ideas or suggestions I would love have them.

2012-03-31, 07:22 PM	#193
das75 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Edmonton Posts: 459	I don't but much faith in any of the testers . Speakeasy.net just gave me 12.92/0.49Mbps, Speedtest.net 3.69/0.48Mbps, which to believe?

2012-04-01, 12:35 PM	#194
iamdgr81 Rookie Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 4	Janstan I'm also in South Vancouver and I have the same exact problem as you. BB50 had been working great for months. Then last week I noticed a discrepancy between the speeds quoted on the shaw test site vs. other sites (Speedtest, Speakeasy, Terago). I called Shaw technical support and they troubleshooted for an hour. No improvement. They finally concluded that it was a Cisco modem problem and that I needed to exchange it for a properly working one. Well I exchanged it the next day and the problem still exists. Not impressed. Please let me know if you find anything out.