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Internet speeding up?

4K views 18 replies 8 participants last post by  JoeLouie 
#1 ·
Has anyone else noticed that Eastlink's internet has gotten just a smidgen faster in the last few days? I'm on the 20 Mbit plan, and have usually gotten downloads that were spot on that speed. In the last few days I've been seeing downloads over 22 Mbits. I just did a speedtest and got 21.6.

It's not a much of a change, but maybe it is a sign of a bigger change to come. I can always hope.

Mark
 
#7 ·
If you compare the internet packages offered to those in Halifax compared to Timmins, you'll see that those changes only happened for them. Timmins gets less than half the speed as Haligonians now on the upper packages and they get to even pay LESS for it.

How nice of them, eh?:grin
 
#5 ·
Eastlink sent an email last week, stating their upgrade to fibre optic network has roughly doubled upload and download speeds. I have the Evolution plan, now advertised as 10mbps upload and 100mbps download. The change is quite noticeable for me. I stream Netflix UHD, besides Amazon VOD and Plex channels. Moreover, Vtuner and Pandora now start as soon as I turn on my receiver's internet channel selection.
 
#6 ·
Had salesman knocking on my door about a month ago trying to get me to switch back from FibreOP. I told him no way in hell they could match the speeds then he got on about the fibre upgrade they were doing allowing them to go with 150 down 20 up for the speeds. Apparently he was not lying they have done an upgrade the devil will be in the details though like do they still throttle the connection 24/7 like they did when I last had them scumbags..
 
#8 ·
I cannot say with any honesty that the speeds have gotten any better here in west end Halifax. Possibly, at the best of times they might be, but at other times, I think things are far worse.

For example, both Netflix and YouTube buffer a lot more than they used to. I used to be able to watch Netflix every day for a week or more without one single episode of buffering. Now, it seems that I experience buffering almost every day.

Right now, I am trying to download a roughly 2 GB game to my iPad, and it is still not done after 2 hours.

Perhaps it is because I live in an area where the same node is shared by a lot of people, since I live in a condo.
 
#9 ·
Things seem to have edged up again for me. I saw a download today at around 2900 KB/s, which surprised me. I did another speedtest using the NS server on speedtest.eastlink.ca and saw the following results:

Download Speed: 23704 kbps (2963 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 2190 kbps (273.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 19 ms
Jitter: 2 ms
31/08/2015, 09:21:44

Also, the little graph was very flat, where the last few months it has been very up and down. Maybe my connection is getting faster and more reliable. I had been seeing good peak speeds but occasional dips in my speed. If this is the case then I'll be happy and more likely to stick with Eastlink after fibreop hits my town.
 
#10 ·
Interestingly enough, both my download and upload speeds are much slower than they ever were before. I just tested from my location in Halifax, and it found the best server in Canning, for some reason.

I hope that this is only a temporary glitch, and if this slow speed remains, I won't be happy.
 
#12 · (Edited)
As a follow up to my earlier post, I find the speed (WiFi) to be extremely variable. As measured from the same spot at different times, I can get speeds as low as 1 down and 1 up, and at other times, it can be as high as 40 down, 5 up. It appears that there is intermittent interference in the area that can make my speeds go down sharply.

I have the Maestro, and am measuring the speeds one floor down from where the Gateway is located, and not in a basement or anything. If I measure the speeds while in the same room as the Gateway, the speeds approach the advertised 50 down and 5 up.

I am not sure if getting a WiFi booster would help, since I get good speeds at some times and not others.

I live in a condo, btw.

I just measured my current speed, and it is 0.81 download, 5.1 upload. Odd that the upload is actually faster.
 
#13 ·
I use a DLink DAP-1650 connected to a wired port on the gateway as a wireless access point. I found the wireless in the gateway was unreliable, spotty, and weak. Since using our own routers isn't really an option then a good AP is your next best bet. I disabled the WiFi in the gateway.

A booster like you linked is not an option since the Gateway doesn't have external antennae jacks.
 
#14 ·
Adding an access point sounds like a very good idea. It may work especially well if you can run the wire down a floor. I'd suggest trying an access point that includes 5 GHz frequencies. Since you are in a condo with widely varying reception, the less crowded 5 GHz band may work better for you. A wired connection would be better still. Wired is always best.

I try not to quote speedtest results over wifi. It adds an extra variable that makes the test results questionable. One can never tell if it is the internet connection or the wifi connection which is the bottleneck.
 
#15 ·
Thanks for all the pointers, everyone. It sounds as though I need to figure out how to set up an "access point" rather than using an actual router hooked up to the Maestro gateway. I do have an older Linksys router which served me well in the past before I got the Maestro, but don't know if it is feasible for this case. I'm not sure how easy it would be to run a wire down a full floor in my case.

I didn't realize that a WiFi booster wouldn't work with the Maestro.

I am not the most "computer savvy" person on the planet, btw.
 
#17 ·
You can use a regular router as an access point in a pinch, if you are comfortable adjusting the settings using the router's web-based interface. The key thing is to turn off the router's dhcp server and give the router an appropriate IP address. The router's IP address should be on the same subnet as the maestro (first three numbers the same), but not in the range the that maestro's dhcp server gives out. For example, if the maestro is 192.168.0.1 and gives out addresses from 192.168.0.100 to 192.168.0.200, give the router an ip of 192.168.0.7 or something. Then plug the router in to the maestro using one of the local ports on the router (usually number 1-4, not WAN).

I'm sorry that all of that sounds rather complicated, but it can work. Or you can buy a real access point. They are much simpler to set up.
 
#18 ·
My first choice would be to try that extender, since it can be bought outright as well, and supposedly, is easy to set up. I see one listed in this week's Best Buy flyer for $15 less than Eastlink's price.

I will call the Eastlink Maestro support number early next week, and see if that is an option that would work with the Gateway.

Smallmj's suggestion using the router is a good one, but yes, it sounds a tad complicated.

The idea of buying an access point is a one that a less computer savvy person like me may find easier to do, not sure exactly what to look for, though.
 
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