Slower than normal connection, but same speeds?

SM125 · Dec 30, 2015

The past couple of days I've noticed a significant delay sometimes when accessing websites I normally visit, this ranges from 3 seconds to 30 in some cases, however once on the site, the speed is normal.

All of my speeds are exactly the same (37 down, 10 up, 19ms) so I'm not particularly sure what this could be. I also got an error when troubleshooting network problems that said "Windows can not automatically detect this network's proxy settings". When downloading on Steam the speed is the same as usual (4.5MBps).

I've tried the 'netsh' commands and unchecked 'Automatically detect settings' in internet properties and this got rid of the error I was seeing when troubleshooting.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

tsnor · Dec 30, 2015

try switching to google's DNS service and see if it helps. When you go to a web site you first convert the name of the site to an internet address (e.g. 192.168.0.1) using a DNS server. Then you use the address to actually get to the site. Your ISP provides a DNS server, its address is discovered when your PC boots. You can override the default DNS with this procedure. http://www.howtogeek.com/164981/how-to-switch-to-opendns-or-google-dns-to-speed-up-web-browsing/ if it doesn't help you can set it back.

SM125 · Jan 1, 2016

tsnor :

Just tried this but to no avail, still the usual delays when initially connecting. Also, I have noticed ping spikes from the usual 15ms up to 1400 in some cases, this isn't in a pattern of any sort though so it doesn't look related to an application I don't think.

Not really sure what else it can be.

tsnor · Jan 2, 2016

wireless or wired connection. If wireless download "inSSIDer'" (google it, find trusted down site). Then look to see if one of the neighbors is also on your wifi channel.

Look for wireless devices on your network that might be in error recovery mode. I've seen this with wireless printers. Power them off and see if problems go away.

Assume you are current on anti-virus and anti-malware

Maybe do a reboot then do a ping from a cmd prompt to see if the long 'first touch' time also shows up on ping. TRACERT is another command you might try. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/314868

SM125 · Jan 2, 2016

Currently using wireless, 2.4ghz, all AV and anti-malware up to date. 2 other neighbours on the same channel according to inSSIDer, and upon pinging via cmd, the first time it reported 5, 5, 2, 2. And the second time it was 844, 3, 883, 16.

Definitely caught the ping spike there!

tsnor · Jan 3, 2016

Ouch, 844 and 883 milliseconds are not good ping times. That's 8/10 seconds, which is human time very very noticeable. Neat you caught it.

What signal strength did inSSIDer give for your connection? If a number greater than 60 first step is to move the pc's access point and/or the router. Usually higher is better. (I use a USB extention cord on one PC to get the little USB stick wireless adapter up to the top of a window, that made a huge difference). What numbers is inSSIDer showing for 'link score' in the upper right of the network screen ? The 'Co-channel number is the number of neighbors peacefully sharing yuor channel -- they eat your bandwidth but don't cause errors. The 'overlapping' number is more of a problem. Ideally you want that zero. Overlapping channel just step on each other rather than peacefully waiting their turn to xmit.

Can you use an ethernet cable instead of wireless and verify all your problems go away? Or is the PC too far away to make that practical?

Suggest you try the following wireless changes (assuming you are on wireless 'n' equipment)
1. Make sure channel bonding is off by setting the channel width to 20 mhz from 40 mhz. This limits you to 144 mbps not 300 mpbs, and sometimes the setting is called '300 mbps vs 144 mbps' rather than 40 mhz vs 20 mhz. Channel bonding will cause you garbled packets if another radio (say from a neighbor) goes off at the same time you are sending. You want bonding off if you are seeing any interference.
2. there are 3 good 2.4 ghz channels you can set, 1, 6, 11. Try each and see which is best. Do not use the others.

SM125 · Jan 3, 2016

tsnor :

inSSIDer gives a signal strength of -62dBm. Link score is 71, Co-Channel is 2 with no Overlapping. I will try moving to Channel 1 from 6.
Unfortunately the PC is too far to make ethernet a possibility, also there is only one area in the house that the router can be which unfortunately is where the wireless phone has to sit. (I know this is definitely affecting the connection, however it has not caused issues before).

Randomly today, the connection issue when initially connecting to sites has gone, although the ping spikes are still present.

I will try changing the things you suggested although we are quickly passing the limit of my knowledge

tsnor · Jan 3, 2016

i like your phone idea. Many wireless phones are on the 2.4ghz frequency. Maybe try powering the phone off and seeing if things suddenly get better? If so we can maybe think about moving the phone and the router slightly farther apart, and getting the routers 2.4 ghz channel as far from the phone's as possible. Some routers also let you replace their antenna's with directional or higher gain or remote antennas.

Switching channels as you propose is a good step. Also explore 11. Maybe also try your ping test again first thing in the morning when you get up (or very late on a workday if that fits your schedule more). You are looking for a time when the neighbors are not apt to be using internet so you can see if it is an interference problem or just low signal strength. -62db is workable, but also getting near the edge of not usable (-80 or so ).

Can you say a bit about the wireless adapter in your PC? Is it usb? or a PCI card or built on MB ? (we are looking for ways of getting your PC's wifi antenna in a better spot so that your signal improves. Hopefully there is no metal part of your PC or Monitor between your wireless adapter antenna and the router.

SM125 · Jan 3, 2016

tsnor :

I have noticed in some cases when the speed has dropped switching off the phone has brought it back again, however other times it doesn't affect it. As it stands the router and phone are as far apart as possible sadly.

I tried switching to Channel 1 but nothing changed in terms of link score or signal strength, inSSIDer even suggested I switch back to the one I was on after I changed it.

Where I live at the moment is very quiet and we've only had fiber optic installed in the area since November so I'd be surprised if the neighbors were even using the internet, never mind interfering with mine, although other devices will still cause interference I suppose. It's currently 1:16am here and the signal is still hovering around -62dB.

The adapter is a PCI card bought roughly 2 years ago, another possible culprit? I have thought of switching to a 5Ghz card but although the router isn't too far away, its got to go through quite a large wall and 5Ghz is supposed to have less penetrative ability compared to 2.4 I think, so I'm not sure if it would be a good decision.

SM125 · Jan 4, 2016

The connection speed from my PC also seems to have dropped in the past couple of days, normally when I checked it was always 35-37 down, 9.5up and around 19ms ping, however today, it has been around 20Mbps down, so out of interest I just tried a relatives iPad Air 2 at the same time to see if the 5Ghz band would be any different. It hit 37.5Mbps (our cap) all the way through the test compared to my 22.

I'm not sure whether this tells us anything we didn't already know but it was interesting to see that 5Ghz from the same place as my PC returned much better performance when tested at the same time.

Also when on inSSIDer today, for about 5 seconds the signal went from -62dB to -49dB and then straight back. Not sure what to make of that.

SM125 · Jan 9, 2016

For anyone interested or reading at a later date I eventually decided it was my wireless network adapter slowly dying as it began to cut out and slowly drop speed.

I bought a TP-Link TL-WDN4800 and after installing it and taking advantage of the 5Ghz band, I now have the max speed I am paying for again!

tsnor · Jan 9, 2016

SM125 :

Nice. glad you are up to speed. And glad you posted the soln.

SM125 · Jan 9, 2016

tsnor :

Thanks for all the help, learnt a lot, I appreciate it.

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