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BruceinFL

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 12, 2005
Posts
3,205
Ever since the Firefiox 19.0.2 upgrade, my internet pages were taking forever. Today I did a speedtest on several sites and the download speed was slow, about half what it should be. Then I did another speedtest on my cable provider's website and the speed shot up to the max for my plan. Thinking it suspicious, I went back and tested the speed on the other sites I had previously checked and, sure enough, the speeds were now at the max for my plan. Tested a couple of internet pages and they loaded in a flash.

I wonder if this was a fluke. Is it possible my provider did something to boost my speed to where it should have been when I did the speed test on their site? Or is just a coincidence?
 
Possible, but unlikely.  I have found the most reliable and consistent speed tests to be from speedtest.net.  A speed test from your ISP is usually just testing the speed between you and them, and not representative of overall internet speed.  Sites like speedtest.net offer a choice of servers to perform the test and give a better representation of your true internet access speed.
 
My plan's max speed is 30Mbps. The speedtest.net speed was 29.81. Something happened to bring the speed up from what it was...whatever, I hope it stays that way.  ;)
 
The speed of the Internet is not a constant thing. It can vary wildly from hour to hour or from day to day. And in the case of us full timers, from location to location. It can also vary wildly depending on the condition of your computer and how long it has been since you last rebooted, along with what programs you have running in the background. Also, your computer could be downloading an update in the background when you are running a speed test that would have a massive effect on the speed test. You also could have a virus or malware you are not aware of that could be hampering your Internet speed. In other words you can't really draw any meaningful conclusions with just a few speed tests.
 
I'll just suffer with my 8Mbps and sympathize with you :)

Your speedtest from your ISP is meaningful in seeing that you're getting the speed you're paying for on the "last mile".  Beyond that is uncontrollable.  The speedtest.net tests to a nearby server do show you if your ISP has a sufficiently large connection to the internet itself.  If they have too small a pipe, your connection speed to them may not be the determining factor.
 
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