topic Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps in Broadband & Landline

Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

CorporalClegg — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:43:42 GMT

I noticed my Dropbox uploads were slow, so I did some digging. I have a couple of tools that show me the upload speed for each connected service. Although my line tests at ~8Mbps (via an online tool, or direct from the router's built-in test), no service is able to achieve an Internet connection above 1Mbps via my EE broadband. It's not a WLAN or LAN issue: it's as if the WAN is throttled to 1Mbps per connection – although I don't know how the speed test connection gets round that? Specifically, I've also tested upload via the hotspot on my phone; here Dropbox (etc) are getting over 2Mbps, so any throttling is external to my computer.

I've also tried connecting to Dropbox via a VPN. Again, the VPN connection itself is only achieving a throughput of 1Mbps (although it still tests close to the 8Mbps via an online speed checker). Perhaps the VPN service is also on a list of speed-limited services for EE?

Is there a fundamental disconnect between test results and actual upload speeds that I've not understood? Is it a feature of EE broadband that it's actually only 1Mbps up for practical use, even if it tests faster? Is there a clever test I can run to demonstrate that various services / connections are indeed being speed limited?

Thanks.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

XRaySpeX — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:56:55 GMT

Welcome to EE's Home Broadband Forum.

If you would like help with your BB speed or connection issues, please would you carry out the following steps for starters, which will enable us to diagnose the problem and advise you further. Do not restart your router to do these tests:

1. Post your full router stats:

For a BrightBox: login and go to Advanced Settings > System > DSL Status. Also post 'System Uptime' from top of System Log page.
For a SmartHub: login and go to Advanced Settings > Technical Log > Information. Obscure your names & any numbers in the BB Username & also the SSIDs.
For other routers: login to it according to the label on it as the admin user & navigate looking for its router/connection statistics.

Full router stats are key to any speed & connection issues.

2. Try a wired speedtest, using an Ethernet cable supplied with the router, here http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html . Click on the "Results Page" button at the bottom of the graph you first see and then copy to here just the "Link to this result:" link that you see below the next main graph.

3. What does BT Wholesale Broadband Availability Checker estimate for your phone number? Post just the whole table and the line above it, blanking out your phone number. If it doesn't recognise your phone number or you don't have one, use the Address Checker, not the Postcode Checker.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

CorporalClegg — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 14:22:23 GMT

I'm not entirely sure why any of this is relevant to the question I asked, as the problem is not about the apparent speed of the upload according to speed tests, etc, but the real world upload achieved by services such as Dropbox…? Anyway, speed test is built into the router and always shows upload speeds much higher than those achieved by actual services rather than speed tests. It is not a WLAN issue.

I've also turned off the parental controls to no avail, in case Circle (bundled with Netgear router) was applying speed limits. There are no QoS or bandwidth management controls that I can access on my router.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

XRaySpeX — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 14:39:20 GMT

Just trying to understand what you are getting at in terms that I am familiar with. Now I can see.

Your actual speeds are at the bottom of the expected range for VDSL anyway.

I would just say that the Dropbox server is just busy with others to give you your full upstream speed.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

CorporalClegg — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 14:49:27 GMT

Well, er, thanks, but no. As I said, Dropbox is not the only service affected – VPN is also throttled to 1Mbps. Also, Dropbox speed jumps up immediately if I connect via the phone rather than the EE broadband. Something is throttling my broadband Internet connection in some way that is not detected by the speed tests. I am not sure how to tell if it's per service or overall, as there's also LAN traffic popping up on the NIC so its overall speed is often higher than just the Internet connections.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

XRaySpeX — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 14:57:37 GMT

If I could see the router's connection stats I might be able to say more.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

CorporalClegg — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:15:23 GMT

I sent the router connection statistics.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

XRaySpeX — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:25:49 GMT

If you mean your 2nd image, that's not what I'd call router connection stats. They would have Up & Downstream connection (sync) speeds, Attenuations, Noise Margins (SNRM), Error rates, ... Anyway I can't imagine such a slow WAN upload speed of 135 Bytes/Sec.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

bobpullen — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:54:33 GMT

@CorporalClegg - do you have an EE-supplied router you can test with?

Are you able to replicate this problem across more than one connected device, or is it isolated to a single computer?

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

Mustrum — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 18:22:02 GMT

Or the connection stats from the modem you are using - rather than the seperate router that you appear to have.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

CorporalClegg — Sun, 05 Nov 2023 00:14:28 GMT

Turned out to be something really, really stupid…

I took out the router and switched the modem back to router mode so I could get more information, replicated the issue on another computer, reverted back to the original EE modem / router and downloaded two more bandwidth monitor tools…

Finally, I noticed that one tool was reporting 8Mbps upload while the others were all reporting 1MBps… Upper case B… Bandwidth monitoring tool that made me think I was being throttled is working in bytes, while speed tests are in bits.

What a stupid thing to miss! Sorry, and thanks for all the help.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

EssexBoyEE — Sun, 05 Nov 2023 00:55:00 GMT

As you have found out there are 8 Bits to a Byte, so 1 MB is the same as 8Mb.

Years ago Speed was measured in MB or more to the point KB, but as Cable Broadband progressed over Dail Up it became fashionable to use Kb and Mb instead purely as it had a higher Number and looked more impressive to the Consumer.

Re: Individual upload connections are limited to 1Mbps, but speed test is 8Mbps

XRaySpeX — Sun, 05 Nov 2023 02:22:54 GMT

@EssexBoyEE : That's not quite the story. Network transmission rates have always been in bits/sec, going back to like 1200 baud (bps), but data applications will measure their data rates in Bytes/sec. Remember that not all transmission over networks is actual data; it also carries network overheads, like TCP/IP headers.

@CorporalClegg : The ratio of 8:1 did strike me immediately as a bit/Byte confusion but I did not pursue it as I saw no evidence of Bytes except that ridiculous 135 Bytes/Sec coming from your router.