Very slow response from one website on Windows PC - iPad fine

[NEILGUNN]

Over recent weeks I have noticed that accessing one particular website from my Windows PC that I use a lot (thegvoffice.com ... IP address 104.21.64.1) has become very slow and often pages do not load without multiple refreshes.

Other useful information:

Windows up to date, cache cleared
Ethernet Connection to router (Fibre 500)
Issue is on Firefox, Edge and Chrome (all up to date)
Tried with Norton on and off
If I use the website via iPad or iPhone  via the broadband connection it works fine on that website (apparently iPads route differently to Windows devices)
Tried to change DNS on PC to Google (8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1 / 1.0.0.1) - no different
Tracert indicates a slow routing with timeouts

Conclusion - there is a routing issue from my windows PC to that website as all other sites work very quickly.

I called EE CS but they were unable to assist and said it was a device issue (I am not convinced) and suggested I raised a question here.

So - I'm calling on the 'HIVE COMMUNITY' for any suggestions...

Thanks

Neil

[Chris_S]

Hi @NEILGUNN Thanks for getting in touch with us and telling us about your issue.

Are you currently running a VPN at the moment?

You mentioned that you have an Ethernet connection to your router, could you try connecting your PC via WIFI?

Chris S

[NEILGUNN]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply….

I'm not running a VPN but I am considering it.

The EE CS agent had already asked me to try using the wi-fi connection from my PC to the router as well …I disconnected the Ethernet, connected to the BT router via wi-fi and the same issue was still there…all websites fine except thegvoffice.com.

I also tried one more thing….I disconnected my PC from EE completely and tethered my PC to my mobile phone which is on the 3 network (4G) …and very interesting to note that all websites fine AND thegvoffice.com was also fine.

This last test seems to indicate that it is NOT my PC with the issue but it is the routing between my PC and that specific website. I was also able (by agreement) to access the development site for thegvoffice.com from my PC via Ethernet and that site runs fine as well (different IP address)

I intend to call EE again to see if this extra information helps at all.

Thanks,

Neil

[Leanne_T]

Morning @NEILGUNN 

Thanks for coming back to us with these details. 

If you can get back in touch and let the team know this extra information, they will run further checks to see what may be causing this for you. 

Thanks so much 🙂

Leanne. 

[NEILGUNN]

Hello @Leanne_T 

Thanks…I'll call EE CS again as this extra information I have about the device working fine when using the 3 mobile network vs the problem using EE broadband for the same website may be helpful to diagnose this strange problem.

Best wishes, Neil 

[Leanne_T]

Let me know how you get on when you get back in touch @NEILGUNN 

Leanne 🙂

[NEILGUNN]

Hello @Leanne_T

I've logged the issue with the GVO team as well (the website I use that is slow). They indicated that they had heard of a similar issue in the past regarding EE and Cloudflare. Here is the link…

https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/Broadband-Landline/CloudFlare-Throttling-Issue-FTTH/td-p/1285998

It appears that there is some ongoing issue (throttling?) between EE broadband and Cloudflare (which GVO uses) …are you able to link these issues and maybe escalate within EE?

Thanks,

Neil

[Leanne_T]

Hi there @NEILGUNN 

Thanks for coming back to us. 

If you contact our technical guides, they can investigate the issue and see what is needed to get this resolved for you. 

Thanks 🙂

Leanne.

[NEILGUNN]

Hi Leanne

I made contact with EE Technical Guides again - they have been unable to help with this problem despite the additional information I provided.

The broadband connection was tested and performed well but they cannot help with the specific problem of network issues connecting to a particular IP address (104.21.64.1). All other websites etc are working fine. The same website, if accessed  via the THREE network from my Windows PC works fine.

They have suggested that I contact CLOUDFLARE support to see if they can help. The complaint was closed and marked as 'customer not satisfied' so I can open it again if necessary.

So far I'm not making progress.

Neil

[Peter_W]

Thanks for the update on this one, @NEILGUNN.

What tests did our team get you to try when you got in contact, and when querying this with the site owners / Cloudflare, have they mentioned if any other EE broadband users have reported the same issue?

Also is it Full FIbre you're using, or Fibre to the Cabinet?

I've given this a test on my Full Fibre, and haven't noticed any issues with the site at my end.

Peter