Home Internet is Really Slow - New Developement

[Drewber]

I have Frontier ISP at my periodontal practice and my home. In my practice, I use an Airport Extreme. At home, I use the modem from the company and an Airport. Lately, it is really slow or won't connect, at all on devices. I often need several tries to get my iPhone and iPad to work on wifi. I will often turn off wifi and start over or turn the device off and start over. I gauge this by pages not loading, or games not connecting. My Mac Book Pro doesn't seem to have a problem. For the most part, I can stream shows.

Is there a better set-up that I should use at home?
I am also on Next Door. Many of my neighbors complain Frontier and some have switched.
I need advice.

Thanks.

 

[pigoo3]

Some thoughts:

- Have you powered off (unplugged) all of the Wifi equipment & then let them reboot? Sometimes doing this clears up slowness issues.
- Depending on the age of these devices...they could be failing (always a possibility).
- Have you done a speed test? This is to insure you're receiving the proper internet speeds promised by your ISP. If your network equipment is fine...it's possible your ISP is not delivering the speed to your location.

ISP's are always balancing the bandwidth throughout their system...and if they give too much bandwidth to one area of their system...other parts may get too little. This is usually easily correctable by contacting your ISP...since they can test & tweak everything while they are on the phone/live chat with you.

HTH,

- Nick

 

[RadDave]

I have Frontier ISP at my periodontal practice and my home. In my practice, I use an Airport Extreme. At home, I use the modem from the company and an Airport. Lately, it is really slow or won't connect, at all on devices. I often need several tries to get my iPhone and iPad to work on wifi. I will often turn off wifi and start over or turn the device off and start over. I gauge this by pages not loading, or games not connecting. My Mac Book Pro doesn't seem to have a problem. For the most part, I can stream shows.
...........

Hello - Nick has already given you excellent advice - if I'm having a connection problem, I first power recycle all of my devices (i.e. modem, router, computer) which often solves the issue. As you likely know, Apple has discontinued making their router products, BUT today I received a notification to update the firmware of my old 2012 Extreme 802.11n router to v. 7.8.1 (info HERE); if you have their newer 802.11ac router the update is 7.9.1 (HERE) - not sure this will help your situation but the updates address security issues, so check your firmware version w/ the Airport Utility. Dave

 

[rachalmers]

Yes, I agree with pigoo3. This sounds like a start with the isp problem.
Put the program Ookla Speed Test on your mac and run it.

Next. Locate your modem and airport specs for us. Model etc.


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[dtravis7]

At home you have the ISP's gateway plugged into an Airport? Which Airport? It could be getting old and starting to die.

 

[Drewber]

So, I have done the reboots. But, it has been awhile. The Airport Extreme, at home is the square one. I'm not sure which generation. At the practice I have the AE that is a tower and has Time Capsule.
I've run the speed tests. With the devices it is really crappy. 5.6 down and 22.4 up on my iPhone. It's 100 down and 120 up on iPhone at my practice. We don't use the wifi for anything other than personal devices. None of the practice computers are on wifi. They are on ethernet.
Besides rebooting, I think I should consider a new router. That is a follow-on question/concern. If not airport, then what kind of router would be the way to go? Would it be worth switching the home airport with an extreme tower with the Time Capsule, or go straight to a newer router?
I also wondered if anyone here could compare Verizon/Frontier to Spectrum. Those are the two main ones in our area.
Thanks
I also have a Windows question about something happening on my windows on Parallels. What is the best forum, on this site for that?

 

[chscag]

I also wondered if anyone here could compare Verizon/Frontier to Spectrum. Those are the two main ones in our area.

As you probably are aware, Frontier purchased Verizon assets in several locations. Texas where I live is one of those areas. As far as WiFi speed and convenience is concerned, that has not changed from when FIOS service was provided by Verizon. However, Frontier customer service is terrible in my opinion and their price tiers are out of line when compared with Spectrum and AT&T. My service contract with Frontier will be coming to an end soon and I will likely go with Spectrum.

Spectrum also is not without some problems although my understanding is that they have vastly improved from when the service was only known as "Charter". By the way, Charter Communications owns Spectrum.

I also have a Windows question about something happening on my windows on Parallels. What is the best forum, on this site for that?

We have a forum where you can ask questions about running Windows in Parallels.

Running Windows (or anything else) on your Mac

 

[Drewber]

Thanks! That's right. You are just down the road a bit.

 

[pigoo3]

S
I've run the speed tests. With the devices it is really crappy. 5.6 down and 22.4 up on my iPhone. It's 100 down and 120 up on iPhone at my practice. We don't use the wifi for anything other than personal devices. None of the practice computers are on wifi. They are on ethernet.

I think I'm getting confused which location the issue. "Home" and "practice" were mentioned in post #1...and home & practice were mentioned in post #6.

In post #6 it was mentioned:

- "With the devices it is really crappy. 5.6 down and 22.4 up on my iPhone"...(is this at home or the practice)? Sounds like home...but this statement doesn't specifically say.
- Also..."It's 100 down and 120 up on iPhone at my practice." 100 down & 120 up is not terrible...but it also depends what speeds you're paying for.

- Please clarify where the issue is exactly (home or practice).?
- Please clarify what speeds you get at the problem location?
- Please clarify what speeds you are paying for/what speeds you should be getting?

Thanks,

- Nick

 

[Drewber]

The slow speeds happen at home. The reason I mentioned my practice is because I have the same ISP at work and at home. I thought that was pertinent. So, the 5.6 down up and 22.4 are/were at home. Since restarting everything - modem and Airport - the speeds at home are 38.3 down and 22.2 up. This is better, but the iPad is still really slow. So, it might be with the iPad. I'll contact Apple Support and check that.
Although the speeds have improved, I would still like opinions as to getting a new Airport Extreme with Time Capsule, or a non-Apple router instead of the airport extreme I have (home - flat square one). I am happy with my practice wifi.

 

[lclev]

I would be THRILLED to get the speeds you have at home. I have Frontier DSL because that is all that is offered in my area unless I went with a satellite service, which I have tired and it is terrible. My current speeds are down 1.7Mbps /.447Kbps up. That is the best they can get to me even though I pay for 3Mbps. My service issues all revolve around old phone lines that Frontier took over from Verizon and maintenance was not a priority. Their repair service is beyond terrible too.

Your work internet is a business service which is always better. If you are happy with it - keep it. As for home, with your current speeds, if it is cheaper than other providers - keep it.

As for a new Apple Airport Time Capsules - you do know Apple quit selling them? I recently purchased one that was new off of Ebay. I use two on my work network to back up our macs. They are faster than the business level access points. Here is one currently on Ebay.

Apple 3TB AirPort Time Capsule **Brand New** 885909707850 | eBay

This is just a sample as I know they come up cheaper sometimes.

Lisa

 

[Drewber]

Thanks. One person on here said that the AE Time Capsules are still getting software upgrades. So, that is why I was wondering if it would be better. I back up my work computers to the Time Capsule, also. Again, this is a newbie question. But, are both of yours, that are at work, being used for internet? In other words are these able to be used together to boost the signal strength, or is one of yours is just for back-ups? What other brand of router works well with Macs, if I need to go that way? Thanks.

 

[lclev]

I use both of the time capsules as backups and internet access. They are faster than the Engenius access points we currently have but in their defense they are only "N" speed. Yes, the Airport time capsules are getting firmware updates. I just recently had to update them.

When speed is critical the Time Capsules are the go-to access points. I restrict access to those critical items like office wireless equipment or anything requiring streaming. The Engenius APs are for the general public. I do have one new Engenius AP that had AC speeds and an extended range. The Time Capsule beats it in speed and range... not what I expected.

I love them and wish apple would not have discontinued them. I have purchased a third one brand new that I have not put into service yet. I love the simple interface and easy setup. I can open the airport utility on any mac and see both of them on the network. I can see who is on them and make changes to configurations if needed. I wish all AP's were so simple and just worked.

Lisa

EDIT: I have found that when we have a special guest with needs to connect wirelessly, regardless of what they have the Time Capsules will get them connected and hold the connection the best. Macs will connect to any wireless AP or router but they can be picky at times. I have zero issues with any device connecting and staying connected to my Time Capsules. They are also running on a Windows Server network with no issues.

 

[chscag]

Thanks. One person on here said that the AE Time Capsules are still getting software upgrades. So, that is why I was wondering if it would be better. I back up my work computers to the Time Capsule, also. Again, this is a newbie question. But, are both of yours, that are at work, being used for internet? In other words are these able to be used together to boost the signal strength, or is one of yours is just for back-ups? What other brand of router works well with Macs, if I need to go that way? Thanks.

Are you using the Time Capsule bridged to the router that Frontier has supplied? I ask because anything bridged to a FIOS system usually do not get along very well and may cause slow downs. That might be why your speeds at home are so slow.

 

[Drewber]

Are you using the Time Capsule bridged to the router that Frontier has supplied? I ask because anything bridged to a FIOS system usually do not get along very well and may cause slow downs. That might be why your speeds at home are so slow.

At home, the FIOS router (the original one from Verizon) is in a wall cabinet in our laundry room. The cabinet has all the cables for cable, DirecTv and other unused ones. There is a cable coming out of the wall in the office. This is the one connected to the Airport. This is not an Airport with Time Capsule; that is at work.

 

[lclev]

My home Time Capsule is not set to bridge mode. I have it connected by ethernet cable to my Frontier router. I have turned off the wireless service on the Frontier router. The Frontier router can only hand out IP addresses to devices directly connected by an ethernet cable (DHCP) which I allow for the Time Capsule and incase I need to have access to fix an issue.

The Time Capsule has a static ip address and reservation on the Frontier router. The Time Capsule handles all wireless IP addressing - DHCP for wireless devices. I use all wireless for my home devices and it works really well even with my miserable internet speeds. One Time Capsule covers all of my very old (150+ years) and very large two story brick home. I have is set up on the first floor in a central location. Sometimes just moving a wireless router can change everything.

Lisa

 

[pigoo3]

The slow speeds happen at home. The reason I mentioned my practice is because I have the same ISP at work and at home. I thought that was pertinent. So, the 5.6 down up and 22.4 are/were at home. Since restarting everything - modem and Airport - the speeds at home are 38.3 down and 22.2 up.

Thanks for clarifying.

Going to ask a 3rd time...what speed internet service are you paying for (at home)?

- Nick

 

[Drewber]

Okay. Sorry for the delay. I appreciate the help. My password decided to stop working and it took me awhile to get it reset. Someone asked me how much bandwidth I was paying for at home. I have no idea, but I will check my bill or call the service. I had an IT person offer to come over and look at things. It turns out that my modem/router's wifi feature was on and it was on the same channel as my Airport. So, for a little while, speeds were better. Then, they went way down and were nonexistent at times. I even took my iPad in to Apple to make sure nothing is wrong with it. I'll check to see what my wireless service includes.

 

[pigoo3]

Someone asked me how much bandwidth I was paying for at home. I have no idea, but I will check my bill or call the service.

Yes...I was asking multiple times.

This is VERY important to know...since over the years I've experienced many times where my internet speed at the computer end wasn't what it was supposed to be. Sometimes this can be due to something really silly (like a loose coax cable connection...bad splitter...etc.). Or it can be due to the cable/ISP company balancing out the bandwidth in your area.

When they take away some bandwidth from "Area A" to fix a slowness issue in "Area B"...then maybe "Area C" suddenly has a slowness issue.

If (for example)...you're paying for 100 Mbps download speed...and you're only getting 50 Mbps...then you're not getting what you're paying for (assuming everything else is working fine). Your bill should definitely indicate what internet plan (speeds) you are paying for.

- Nick

 

[rachalmers]

There is also the automatic line conditioner that the cable company has in place.
It really depends a lot on how you get your feed.
Over copper to the house via your telephone company.
Over fiber to the house underground.
Over fiber to the node, then copper to the house.
Over cable strung across poles.
Fiber?
ADSL?
And the company that supplies you.
Where in the house your router is situated? Is it on the first point into the house or do you have it on the end of extension cables four rooms away?
WiFi or Ethernet cable from the router to your computer? Or both?
There are so many factors that can affect your bandwidth.

Mostly it to do with the carrier company’s line conditioning in the worst cases. If you have something in your house or on the line somewhere that’s causing transmission errors or NAKs to be precise, the carriers have software that slow your speed automatically until the errors go away. At that point it holds the line at that speed. Which may in the end be real slow.
It may not even be your setup. In one case it was a faulting terminal box buried under the pavement outside. You need to get your ISP to check your line speed, or look at your router admin setup and check yourself. Best get the isp to check. Then get your carrier to check their lines.
Sometimes you need to be fairly insistent.
However, I suspect you will continue to have problems...



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