Why is our internet so incomprehensibly slow when it didn't used to be?

You’re not on a shared or unsecured wireless network are you?

Perhaps someone is just taking all the bandwidth or “clogging the tubes”.

Reset it and change the password, I smell a torrent loving leech living next door.

It’s not shared or unsecured. No one else knows our password.

Have you unplugged and plugged back in the router? And then if that doesn’t work, try the modem as well?

Sometimes, internet companies claim service is different depending on where you live. So maybe it’s the geographic location, possibly paired with the companies own crappy service/equipment? In general, the internet is really fast nowadays. You can download a 2 hour movie in 5 minutes or faster.

But I’m in Silicon Valley for crying out loud…we should have the greatest internet in the world here :(

@DominicX My friend has an app on his iphone that lets him hack router passwords quite effectively. It’s not unreasonable to suspect a password hack.

@DominicX Oh….That should be the internet/computer mecca lol. I have no idea, then.

Start isolating the problem. Turn off the modem, router, and every computer on the network. Wait a minute and bring the modem router and one computer back on. If the problem persists try it again with a different computer.

I had a similar problem once back in around 2003 and my roommates computer turned out to be sending massive amounts of spam. Thanks, Windows XP.

So…I reset the modem and the router (the only computer on is my own) and I ran the speedtest again. 0.9 Mbps download speed (still super slow), yet the upload speed is more than twice that, around 3.6 Mbps. Odd.

@DominicX That really, really sounds like there’s someone seeding/leeching torrents on there if it keeps coming up with different UL speeds.

Last time this happened to me, it turned out that some workmen digging a hole 300 yards down the road had accidentally damaged a cable.

That speed really sucks. I pay for basic comcast speeds and have 12up and 4.5 down in the Boston area.
Disconnect the power and the cable coming into the router/modem that first comes into your house for at least 60 seconds. This will trigger a reset once you power and cable is back up. You can also call comcast and request a reset signal without having to talk to a rep. Plug your PC directly into the output of that device. Run your speedtest. This will eliminate all other devices and wiring. If you have done any recent work that may have crushed a cable, you may be able to determine it with this test. Aside from that, you will have to call their “comcastic support” :)
Many ISP’s are also putting a cap on how much you download. Pay close attention to to your monthly data usage.

I run into similar issues with my DSL when it rains and the water soaks into the ground and does things to the cables. Or, as @blueiiznh points out, maybe you’ve been capped.

However, the fast upload makes me think that there really is someone downloading.

So…unhooking the router and plugging the modem directly into my computer yielded a download speed of 0.1 Mbps and an upload speed of 3.5 Mbps. So I guess I’ll be contacting Comcast soon… :(

@DominicX YAHTZEE!! good luck!

Ugh…

I woke up this morning and the internet is back to normal (after it was totally offline yesterday upon my unhooking and rehooking everything. The router had a red light on it and it wasn’t coming back on). Now we’re up to 20 Mbps download speed and the same 3.5 Mbps upload speed. I’m crossing my fingers for now, but this is ridiculous.

I can’t wait for the day when no one keeps their own files anymore and everything’s on a “cloud”; can’t wait to trust everything I own to a shitty internet connection…

Just be lucky it’s that fast normally. Mine hovers around 130KB/s DL and 50KB/s all the time…

@DominicX glad to hear you are back in biz.
@DeanV OMG, that is painful. Do NOT try to load the question about kijacking a question. Your modem coupler will blow up.