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You are here: MacNN Forums > Enthusiast Zone > Networking > What does speediest.net measure?

What does speediest.net measure?
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davidflas
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Nov 16, 2013, 03:47 PM
 
I have ATT-Uverse service which is quoted at up to 24Mbps download speed. Lately via my mid=2012 Macbook Pro I have been getting speeds that are about 10% of that. For example, I just ran the test and got the following results: Ping 30ms, Download speed 2.35Mbps, and Upload speed 2.93Mbps . When I run the same test from my iPad 4, I get: Ping 32ms, Download speed 7.99Mbps, Upload Speed 2.90Mbps.

I have both devices connect via the wireless modem provided by ATT, and both devices are sitting next to each other. I ran the test a few times, even connecting the MBP via ethernet and got similar results.

Does the quality of my wireless connection matter? As I mentioned connecting via ethernet didn't seem to matter at all.
( Last edited by davidflas; Nov 16, 2013 at 04:14 PM. )
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auto_immune
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Nov 17, 2013, 12:28 AM
 
I had the same problem with TWC - had to call tech support. The problem was with the TWC network - they had to physically repair something several houses down from me.
     
ghporter
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Nov 17, 2013, 08:55 AM
 
Before you contact tech support, use some other tools, like AT&T's, Verizon's and others, to verify your measurements. I've seen dramatic differences between the measured speed of a lot of different connections when measured by different tools. With a bunch of different measurements that show your link is consistently way off what you're paying for, you can potentially skip a lot of first-level tech support silliness and get down to the real problem.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
davidflas  (op)
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Nov 17, 2013, 10:36 AM
 
I just had the tech out here, and he is saying that it's an issue with my Macbook Pro because he was getting good speeds on his iPhone and iPad. I ran the speedtest.net thing again at the same time and got 12.63 down on my iPad and 1.26 down on my MBP, what should I try next?
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davidflas  (op)
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Nov 17, 2013, 10:40 AM
 
Ran it again and got 20.22 down on the iPad and 1.44 down with the MBP..... really frustrated here....
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ghporter
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Nov 18, 2013, 09:00 AM
 
Your connection is giving you really close to the quoted speed. It's the MBP's testing app, or its network connection (locally) that's giving you different scores. When was the last time you restarted the MBP? What else is running on it?

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Atheist
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Nov 18, 2013, 09:25 AM
 
I've seen this exact same behavior at my house. I've got a 7Mbps connection and will get inconsistent results with my various devices. iPad 1 will get max throughput, MacBook Air will get max, iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 will get barely dialup speeds. I wait 10 minutes, try again, then the phones are magically getting full throughput and the MacBook Air is getting crap. No rhyme or reason. I've got an Airport Extreme wired to the modem provided by my telecom company. I'm extending the network with an Airport Express.

I've given up worrying about it. Most of the time I'm getting enough bandwidth for the task at hand.
     
davidflas  (op)
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Nov 19, 2013, 09:03 AM
 
Originally Posted by Atheist View Post
I've seen this exact same behavior at my house. I've got a 7Mbps connection and will get inconsistent results with my various devices. iPad 1 will get max throughput, MacBook Air will get max, iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 will get barely dialup speeds. I wait 10 minutes, try again, then the phones are magically getting full throughput and the MacBook Air is getting crap. No rhyme or reason. I've got an Airport Extreme wired to the modem provided by my telecom company. I'm extending the network with an Airport Express.

I've given up worrying about it. Most of the time I'm getting enough bandwidth for the task at hand.

My main concern is that 95% of the time, my MBP is getting speeds that are 10% of what I am paying for, while my other devices are always faster, often by a factor of 5 while setting right next to my it. I was just wondering if there is anything I could do on my MBP to make things better. Or if this is a known issue that might have work arounds, either way I am not liking it.
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ghporter
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Nov 19, 2013, 08:23 PM
 
I assume you've made sure your tests were done with both devices in exactly the same place, right? And again, how long has the MBP been running, and what's running on it, including background apps?

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ibook_steve
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Nov 20, 2013, 03:17 AM
 
I was about to suggest trying ethernet, but you say you've done that.

If both interface types are giving you poor speeds, try a guest or new user. Some software you have installed may be affecting your speeds and a clean slate can help determine if that is the case.

Do you have any network related software installed? Little Snitch? Running a server of any kind?

Steve
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davidflas  (op)
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Nov 20, 2013, 06:20 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
I assume you've made sure your tests were done with both devices in exactly the same place, right? And again, how long has the MBP been running, and what's running on it, including background apps?

I ran the test with both devices setting next to each other, in multiple locations both near and far from the router. I have been restarting my MBP frequently, with no effect on the network performance. The only application running during the tests was Safari. I am not running any servers, file sharing applications, or other networking utilities. To my (limited) knowledge I am not running any background apps, other than what runs standard in MacOs 10.9. But to be honest I am not sure how to check which background apps are running if they don't show up in the force quit window.
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ghporter
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Nov 20, 2013, 08:33 AM
 
It sounds like not much is getting in the way. I agree with ibook_steve; create a new user on the MBP and see what happens with speed tests then.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
davidflas  (op)
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Nov 20, 2013, 09:37 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
It sounds like not much is getting in the way. I agree with ibook_steve; create a new user on the MBP and see what happens with speed tests then.
Created a new user, that user consistently gets full speed downloads 25+ Mbps... so what can I eliminate to make my speeds better on my main user account?
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ghporter
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Nov 21, 2013, 10:35 PM
 
I'm not sure. It would depend on what's running in your primary account that isn't running in the new account.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
davidflas  (op)
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Nov 21, 2013, 11:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
I'm not sure. It would depend on what's running in your primary account that isn't running in the new account.
Sounds complicated, not even sure what to look for. Also, the speeds I saw on the new user were fleeting. Tested it an hour later and got the same 2Mbps speeds my main account has been seeing.
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ghporter
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Nov 22, 2013, 08:48 AM
 
Ohhhh. That's different. If you went back to the slower speeds, it probably isn't a user account setting or background app. It's probably the networking system itself. If you are having this kind of serious and chronic speed problem, you might do well to back up your data and reinstall the OS. It sounds drastic, but so is your problem.

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