ATT says 18Mbps download. Why am I only getting 4?

[wcompton]

The plan I have with ATT says that I can get up to 18Mbps download speeds. I'm downloading something now and it has yet to crack 5Mbps. Is there something that I need to do within the system to optimize? What's the deal here? Does the location of the servers I am downloading from matter?

[Oshino Shinobu]

Do a speedtest at speedtest.net and post the results. 

 

Also, what application are you downloading with?

 

Location of the servers shouldn't impact the bandwidth, only the latency. 

[Godlygamer23]

EDIT:

I forgot that AT&T provides traditional services for Internet connections.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Godlygamer23

[aeroencychris]

Is this over ethernet or wifi?

[wcompton]

3 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

Do a speedtest at speedtest.net and post the results. 

 

Also, what application are you downloading with?

 Here are the results. I am downloading from Native Access. The downloader from Native Instruments. They are a music creation software company based in Germany I believe.

[wcompton]

2 minutes ago, cdsboy2000 said:

Is this over ethernet or wifi?

ethernet

[Oshino Shinobu]

2 minutes ago, wcompton said:

 Here are the results. I am downloading from Native Access. The downloader from Native Instruments. They are a music creation software company based in Germany I believe.

Is it specifically with that application you're seeing these speeds? It could be a case of slow servers. 

 

I'd advise doing a test download using something like Steam, as their servers tend to be reliably fast. 

[wcompton]

[wcompton]

3 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

Is it specifically with that application you're seeing these speeds? It could be a case of slow servers. 

 

I'd advise doing a test download using something like Steam, as their servers tend to be reliably fast. 

Don't know. I'll try that. Thanks.

[Godlygamer23]

1 minute ago, wcompton said:

Don't know. I'll try that. Thanks.

Are you using DSL at the moment?

[wcompton]

I feel silly but I don't know what constitutes DSL. the router is plugged into the wall via a phone cable. I have the computer hooked up via Ethernet.

[Godlygamer23]

2 minutes ago, wcompton said:

I feel silly but I don't know what constitutes DSL. the router is plugged into the wall via a phone cable. I have the computer hooked up via Ethernet.

It's either DSL or dial-up. With your speeds, it's DSL.

[wcompton]

2 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

It's either DSL or dial-up.

It's not dial up. Lol

[Godlygamer23]

Just now, wcompton said:

It's not dial up. Lol

I know. I edited my comment. 

[Oshino Shinobu]

1 minute ago, wcompton said:

I feel silly but I don't know what constitutes DSL. the router is plugged into the wall via a phone cable. I have the computer hooked up via Ethernet.

DSL (Digital subscriber line) is a type of connection provided by an ISP. It uses the copper telephone lines to carry the data. 

 

DSL tends to use an RJ11 connector to plug into your modem (you may have a modem/router combo). It looks like this:

 

 

[wcompton]

2 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

I know. I edited my comment. 

Thanks! Yeah, things are just soooo slow....

[EunSoo]

I could be wrong but i think usually ISPs advertise thier plans with Megabits/second. And you are meassuring it in Megabytes/second. 1 Megabye (MB) is equal to 8 Megabytes (Mb). So if you had a 100Mb/s plan then it would translate to 12.5MB/s. Is that the issue? 

[wcompton]

2 minutes ago, SCGazelle said:

I could be wrong but i think usually ISPs advertise thier plans with Megabits/second. And you are meassuring it in Megabytes/second. 1 Megabye (MB) is equal to 8 Megabytes (Mb). So if you had a 100Mb/s plan then it would translate to 12.5MB/s. Is that the issue? 

Na. I'm aware of that distinction. I think its just the servers i'm downloading from honestly. Don't know what else it could be.