Erratic Speed - doesn't make sense!

Forums › NOW › Erratic Speed - doesn't make sense!

steevg

90 posts

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#285896 24-May-2021 10:22

Has anyone noticed any issues with web page images loading very, very slowly (I'm a "Now Broadband" user) . . . over the past few months? The last time this happened I immediately went to Ookla and did a speed test, and the results were what I'd expect - about 95Mbps &down and 17Mbps up. Crazy !

Which DNS servers are you guys using for the best speeds?

michaelmurfy

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#2712064 24-May-2021 10:26

You need to provide more information. What type of connection? What router? Wireless or Ethernet? What DNS servers are you currently using?

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cyril7

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#2712099 24-May-2021 11:14

Hi and to add to the above, what Web sites, is it a rubbish under resourced server out the back of Timbucktoo, or something more significant.

Cyril

steevg

90 posts

Master Geek

#2712202 24-May-2021 13:26

Connection: Fibre

Now Broadband Plan: 100Mbps

Router: Supplied (Now Broadband) - NetComm NF18ACV

Connection: Wired directly to router (Ethernet - Cat 6)

DNS Servers: In my network settings (System Prefs/Network - OS X 10.15.7) I'm using "DHCP" & the DNS server looks like a local address (192.168.xx.xx) and the other listed is 0.0.0.0

Regarding the Websites - A few moments ago, I tried logging into "official" NZ websites, all had trouble loading the pages & associated member information, so no dodgy overseas websites. Ookla SpeedTest (while this was happening) shows similar to the figures I posted initially.

Let me know if you need more info.

Mehrts

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#2712501 24-May-2021 17:45

You need to log into your router & see the DNS which is used to go out to the internet. It'll probably be defaulted to use your ISP DNS address.

The DNS entry you're seeing on your computer will most likely be pointing to the routers LAN IP address (e.g 192.168.1.1).

You can change the router DNS address to anything you like. Personally I use Cloudflare (1.1.1.1 primary & 1.0.0.1 secondary).

steevg

90 posts

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#2712758 25-May-2021 09:44

That makes sense, I'll check the router and update.

Is there any particular reason you use Cloudflare over others?

michaelmurfy

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#2712761 25-May-2021 09:48

I always recommend you use your ISP's DNS servers as these are often the fastest as they're on-net.

If you have not changed them in the past then you're likely using the defaults. Contact NOW and ask them to check your settings.

steevg

90 posts

Master Geek

#2712768 25-May-2021 09:59

Michael, I tried contacting their support, but got a very unhelpful guy instead of the (excellent) lady I have spoken with in the past. Not a good experience at all.

He didn't run any over the phone diagnostics, didn't check the line, & repeatedly advised it was a "problem" with my iMac - even though it's only 2 years old and I'm not having problems with any other apps I'm running (including some high CPU/RAM usage apps).

Add to that I've recently reloaded the OSX from scratch (clean install - manual setup, not from Time Machine etc.) and I really wasn't happy with his response.

I'll push forwards and try to resolve the issue myself thanks . . . but interestingly, my neighbour (Windows 10 user) is having similar issues - he's with Spark. In the past few months we've seen Chorus working on the Comms cabinet at the top of the road . . . . I'm wondering if it may be something they've done there?

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michaelmurfy

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#2712789 25-May-2021 10:48

If you're both having issues are are using Ethernet then ensure you contact your providers to log a fault. If nobody logs a fault, the issue will never get resolved.

Also do testing with another computer / device to ensure it is not actually the iMac at fault. All part of basic troubleshooting.

steevg

90 posts

Master Geek

#2712793 25-May-2021 10:57

Michael, we have 3 computers running on our local network (home), and all are experiencing similar issues with pages loading - periodically. I'll give "Now" a call later to log the fault and suggest to my neighbour he does the same. Thanks for your help.

steevg

90 posts

Master Geek

#2716593 1-Jun-2021 10:00

So . . . after almost a week, changing the DNS addresses to use Cloudflare seems to have had some positive results . . . I have not been experiencing any significant issue's.

It still remains to be seen if this is a permanent "fix" or if the problem returns, but if I see anything significant I'll report back. It'll be interesting to see if changing the neighbours DNS's helps him too.

Appreciate the help as always guys.

Mehrts:

You need to log into your router & see the DNS which is used to go out to the internet. It'll probably be defaulted to use your ISP DNS address.

The DNS entry you're seeing on your computer will most likely be pointing to the routers LAN IP address (e.g 192.168.1.1).

You can change the router DNS address to anything you like. Personally I use Cloudflare (1.1.1.1 primary & 1.0.0.1 secondary).

michaelmurfy

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#2716600 1-Jun-2021 10:18

DNS doesn't make a difference to connection speed at all. You should be using your providers DNS servers where possible.

For NOW - these should be:
Primary: 202.137.240.39
Secondary: 202.137.240.40

halper86

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#2716723 1-Jun-2021 14:35

I am confused. OP are you meaning your DNS resolve time is slow or actual data throughput speed?

TechnoGuy001

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#2754380 3-Aug-2021 12:55

idk about the OP, but I'm having slooow ping times. Also with Now, and looking back at my logs it may have started a while ago (May ish).

I'm also on there 100x20 fibre plan, and speed tests seem normal. (though between down/up tests it takes like 5-10 seconds, usually the pause is much shorter, I'm assuming some dns lookups are going on under the hood there)

Seems some sites are more affected than others. For me I was using Cloudflare DNS (forget when I chanced, could have been round May..), but went back to Now DNS today, but no change yet. But from what I remember I changed away from Now's DNS servers cos I was having slow resolve times then too.

I'm having this issue on all my devices. My Mac, Mac mini (running Debian) and my Pixel phone. All have around 300 ping to Facebook. Sometimes to Google and other domains, but they're more intermittent.

I haven't yet connected direct to the fibre box from my Mac incase my router is sketch.

Facebook.com

Google.com

Edit:

For some reason I'm being given a crazy ip for facebook, 157.240.235.35 when using my Now connection, but when I ping facebook.com from my phone (on 2d, not wifi), I get 31.13.78.35, a NZ ip, which has a return time of about 44ms, which you'd expect for a site like Facebook.

Edit 2:

Now things have really improved... even getting timeouts.

TechnoGuy001

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#2754503 3-Aug-2021 14:42

Edit 3:

Turns out my issue at least, is an in house issue somewhere.

I just plugged the Chorus ONT directly into my Mac, authenticate directly with PPoE and ping times to facebook became normal, ~9ms.

Then I plugged it back into my router and back up to 300ms. So obviously something going on in my router, maybe it's not switching DNS server correctly or something. Will report back when I find the cause.

TechnoGuy001

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#2754550 3-Aug-2021 16:03

Not sure the cause cause, but resetting my router fixed the issue network wide. (also turned out it was a year behind on updates... it used to notify me when there were updates, guess that was broken too)