Impossibly slow download speeds after switching from Vodafone to Skinny

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Impossibly slow download speeds after switching from Vodafone to Skinny

Oubadah

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#226124 21-Dec-2017 17:45

On VF I was getting 21 Mbps down 3.4 Mbps up (H+)

In the same location with the same phone on Skinny, the icon says 4G and I get 0.03-0.40 Mbps down but the upload is from 10-26 Mbps.

Tried another phone, same thing. Checked APN setting and they appear to be correct.

Any ideas?

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#1923307 21-Dec-2017 18:05

If APN was incorrect you would not connect to the internet, Approx where are you located?

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Oubadah

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#1923418 21-Dec-2017 21:26

I decided to go to the nearest two Spark sites to make sure it wasn't a location thing (even though the spark map says my original location should have good-fair 4G coverage). After getting the same <1Mbps reading with the first site in LOS, I started to suspect something fishy was going on.

When I first switched to Skinny, I noticed slow loading of a couple of websites, then went straight to using Google's speed test search card button for all subsequent testing (Google speed test is where I got the 0.03Mbps number from). Well I think I made a mistake relying on Google speed test because that seems to be the source of the problem*

On my way to the second Spark site I started using the Ookla speed test, and that gave the expected results (~40Mbps both ways). When I got back to the first location I ever tested at, I ran the Ookla test and got 30 down 22 up (so much better than Vodafone).

I've also done some more "real world" testing and the web seems to be responsive. I think my initial experiences on those two websites were just flukes.

*The one unresolved issue: Why does the Google speedtest behave normally on Vodafone's network, but not on Spark's?

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#1923430 21-Dec-2017 21:53

What type of handset are you using make and model?

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Oubadah

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#1923447 21-Dec-2017 22:16

Linux: What type of handset are you using make and model?

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Nokia 6 and iPhone SE, same behavior on both.

EDIT: Verified the bad google test result on both, the Nokia 6 was the one I took out to the antenna sites and got the 40/40 result on.

Oubadah

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#1923544 22-Dec-2017 09:14

Tested the Google speed test again today out of curiosity. Now it's managing >1Mbps download speeds, but clearly still messed up.

On my wifi (Slingshot) the Google test is accurate. In both cases is says "Auckland" for the server, but I wonder if it's using different servers.

yitz

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#1923576 22-Dec-2017 10:16

Anything stand out on: https://www.google.com/get/videoqualityreport/

I guess we will need to wait and see if anyone else on Skinny data is experiencing similar.

Maybe Skinny doesn't like QUIC traffic?

If you disable QUIC protocol in Chrome/browser do you get better speed test results?

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Jase2985

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#1923580 22-Dec-2017 10:23

im not sure where you did the first test to, but using speedtest app on android i got 20/20 and im a wee way from the tower and sitting inside.

Oubadah

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#1923583 22-Dec-2017 10:28

yitz: Anything stand out on: https://www.google.com/get/videoqualityreport/ I guess we will need to wait and see if anyone else on Skinny data is experiencing similar.

That site says you can't use it on a cellular network.

yitz: Maybe Skinny doesn't like QUIC traffic? If you disable QUIC protocol in Chrome/browser do you get better speed test results?

I can't see a way to disable that in Mobile Chrome

Jase2985:

im not sure where you did the first test to, but using speedtest app on android i got 20/20 and im a wee way from the tower and sitting inside.

The two tests in my last post were taken in exactly the same place, within a minute of each other.

yitz

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#1923587 22-Dec-2017 10:29

Jase2985:
im not sure where you did the first test to, but using speedtest app on android i got 20/20 and im a wee way from the tower and sitting inside.

You just type "speed test" or similar when on Google search in a browser, google search has it's own built in speed test.

gajan

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#1923592 22-Dec-2017 10:44

Oubadah:

Tested the Google speed test again today out of curiosity. Now it's managing >1Mbps download speeds, but clearly still messed up.

(snip)

On my wifi (Slingshot) the Google test is accurate. In both cases is says "Auckland" for the server, but I wonder if it's using different servers.

We're taking a look at the test endpoints being used. It's safe to say that this test is not representative of the actual network performance (Skinny or Spark). Probably some sub-optimal peering or hosting at play for the test server.

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

Jase2985

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#1923658 22-Dec-2017 12:45

yitz:
Jase2985:

im not sure where you did the first test to, but using speedtest app on android i got 20/20 and im a wee way from the tower and sitting inside.

You just type "speed test" or similar when on Google search in a browser, google search has it's own built in speed test.

nope dont get that one in any of my searches (ff)

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Oubadah

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#1923668 22-Dec-2017 13:12

Jase2985:

nope dont get that one in any of my searches (ff)

Google's search page is crippled for non chrome/webkit browsers, so if you're using something like FireFox, you will not see the speedtest card.

hio77

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#1923727 22-Dec-2017 17:54

The google speedtest is single threaded.

Have you tried logging a fault?

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robjg63

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#1923784 22-Dec-2017 21:16

Try going into chrome, options, settings and look for Data saver and turn it off.
Now try your tests.

Chrome for mobile runs everything through a google proxy - maybe that is causing some issues.

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Oubadah

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#1924483 24-Dec-2017 11:22

I don't know if the Google test was using the same server, but today I saw these two results that were anomalously low even with the Ookla speed test:

I noticed "Hosted by Spark" for those two (second and third down), and then that top/most recent one was "Hosted by Vodafone NZ". Seems like the Spark server might have issues. (not sure who was hosting the bottom three results because I wasn't paying attention)

Probably going to drive myself nuts if I keep running these faulty synthetic tests. I just have some free weekend data, so it's hard to resist!

54Mbps is destroying my home internet. I'm half tempted to get 4g for the home. I see 100GB plans that are reasonably priced, but there has to be some catch (throttling?). I thought part of the reason mobile data plans were so stingy was because they want to limit congestion on the network, so how do "cheap" 100GB home plans fit in with that?

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