Livestream buffering issues and intermittent sub-megabit speeds to off-net sites

[dylnstwrt]

In January, my household started to have issues with regards to what seemed to just be limited to livestreams on Twitch.tv; where before you were able to watch multiple at a time at source quality without buffering, and now a given computer is limited to watch a single stream at 720p (over ethernet) without buffering during non-peak hours. These issues then spread to being unable to load hi-res images quickly, as in if it was large enough it would take close to 10 - 20 seconds to load in an image which is insane. These issues are also accompanied with a packet loss of average 3-4%. 

A quick test on speedtest.net show's that we're getting our normal speeds, but go to any other reputable test that hosts off-net (i.e. M-Lab/Google's Speedtest or InternetHealthTest) and it's showing that while our upload speeds are fine, our download speeds are running at less than 1Mbs during peak hours, and barely close to the Internet 600 that we're paying for at any other time of the day. 

Now, if there's a whole thing about the speeds that are advertised as only achievable to shaw's own servers, that's another issue altogether, but the fact that loading images becomes an issue during peak time, let alone trying to stream media is also insane. I'm just trying to figure out whether or not these issues are addressable by shaw or myself.

These issues have attempted to have been addressed by:
   - Re-Installation of ethernet drivers, a firewall reset followed by a system restore
   - The replacement of the Hitron modem with the Technicolor XB6, which has also been replaced once with another XB6.

   - Multiple factory resets / power-cycles of both the Hitron, XB6, and the Netgear router that we use as well (which uses a bridged modem, of which we have asked shaw for a 2nd IP).
   - The use of just the XB6 as a router/modem.
   - The connection of the modem to the nearest available splitter to our coaxial source.
   - Testing done over ethernet connected to the modem and the router, both of which show the same sub-par results.  
 

It'd be one thing to be on the same plan and have a worse internet connection, but it's another to go the highest plan and have a significantly worse connection than what you had on the previous.

Please, any help would be appreciated so I don't lose my mind. 

[shaw-tony]

Hey dylnstwrt,

Thank you for reaching out with the detailed information. I took a quick look into your account through your email and see the signal to your equipment is out of spec. There may be a loss of signal between the coax outlet, coax cables or splitter. I'd recommend trying to reseat the connections with the steps here or replacing the connections. If the issues continue, your best bet is to touch base with technical support to further investigate or schedule a technician to improve your signal. Let me know how it goes!

Cheers,

Tony | Community Mod.

[#3]

Tony,

Could this be related to the same issue that many other people in Calgary and Airdrie are reporting?   The symptoms sound similar.

Post by Cortexian:  Jan 31 Internet 600 Speeds Dropped.   - lives in Calgary

Post by alek192   Shaw 300 not usable in the evenings. Techs insist nothing is wrong 
" suddenly my service stopped working properly in the evenings. Buffering badly on TV streams that have worked flawlessly for the past year."

Post by Jagerx9Low speeds at night--host specific?? 
"Every night, something very interesting happens. Some host servers are much slower than others.

Interestingly, running speed tests from various sites yields different results."

Posts by many people on Calgarypuck:

Shaw Thread - Page 34 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community 

jschick88: "Same exact thing is happening to me as well. Started a few nights ago. During the day, my speeds are exactly what they should be. Around 6pm, crawls right down to the point where I couldn't stream netflix. Just buffers."

gaffobohs: "Having the exact same issue in Airdrie."

Reddit thread discussing this issue:  "Anyone else experiencing throttling/inconsistent speeds with Shaw lately? : Calgary 

[dylnstwrt]

Have your issues been occurring since around January 10th? I know for sure that's when ours started since the same day I checked for service outages or maintenance in our area, and there was apparently a fibre connection that got cut and knocked out the internet in the SW Calgary area for a bunch of people; ourselves not included, but we live in SW too.

Ever since then our speeds have been very inconsistent; we actually have a tech coming in today to check our coaxial amp in case, but now that you post this I doubt that we'll see any improvement from the visit.

Our upload speed has been consistent though, minus a few blips, but those were nowhere near as bad as how our download speeds have been.

[shanestares]

Capitol Hill area, Calgary.

I've been experiencing the same problems during peak hours for the last three weeks. The service was great, virtually flawless for almost an entire year, but halfway through January things took a nosedive. Download speeds of around 100Mbps have dropped to <10Mbps, frequently <5Mbps. Any kind of streaming content buffers endlessly unless dropped to 480p or less. Upload speeds are unchanged, averaging around 15-16 Mbps. 

Given the problem seems widespread across a number of locations in Calgary around the same time frame, I'm wondering if it's a routing issue. 

Yes, done all the usual checks. Verified physical connections for the router; coax and wall plug. Reset router. Tried wireless, then wired internet connections. Utilized desktop, laptop and phone; all had similar speed issues. Cleared cache, re-installed network drivers on the desktop with no change. 

I was excited for the increased speed announced for my plan, but so far it's been a complete bust. 

[jpix]

I am in Airdrie. Moved to Shaw 150 in Nov last year - internet only as I'm an IPTV guy. Service worked great until early to mid January. As of that point i have no issues at all during the day; however, from 5pm onward there is consistent buffering and it makes it impossible to watch IPTV.

I know it isn't an issue with my IPTV equipment or the service b/c if I use my phone as a hotspot (relying on my Telus data) there is no issues what so ever.

Very frustrating to have service cut in the evening. I've moved to Shaw Cable so that i can actually enjoy sports without buffering every 5 seconds. Perhaps that is part of the grand scheme with Shaw? They know that people are using their internet for IPTV and/or other services and they have decided to throttle so that everyone gets frustrated.

[shaw-tamara]

Hi jpix 

We're sorry to hear you're having troubles with your connection! There was an issue with Internet service near the end of January/early February that was causing slower speeds during peak hours. It was affecting a few communities in southern Alberta, including Airdrie. This was resolved about a week ago, so it should be working as normal now. If you're still having troubles and you've already tried all the basic troubleshooting (like resetting the modem, testing a direct wired connection, etc) then I'd suggest reaching out to our support team directly so they can take a closer look at your account and book a tech visit if needed. 

[jpix]

Unfortunately the problem still persists...

As I have said in my comments - I know this has nothing to do with my hardware nor the service I use b/c if I hotspot my device to my phone using my cell data there is no issue... it streams without buffering and the quality is perfect.

[jpix]

For those that have posted on here with issues of buffering after 5pm - let me know if its been fixed.

Mine seems to be working better tonight. Watching a movie in 1080p and no issues.

I have an inside track that there was a backbone issue and it was fixed this evening.

[dylnstwrt]

I can confirm that my performance tonight is quite a bit better than before. We had a tech come yesterday and also say that there were issue's still being resolved that were thought to be resolved beforehand. I'll assume that he was talking about that backbone issue as well. We'll see if this sticks over the weekend!