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Kremlibot Mar 26, 2020 @ 11:10pm

Is my ISP throttling Steam?

I haven't been able to download any updates for games recently, because the downloads would start at full speed, and then 1 minute later, the speed tanks to 30kb/s, and stays there and never goes back up.

Purged the download cache, and tried different download servers, and it's all the same thing.

I boot up my VPN, and I get full speeds again.

I called my ISP, and they insist they're not throttling my connection. My ISP is Windstream. I told the dude over the phone there is no point in throttling me on specific websites, because I'll just circumvent it with a VPN.

Is there some way for me to prove my ISP is throttling specific content, and do I have any recourse at all? This only happens on steam, and I wasn't able to replicate this issue on other websites. GOG, and Epic games store work fine.

Last edited by Kremlibot; Mar 26, 2020 @ 11:13pm

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Showing 1-15 of 28 comments

Zunkey Mar 26, 2020 @ 11:26pm

What country?

Im in canada and average network speed across canada went down by 20mbit due to the virus.

I however am on 300mbit Shaw, and I only get 5-10mbit on any platform...

Kremlibot Mar 26, 2020 @ 11:29pm

USA. My connection speeds haven't gone down. This is only an issue on steam, and only if I don't use a VPN.

I guess the good news is if this is more widespread than I figured, the solution is to use a VPN to get around it.

_I_ Mar 26, 2020 @ 11:38pm

it may also be the way steam downloads

watch steams download graph, if the disk line is maxed its the hdd slowing it down

Kremlibot Mar 26, 2020 @ 11:41pm

Originally posted by _I_:
it may also be the way steam downloads

watch steams download graph, if the disk line is maxed its the hdd slowing it down

That's not it. I left my PC on all night to download freaking 5GBs, and it didn't even finish, because it was downloading at 30kb/s the entire time.

I'm using a 1TB Samsung Evo 970 NVMe drive, so there is no possibility it was maxed out. Even if I had gigabit internet, I still couldn't max that drive out.

If this is happening to anyone else, just use a VPN. If you talk to your ISP about this, chances are they're probably lying to you. Because I went through their entire troubleshooting process, and they determined there is nothing wrong with my connection. They're throttling me and lying about it most likely. A sizable portion of the data I use is through Steam, a good 60% of it, it's possible they are throttling over coronavirus stuff like Zunkey was talking about, but they didn't say so over the phone.

If this was an issue with Steam servers, then a VPN wouldn't have made a difference, I'd have gotten the same speeds.

Last edited by Kremlibot; Mar 26, 2020 @ 11:51pm

CursedPanther Mar 27, 2020 @ 1:37am

A quick way to examine any potential issue(not necessarily related to bandwidth unfortunately but rather network delay) is to do a traceroute command in Windows to the Steam download servers and compare the result against those for GOG/Epic. It may not hold the answer to your current question but hopefully gives you some idea should there be any abnormal traffic routing through the Internet.

Talby Mar 27, 2020 @ 2:03am

It is also possible Steam itself is shaping traffic, which is why VPN improves your situation.

Kremlibot Mar 27, 2020 @ 2:05am

Originally posted by Talby:
It is also possible Steam itself is shaping traffic, which is why VPN improves your situation.

We would be seeing more of these topics if it was something on Steam's end.

Talby Mar 27, 2020 @ 2:23am

Very true, ISP is the more likely the problem as suspected...

Kremlibot Mar 27, 2020 @ 2:30am

I'm not opposed to attacking Steam, if its justified, and I am not a DRM provider fanboy, because I got games on GOG, Origin, Epic Games, and Windows store. In this case, it appears like Steam is being specifically targeted for throttling by my ISP. This topic was kinda made to maybe get some others providing input possibly confirming it's happening to them as well, but it appears to be a fairly isolated issue.

CursedPanther Mar 27, 2020 @ 2:44am

It's not entirely unheard of that certain ISP around the world will throttle, or more likely re-route to secondary routers/gateways, super high load traffic from an identifiable source. During desperate times like this with a record-breaking amount of people staying at home, connections to Steam servers will only be heavier than before.

#10

Kremlibot Mar 27, 2020 @ 2:45am

Originally posted by Sigmund:
Hey guys.

I think Governments/ISPs are throttling everyone. I read an article that they are doing it to ensure everyone has some bandwith.

My connection is incredibly slow at the moment, can't even perform a test on my ISP.

Since so many people are at home, the usage of internet is exploding, and its probably being rationed.

I don't believe in the rationing theory, at least not from the perspective of them actually being short on bandwidth.

Keep in mind that businesses and corporations use tons of data, and if those places are shut down, that's data that's not being used. They got plenty of bandwidth available for everyone.

If that's actually what's going on here, then I'm glad I can circumvent rationing in an imaginary bandwidth shortage by simply using a VPN.....Maybe some of the ones having problems should try that?

But allow me to put my "bastion of humanity" cap on for this one. I totally get it that some people might totally feel bad about getting the entirety of the speed they paid for, if there is even the thought at the back of their minds that 1 person is getting crap speeds because they're "using all the bandwidth" /sarcasm

Last edited by Kremlibot; Mar 27, 2020 @ 2:52am

#11

Bad 💀 Motha Mar 27, 2020 @ 1:51pm

Many will experience slower speeds during this COVID-19 period due much more stain on ISP networks, especially with so many working from home, etc.

#12

nullable Mar 27, 2020 @ 1:57pm

Originally posted by OK:
Keep in mind that businesses and corporations use tons of data, and if those places are shut down, that's data that's not being used. They got plenty of bandwidth available for everyone.

No, "essential" employees like myself are still working. Most things are still running like it's just another day, and companies are scrambling to minimize impact. And a lot of people are working remotely and using even more bandwidth over VPN instead of being in the office. As a result my company is looking to upgrade it's bandwidth from 200Gb to 500Gb to meet the demand for more bandwidth and I'm sure that's not a edge case, not by a long shot.

You might be making some assumptions and oversimplifications with your statement.

Last edited by nullable; Mar 27, 2020 @ 2:00pm

#13