Issues with browsing and downloading files

I've been dealing with some major browsing issues for a few days now.
Basically, if I start downloading a file, everything else just dies. No surfing, no YouTube, no simultaneous downloads—nothing. It doesn't matter if I'm on the same computer or any other device on my network; it just says there's no connection.
If I get aggressive about it and spam the refresh button on a page, the download will actually fail, but then the websites suddenly start working again.

For context, I'm running an H1. I'm on Windows 8.1 and I've cycled through every browser under the sun (IE, FF, Opera...), but obviously, it’s not a browser issue. For instance, YouTube videos constantly stutter or just freeze right in the middle of playback. It isn't a buffering problem or a speed issue either—I'm getting a steady 1.5 MB/s during downloads—the connection just snaps or whatever.

It's definitely not the hardware; I tested this with two other laptops. And no, it's not spyware, a virus, or anything like that.

I tried plugging directly into the Comcast router via Ethernet, disconnected every other wired and wireless device, messed with all the settings, played with QoS... nothing works.

Any ideas? Should I just call Comcast? Maybe it's something wrong with their configurations at the local hub?

Karen Morgan2 said:I've been dealing with some major browsing issues for a few days now.
Basically, if I start downloading a file, everything else just dies. No surfing, no YouTube, no simultaneous downloads—nothing. It doesn't matter if I'm on the same computer or any other device on my network; it just says there's no connection.
If I get aggressive about it and spam the refresh button on a page, the download will actually fail, but then the websites suddenly start working again.

For context, I'm running an H1. I'm on Windows 8.1 and I've cycled through every browser under the sun (IE, FF, Opera...), but obviously, it’s not a browser issue. For instance, YouTube videos constantly stutter or just freeze right in the middle of playback. It isn't a buffering problem or a speed issue either—I'm getting a steady 1.5 MB/s during downloads—the connection just snaps or whatever.

It's definitely not the hardware; I tested this with two other laptops. And no, it's not spyware, a virus, or anything like that.

I tried plugging directly into the Comcast router via Ethernet, disconnected every other wired and wireless device, messed with all the settings, played with QoS... nothing works.

Any ideas? Should I just call Comcast? Maybe it's something wrong with their configurations at the local hub?

Hmm, a download speed of only 1.5 megabytes per second... though, if I think about it, maybe that speed just doesn't allow for much multitasking online. The internet is becoming so much more demanding these days, isn't it?

analogwalker2 said:Hmm, a download speed of only 1.5 megabytes per second... though, if I think about it, maybe that speed just doesn't allow for much multitasking online. The internet is becoming so much more demanding these days, isn't it?

Are you kidding me?
Look, he clearly meant MB (I'm assuming he means MEGAbyte), and while 1.5 Megabytes might be okay in some parts of the country, on a global scale? Not really.

That’s an ISP issue if I ever saw one. Just call Comcast or whoever your provider is.

Karen Morgan2, if we're actually talking about 1.5 megabits (which would be 150KB/s)—and honestly, that's what I suspect—then yeah, it totally makes sense why it's slow.

But hey, before you lose your mind, check if you have some random app running on your PC that's hogging the bandwidth—like, for instance, AMD has this AMD QuickStream thing that can sometimes throttle your speeds.

Also, check to see if there's some background sync happening; personally, I always recommend using Windows without being signed into a Microsoft account, and I definitely suggest setting your update settings so it doesn't just start downloading stuff automatically without asking.

It's super weird though, because on my Windows 8.1 setup, everything runs pretty smoothly even when I've got a torrent running at full throttle.

Roger Gray8 said:Are you kidding me?
Look, he clearly meant MB (I'm assuming he means MEGAbyte), and while 1.5 Megabytes might be okay in some parts of the country, on a global scale? Not really.

That’s an ISP issue if I ever saw one. Just call Comcast or whoever your provider is.

Karen Morgan2, if we're actually talking about 1.5 megabits (which would be 150KB/s)—and honestly, that's what I suspect—then yeah, it totally makes sense why it's slow.

But hey, before you lose your mind, check if you have some random app running on your PC that's hogging the bandwidth—like, for instance, AMD has this AMD QuickStream thing that can sometimes throttle your speeds.

Also, check to see if there's some background sync happening; personally, I always recommend using Windows without being signed into a Microsoft account, and I definitely suggest setting your update settings so it doesn't just start downloading stuff automatically without asking.

It's super weird though, because on my Windows 8.1 setup, everything runs pretty smoothly even when I've got a torrent running at full throttle.

You're right—megabytes, just like I said. Everything was working perfectly until two or three days ago (and I haven't installed anything new). But then again, it might not be the computer; I was thinking maybe it's some settings on the router.

I noticed today that their cable TV is acting up too. Looks like I'm going to waste even more time calling customer support...

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

I mean, does anyone actually know if they’re going to get their act together and fix it?