Very slow internet speeds --for several years

Hello. We've had slow internet speeds with Xfinity since moving into our house 12 years ago. We've had countless Xfinity technicians to our home. They've replaced cables (inside and outside the home), etc. In short, we've tried everything. Nothing has worked.

My current plan provides up to 1000 mbps. Today I tested it several times and was getting 30-60 mbps. While there will be times when I briefly get around 300 mbps, it quickly goes back to much lower speeds.

For most of my history with Xfinity, I've used their modem-routers. A few years ago, I got my own modem-router. I currently have the Netgear C6900. This didn't make a difference to the speed.

We're at our wits end. I hope you can help me to finally solve this longstanding problem and get the internet speeds we're paying for.

Responses

XfinityDilary

Official Employee

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2.1K Messages

1 year ago

Thanks for posting on our community forums for assistance @user_4yzvrv. I'm sorry to hear about your recurring issues with slow speed. This is not the experience we would like you to have. When testing the speed. Are you using a hardwired device or wirelessly? Are you experiencing the same result on all your devices?

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user_4yzvrv

9 Messages

(1) WIrelessly. (None of our computers have ethernet ports, so a direct connection is not possible.)

(2) Same result on all devices.

1 year ago

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XfinityDilary

Official Employee

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2.1K Messages

I appreciate the additional information, @user_4yzvrv. Let's take a look at the account. Our system will determine if we need to send a technician over to investigate. Could you please send our team a Direct Message with your name and service address? We can take a further look at this issue.

To send a Direct Message:

Click "Sign In" if necessary

• Click the "Direct Messaging chat" icon

• Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon

• Type "Xfinity Support" in the "To:" line and select "Xfinity Support" from the drop-down list which appears. The "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line

• Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window

• Press Enter to send it

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

1 year ago

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user_4yzvrv

9 Messages

I already sent a DM to Xfinity support. Are you looking into my account?

1 year ago

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XfinityRay

Official Employee

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2.7K Messages

We are happy to help and appreciate that you sent the message, @user_4yzvrv. I am replying to you there now. I need to gather your account details to take a deeper look into this.

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

1 year ago

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XfinityDilary

Official Employee

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2.1K Messages

1 year ago

Thanks for that information, @user_4yzvrv. Do you know if the devices are all capable of reaching the 1000 Mbps speed? Some devices have a maximum Mbps capability. Speeds over Wi-Fi can also vary due to multiple reasons. Such as distance from the modem, modem placement, number of devices connected sharing the bandwidth, device capability, as well as walls or other household items that can hinder or interfere with the Wi-Fi signal. You can check our Tips to Improve your Wi-Fi speed connectivity here. I would start there. Aside from the speed result, have you experienced specific symptoms? Such as lagging when playing games, or random disconnection while surfing the web or downloading content online?

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user_4yzvrv

9 Messages

(1) Yes, all devices are capable of in excess of 1000 mbps. My Asus laptop, for instance, can handle over 1300 mbps.
(2) We notice the slow speed when loading pages from all websites. We don't play games and I am not aware of any random disconnections at all. The internet remains connected almost all of the time.

(3) I followed all of the "Tips to Improve your Wi-Fi speed" and performed another speed test. The download speed was still very slow at 300 mbps --far less than I am paying for.

(edited)

1 year ago

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user_730bfv

14 Messages

1 year ago

Hello, user_4yzvrv

Usually, but not always, internet slow connections has to do with DNS configuration or misconfiguration. Since I do not know the details of your home devices, as router/modem configuration, computer model, ram, MHz. I suppose your Netgear C6900 Modem/router is on the 192.168.0.1 intranet or subnet. So, that will be your first DNS entry on your computer network stack. The second one can be the famous 75.75.75.75 from Comcast. Third, use Google DNS, 8.8.8.8 and finally the fourth one it doesn't hurt to put the new xFinity DNS 162.150.8.51, so resuming that:

DNS Servers:

192.168.0.1

75.75.75.75

8.8.8.8

162.150.8.51

Your TCP/IP should be using DHCP

...and your IPv6 should be on "Automatically"

If you put your Network stack IPv4 on DHCP, the same will be assigning an IPv4 address to your computer "Automatically"

In case you cannot get an intranet IPv4, you can force the connection by configuring the entries manually. In this case, it will look like this:

Configuring IPv4 [Manually]

IPv4 Address: 192.168.0.20 <---- This is Just an example! It can be any number between 20 and 253, just pick one that will not conflict with other devices on your network.

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Router: 192.168.0.1

Configure IPv6: [Automatically]

Router: Whatever your router gives

Observe that your router intranet IP number is also your intranet DNS. I hope that helps!

Note that your ASUS router, Netgear or otherwise needs to have their firmware update current to the latest firmware. In addition, your devices as your computer, tablet and phones also needs to have their latest update done.

* After configuring your devices that way, do not forget to reboot!

(edited)

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user_4yzvrv

9 Messages

Thank you for providing this info.

How/where do I make the DNS configuration changes you list above? Do I have to log into my Netgear modem-router and make the changes? Or do I do it through the browser (e.g. Chrome) I'm using on my laptop? Or what?

Please note that I have an Asus laptop. The other devices are an Acer Chromebook and two Samsung phones.

(edited)

1 year ago

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user_4yzvrv

9 Messages

Specifically where do I put insert these DNS numbers?

192.168.0.1

75.75.75.75

8.8.8.8

162.150.8.51

1 year ago

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XfinityEmilyB

Official Employee

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2K Messages

It's so nice to meet you, @user_4yzvrv ! How is your day going? Thank you for sending your information so I could locate your account. In order to review account details, I'll need to send a security code to the primary Email address or phone number on file. Which option works better for you?

(edited)

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

1 year ago

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user_4yzvrv

9 Messages

Phone number please

1 year ago

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user_730bfv

14 Messages

@user_4yzvrv

Specifically where do I put insert these DNS numbers?

192.168.0.1

75.75.75.75

8.8.8.8

162.150.8.51

Answering to your question, you will using these DNS numbers both on your computer and Modem/router.

- What model of computer do you have? Mac, Windows?

I could give you the right information if I had more information about your router and computer model. The only thing you told us is the model of your router.

Both computer and router has DNS configurations, and both computers and routers use private intranet IP addresses.

You have to find out what kind of the subnet/intranet your Netgear Modem Router is assigned to! Subnets are basically divided in A, B and C.

The private IP addresses that you can assign for a private network can be from the following three blocks of the IP address space:

10.0.0.1 to 10.255.255.255: Provides a single Class A network of addresses
172.16.0.1 to 172.31.255.254: Provides 16 contiguous Class B network addresses
192.168.0.1 to 192.168.255.254: Provides up to 216 Class C network addresses

If your router is assigned to the Class A, 10.0.0.1, that will be your intranet DNS.

If your router is assigned to the Class B, 172.16.0.1, that will be your intranet DNS.

If your router is assigned to the Class C, 192.168.0.1, that will be your intranet DNS.

Your Netgear Router/Modem gives you 3 fields to enter DNS numbers.

You must log into your Netgear Router and navigate to ADVANCED > ADVANCED Home > Internet Setup

On the Field called "Domain Name Server (DNS) Address.

Select:

(O) Use These DNS Servers

There you can enter the 3 DNS numbers of your choice. In my case, I entered as a

Primary DNS 75.75.75.75

Secondary DNS 162.150.8.51

Tertiary DNS 9.9.9.9

The most important is the Primary and Secondary DNS. The third one is extra. You can enter the 9.9.9.9 or 8.8.8.8. Both will work very well. Look the example of the image bellow.

After you have entered these DNS on your Netgear Modem/Router, you click on "Apply" to save your DNS configuration. These are the DNS you will be using on your devices in addition to your intranet A, B, C DNS.

In my case, these are the speeds I am getting on my Modem/Router

Two tests, from different servers xFinity always show a little bit more on speed.

Not bad for an outdated Netgear router! Next week I will be testing a new 3.1 Modem router able to deliver 951Mbps. So will be interesting to see how that will work.

(edited)

1 year ago

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flatlander3

Problem Solver

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1.5K Messages

1 year ago

For your DNS question, log into your Netgear. It will be on the "advanced tab" --> Setup --> Internet setup. You'll have an option to "Use these DNS Servers".

Don't bother with the comcast DNS. If the thought was it is a DNS issue, you don't want to be using their DNS for the first one, or the local address anyway, although that probably isn't the problem. You can put in 3 DNS servers on most Netgear gateways. Try cloudflare (does not track data). Try google (does track data) for a 3rd, or some other public DNS, or just leave it blank. So....

primary = 1.1.1.1

secondary = 1.0.0.1

tertiary = 8.8.8.8 (or leave blank)

Also your Netgear C6900 / AC1900 is a DOCSIS 3.0 gateway. It likely isn't supported anymore by Xfinity. You can verify that by going to https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/list-of-approved-cable-modems then select a My Device Info link, and login with your Xfinity account. If you scroll down to the bottom of the gateways/modems, you'll see a box for All Compatible Devices that will bring up a PDF of what is supported, and at what speed in your area. I don't see your gateway on the list I get, but your market may be different.

Unsupported/no longer supported doesn't mean it won't work. What it means is they won't give you the config file to provision it for your speed plan anymore, so you'll get unpredictable results -- although not as bad as what you are seeing. You've probably just been wasting your money with a 1Gbps plan with that gateway. I'm guessing even when yours was supported, it looks like it was rated for upto 368Mbps or so with Xfinity. You likely wouldn't need the bandwidth either if it's been years unless you download DVD's constantly or have multiple users all streaming 8K movies at the same time. What Xfinity calls speed is really bandwidth. It doesn't make a web page load any faster. There are some differences between DOCSIS 3.0 and DOCSIS 3.1 gateways. In theory 3.1 could possibly be faster, or it can actually be slower if you have line/signal issues.

Your call, but if you really want the 1Gbps speed, you'll need a different modem or gateway if it isn't listed. Or just save yourself some money and drop speed tiers.

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user_g668jc

1 Message

1 year ago

At first reading this, I thought my wife wrote this thread but once I got to the end I found out otherwise... this complaint is IDENTICAL to my scenario down to the 12 years @ the home and paying OVER $300/mo. for the 1000 mb/s speed an that averages under 100 mb/s & SO.ETIMES hits 300+ mb/s. Just to let you know, it will NEVER be resolved and the sub-contractors that arrive to "repair" the issue will do "something" so your wifi speed test hits 750b/s download and 80 mb/s upload while they're in the home and MAYBE an hour after they leave. And then, back to the usual 15 to 20% of the data speed you pay for...

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Your Home Network

user_4yzvrv

Very slow internet speeds --for several years

XfinityDilary

user_4yzvrv

XfinityDilary

user_4yzvrv

XfinityRay

XfinityDilary

user_4yzvrv

user_730bfv

user_4yzvrv

user_4yzvrv

XfinityEmilyB

user_4yzvrv

user_730bfv

flatlander3

user_g668jc

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