downloads from certain websites remain very slow, even when using a VPN.
downloads from certain websites remain very slow, even when using a VPN.
Speed depends on when it happens and how busy the network is. Imagine rush hour: lots of cars on the road versus a quiet night. Downloading means your device connects to the site, DNS, and various links needed for data transfer to your ISP, plus the number of steps the data takes. Using a VPN adds at least four extra hops, and each hop moves at a different pace.
Even with fast connections and minimal delays, an unstable link can lead to issues. https://speed.cloudflare.com provides more details than https://www.speedtest.net, helping identify any weaknesses. Which operating systems have you used? Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android, etc. Which browsers or programs are affected? Test with another browser, preferably one using a different architecture. Steam runs separately from web browsers and might explain the results. Are there other apps on your device that could be causing the problem? Security tools sometimes inspect data packets, which can slow things down. Signed files or trusted servers usually avoid this, possibly explaining why file-sharing sites are problematic. FreeBSD supports independent mirrors for downloads; you might try picking another mirror manually to see if it improves performance. Conversely, malware or faulty software could be consuming bandwidth as well. On Windows, consider starting in Safe Mode with Networking to test.
Everything looks fine. Attached picture shows a MacBook, a pixel, a Linux PC, and a Steam Deck. Yes, the problem continues with Aria2, wget, and Folx. Bandwidth is only slightly affected; I’ve reviewed activity and system monitor. I can download at 200kb/s from one source and then quickly switch to 50mb/s+ from another—no issues. I don’t have Windows.
The uploader can adjust the upload rate to accommodate various users. Equal speeds are possible for everyone. The hardware and configuration also affect how fast data transfers. Hard drives have issues because data isn’t always stored together; the farther apart bits are on the disk, the slower reading becomes. Each type of storage has its own speed differences. In short, you shouldn’t stress too much since most factors are beyond your control, only about 5% really matters.
A DRAM or cacheless SSD available on AliExpress can achieve around 6MB/s for continuous writes, and as small files, it might reach 0.1MB. China has successfully revived SSD performance to levels seen in the 1960s with certain models.
This appears to be a routing problem at the peering level rather than a local issue on your device. While speed tests and Steam CDNs provide full bandwidth, specific sites like Mediafire, catbox, and FreeBSD mirrors are experiencing delays. It’s likely your ISP’s connection to those networks is congested or not prioritized. Try these steps: Use tracert mtr to identify latency issues with the slow hosts. Test using a different ISP mobile tether or another friend’s line to confirm the problem isn’t local. If only certain FreeBSD mirrors are slow, collect evidence and report it to Trooli—they may need to involve their transit provider. Since the issue persists even through a VPN, the bottleneck likely occurs after your ISP’s switch, probably between Trooli and the transit partner serving those hosts.
It seems like the problem might be coming from a higher network level. Even with a VPN, it’s likely tied to your ISP’s routing decisions. You could test different times of day using mtr to check for congestion trends. In past cases, upgrading to a higher-tier transit provider resolved the issue.
The issue vanished suddenly. I’m not even going to second-guess it... I’ve been struggling with this for a week and just want to move on. Here are some tests from the areas where I previously faced problems: catbox speed test, mediafire download, freebsd download.