Usage of the internet during COVID waves increased significantly.
Usage of the internet during COVID waves increased significantly.
While downloading files, I observed something unusual. The task manager displays internet speeds fluctuating between 70-84 Mbps at one moment, then drops to 4-5 Mbps within ten seconds (Mbps, not MBps). These changes occur consistently across every torrent, and the torrents seem to be popular with 20-30 seeds. I’m not sure if this is the cause, but I had to configure port forwarding on my Plex media server. Just let me know if this affects my speeds—I’d be fine with anything below 50 Mbps, as that would be a clear issue. This behavior happens too often; sometimes I have to restart the PC to fix it temporarily. The machine is running on 20/7, if that matters.
WiFi gear overheating issue occurred. Experienced disconnection during prolonged usage.
Bittorrent is uploading really fast. You didn’t mention your upload speed, but heavy usage might impact your downloads too. Since you’re on Wi-Fi, it’s likely both routers are experiencing strain. If they feel warm, consider adding active cooling like a laptop cooler. I tried this with an older router. Your ISP might be the issue—Comcast was fined by the FCC for throttling BitTorrent traffic. After some correction, they stopped doing it. Many providers use traffic shaping and throttling. T-Mobile previously limited data on certain plans, and Netflix caps usage but reduces quality instead.
They're asking what they mean by "saturating" your upload—likely meaning reducing its size to a smaller limit. They shared their attempt and noted the problem still exists. They also mentioned overheating concerns and built a custom desk for better airflow, which might explain why the router gets warm.
When you need to use the internet, you must send a request. Uploading is the method for sending those requests. If your upload is fully utilized, those requests won’t occur. Most users have an uneven connection, meaning the upload is usually much smaller than the download, making it easy to overwhelm. This is likely what I mentioned earlier. Your internet service provider is limiting your data speed. The best solution is a VPN, though even then it might slightly reduce your connection speed compared to how your ISP handles traffic shaping.
I explained I was referring to upload speeds of 1-2 MBps, not download. This adds more confusion because it’s unclear why my ISP would slow down downloads but let uploads run nonstop. (Uploads work nonstop.) The idea that ISPs throttle download traffic is plausible, which I initially considered. Until I connected a PC via Ethernet near the router across the wall, I experienced speeds close to 20 MBPS—about 200 Mbps. That’s impressive! Meanwhile, my second bridge router seems to be getting thermal throttling.
Then trying to cool the router. It's not complicated. If it feels warm, it probably needs active cooling. As I mentioned before, laptop coolers work well for this. That's why you don't use WiFi for this. For faster speeds, you should use Ethernet. Or you can attempt to cool the routers and see if that improves things, but I don't have much hope. This is the cost of flying the Jolly Rodger (Since I'm guessing your piracy, that's what most people do with torrents anyway).