Wireless connections perform better than wired Ethernet. Additional issues may arise.
Wireless connections perform better than wired Ethernet. Additional issues may arise.
Network Address Translation essentially allows sharing a single IPv4 address provided by AT&T among several devices on your network. Each device receives a private IP address for routing traffic within your home network. When data needs to travel out to the internet, the router substitutes the private IP of that device with the public IP offered by AT&T. After the data returns, the IP address reverts to the original one used by the device.
Jesus okay I either need to learn how to do all this or call someone in. Discovery: it appears that when other people use the internet, I get packet loss. When nobody is in the house, I don't get packet loss, and I don't get rubber-banding in games. This is awful.
That’s typical for basic DSL connections. Putting heavy traffic onto a slow link creates these problems. There isn’t enough bandwidth to handle the load, I think. My acquaintance with an 18 Mbps DSL connection faced numerous streaming difficulties—managing kids, a niece, her mom, and a partner all using it simultaneously caused major issues. Streaming one at a time is necessary; you’d need around 5 Mbps per HD stream, and 25 Mbps for 4K. Adding multiple streams and gaming quickly exhausts the connection. The ideal solution would be QoS, but even that isn’t always effective. Not every router supports QoS well, or offers it properly. You might need SQM instead, though not all QoS features work with it. It’s a mixed situation. I’m pretty sure your AT&T gateway won’t handle these advanced settings. At this point, the safest move is to ask if the landlord can switch to a better ISP. But that may not be feasible. In rural areas, cable isn’t available, so DSL remains the only choice. Plus, the speeds you receive might be the highest possible on your line. 4G LTE could work, but it’s limited—speeds are decent, but data usage is restricted or throttled during busy times. Most providers cap at about 22 to 50 Gbps before they start limiting performance. https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/#/ This should give you a rough idea of your local ISP options. That’s the starting point. Then you can evaluate what fits you best. Honestly, fixing the mistakes made by the landlord might not solve everything. You could be dealing with congestion from too many users on a 10 Mbps connection. The only real solutions are upgrading speeds or switching ISPs.
We have a plan with 400 downloads and 20 uploads, and AT&T offers 75 downloads and 20 uploads in my area. Charter is cable there, while AT&T provides ADSL. It seems unlikely my landlord will switch ISPs since he’s really into directTV.
1. Check if someone can help set up the existing WiFi at home.
2. Once the connection is stable (just for gaming, not streaming), I’ll ask about upgrading.
3. Otherwise, I’ll go ahead and use it as is.