How Can I Tell If My Internet Is Being Throttled by My ISP ?
The easiest way to determine if your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is throttling your internet connection is to run a speed test and then run the speed test again using a virtual private network (VPN). If your connection is significantly faster with the VPN, your ISP is likely throttling your service.
This trick works because ISPs sometimes throttle your speeds when they notice certain types of traffic (like torrenting or streaming), and a VPN encrypts your data so the ISP can’t see what kind of traffic is coming and going.
Of course, there are other reasons you could be experiencing slower speeds than you’re used to. And using a VPN isn’t helpful in every situation. Never fear! We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about internet bandwidth throttling
What is throttling?
Internet throttling is when your ISP intentionally limits your internet bandwidth or speed. Providers do this for a number of reasons, and it usually manifests as a sloth-like connection
Network congestion
During times of heavy internet use in a single area, ISPs sometimes throttle everyone’s internet in that area. This makes it so all customers can at least access part of the network instead of some houses on the street having perfect service and others not being able to connect at all. This is most likely to happen during peak use hours from about 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Paid prioritization
Sometimes ISPs throttle certain internet applications—like Netflix or Hulu—to discourage you from using them (and maybe to convince you to use their own proprietary streaming service). It’s fishy, we know. An ISP could also throttle internet service where specific websites are concerned if the ISP wants that site to pay for faster load times.
There are also instances where ISPs throttle certain types of data because it simply takes up a lot of bandwidth (even though you’re already paying for it) and puts pressure on the network. This could happen with large downloads or torrents.
All of this is good for the ISP’s pocket but terrible for consumers. And paid prioritization used to be illegal until net neutrality laws were repealed in 2018.
How do I stop throttling?
VPNs to the rescue again! If your connection is getting bogged down because of paid prioritization throttling, you can bypass it using a VPN.
The thing is, you need to be sure you’re using the right VPN. Using a VPN adds an extra step between you and all your data, so it can cause internet speed and latency issues. And some ISPs try to throttle your bandwidth if they realize you’re using a VPN (some VPNs can ignore this). So using the wrong VPN can make your internet throttling issues worse.
The easiest way to determine if your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is throttling your internet connection is to run a speed test and then run the speed test again using a virtual private network (VPN). If your connection is significantly faster with the VPN, your ISP is likely throttling your service.
This trick works because ISPs sometimes throttle your speeds when they notice certain types of traffic (like torrenting or streaming), and a VPN encrypts your data so the ISP can’t see what kind of traffic is coming and going.
Of course, there are other reasons you could be experiencing slower speeds than you’re used to. And using a VPN isn’t helpful in every situation. Never fear! We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about internet bandwidth throttling
What is throttling?
Internet throttling is when your ISP intentionally limits your internet bandwidth or speed. Providers do this for a number of reasons, and it usually manifests as a sloth-like connection
Network congestion
During times of heavy internet use in a single area, ISPs sometimes throttle everyone’s internet in that area. This makes it so all customers can at least access part of the network instead of some houses on the street having perfect service and others not being able to connect at all. This is most likely to happen during peak use hours from about 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Paid prioritization
Sometimes ISPs throttle certain internet applications—like Netflix or Hulu—to discourage you from using them (and maybe to convince you to use their own proprietary streaming service). It’s fishy, we know. An ISP could also throttle internet service where specific websites are concerned if the ISP wants that site to pay for faster load times.
There are also instances where ISPs throttle certain types of data because it simply takes up a lot of bandwidth (even though you’re already paying for it) and puts pressure on the network. This could happen with large downloads or torrents.
All of this is good for the ISP’s pocket but terrible for consumers. And paid prioritization used to be illegal until net neutrality laws were repealed in 2018.
How do I stop throttling?
VPNs to the rescue again! If your connection is getting bogged down because of paid prioritization throttling, you can bypass it using a VPN.
The thing is, you need to be sure you’re using the right VPN. Using a VPN adds an extra step between you and all your data, so it can cause internet speed and latency issues. And some ISPs try to throttle your bandwidth if they realize you’re using a VPN (some VPNs can ignore this). So using the wrong VPN can make your internet throttling issues worse.
