I'd just like to chime in on here. Bear with me, this would be a bit long, but I hope it would help some of you with your issues. Scroll down to the end of my post to get the TL;DR version.
I used to think Time was the problem. But actually, it's the WiFi router provided by Time. Specifically, the Linksys E1200 that came with the package when I signed up for the 15Mbps plan back in March 2014. I'll get back to this a later on.
Back then, the E1200 was doing fine for me, especially since I was only on 15Mbps, which eventually was upped to 20Mbps, which was in November of 2015. Still the E1200 was okay. I've lived on a 1-bedroom flat, with laptop placed no more than 20 feet from the router and behind a single wall. I've since moved to another place and my set-up is pretty much the same: 1-bedroom flat (around 600 square feet), laptop computer around 20 feet from the router with a single wall in between.
Like a few on here, I have raised tickets with being unable to watch Twitch live streams on High/Source. For almost year, from April 2014 to February 2015, I could watch 3 High-quality (or 2 Source-quality) streams
simultaneously on Twitch. But from February 2015, I couldn't even watch a stream on Mobile quality. I have had a back-and-forth email conversation with Time, 34 emails long, dozens of screenshots, 3 visits from Time's techs, but we couldn't figure out what the problem was.
Mind you, I was able to watch streams on Afreeca, Azubu.TV and uStream on Source quality, and Youtube on 1080p60, so downstream there should be no problem. For the next few weeks, I did my research. I read the Twitch subreddits, support sites, etc., then on April 2015, I realized that the problem was Twitch, not Time. And it somehow worsened after Twitch's acquisition by Amazon.
So on April 2015, I started using Livestreamer application along with Livestreamer GUI via the VLC player (Google it, folks), and voila, I could watch Twitch livestreams on High/Source again, and I had my ticket with Time closed. (I also posted about that on an older thread on this forum, but I'm sure it got buried.)
Then on March 2016, I get this notification that I've been upped to 300Mbps. Best day ever. Or so I thought.
So, going back to this Linksys E1200 router. Despite being provided to me in 2014, it was actually released by Linksys around (or prior to) April 2011. Think about this: I have a (modern) Fiber internet connection, going up to 300Mbps, but I have a 6-year old wireless router. Doesn't sound good at all.
I asked Time for a replacement of the router, and they told me I'd have to buy it from them, the D-Link DIR850L / Linksys EA6350 Router at a special price of RM270 & RM500 respectively (back in March/April these routers were priced over RM350 and RM700 respectively on Lelong so Time was actually giving me a good deal). I decided not to get a new router (yet), because I thought, other than the fact that the price is a bit overwhelming, it's just me and my girlfriend (with a total of 7 devices between us) using the internet connection, and that if I do my research, I'd probably be able to get the E1200 work harder.
I read everything online, trying to get every ounce of juice from the E1200, but to no avail. I then discovered that the E1200 is not even Gigabit (10/100/1000bit) LAN. This means that the E1200 only receives 100Mbps from the fiber modem (which is Gigabit LAN). So from that point, I've already received a 67% internet performance hit because of this 6-year old router. I read further that even though that the E1200 is 802.11N capable up to 300Mbps, real world tests show that it (and other routers in its class) really can't throw out 300Mbps over 2.4Ghz PER device, so that explains why I could only get an average of 29Mbps even though my computer was a mere 2 feet from the router. If I tried to connect via LAN through the router, I could get 90Mbps max (taking into account data overhead, since its LAN ports are just rated at 10/100Mbps). And no, connecting via LAN is out of the question. I don't want to have a 20 to 30 foot LAN cable running on the floor just to get myself good internet.
I finally realized that the bottleneck to my internet experience is the E1200 router.
September 2016, I finally decided to get rid of the E1200 and get a new router. But I needed to do a whole new round of researching, with how amazing the router market is and the wide variety of products within certain price ranges. First I checked what the routers being sold by Time (the DIR850L and the EA6350) were about. I found out through my research, and based on my own analysis of my needs, is that I need a router with specifications similar to the DIR850L, but instead of an internal antenna (which the DIR850L has), I'd like to get a router with antennas sticking out of it because there is still an inherent performance hit with internal antennas. The EA6350 is amazing as well, but its current RM650 price tag (on Lelong) is too much for my wallet.
I finally settled with the TPLink Archer C5 because of the 2x USB 2.0 ports and the ability to create a remote FTP server with a portable HDD plugged into one of the USB ports, and because I'm familiar and satisfied with their support (I once had a TPLink DSL modem/router brick after a severe thunderstorm, I brought it to their service center and they replaced it with a new unit, no questions asked). I spent RM350 for the C5 (a bit more than the DIR850L) but I'm pretty satisfied with it and meets my own personal requirements. (I could have gone with the Archer C2 because it's at least RM100 cheaper than the C5, but I'd have absolutely regretted not getting the AC1200 version.)
Since getting the C5 3 days ago, I am now able to watch Twitch.TV streams on source quality
without using the LiveStreamer application and GUI. I've also been able to enjoy around 50Mbps up/down speed on 2.4Ghz wireless-N. If I use my girlfriend's MacBook Pro, I get almost 130Mbps up/down on 5Ghz wireless-N. I also use an app on my phone called WiFi Analyzer. The "Channel Graph" tool is of great help when deciding which channel you want your network to be on so you won’t overlap with other networks in your area. And if I try connecting via LAN, I get 298Mbps (Gigabit ports rock)!
I'll post an update after I get the wireless AC card that I ordered since, after all the research that I did, I discovered that my laptop is not capable of 5Ghz wireless-N/AC. Because that's my plan all along: to have my laptop be the only device connected to 5Ghz-AC. All the bandwidth---MINE!
So to the people complaining of bad connection, do your research. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not belittling your complaints at all. Everyone deserves to utilize 100% of the service they paid for. But I've found it more satisfying if I am able to rebut other people's claims if I’ve covered all your bases before I head into battle. And I learn a lot in the process.
TL;DR:1. It's note always Time's fault. Do your research.
2. If you're still using the Linksys E1200 router that Time provided to its subscribers up until March 2016, get rid of it and buy yourself a new AC1200 or better router.
I can confirm it is not Router issue. I am using TP-LINK Talon AD7200 + TP-LINK T9E, (even 1 bar signal i can max out my 500mbps, wifi is just like LAN). All this while was ok then suddenly last week the routing become haywire, I get only 1-3mbps downliad speed from server like rapidgator etc etc but gladly yesterday TIME finally fixed the routing issue to Europe, and everything is back to normal. Enjoying full speed again!
One thing i learn, cheap stuff really no good. The T9E is freaking awesome, imagine 0-1 bar wifi signal i can max out my 500mbps on wifi. This is through router placement at living room with 2 rooms, 3 thick walls away. I dont even have to install the antenna, jesus unbelievable. Before this, i was using AC 1200 LAN card, even tried 2 of it with different brands, those USB wifi cards although cheap but have a chipset limitation and wifi speeds only max out around 250mbps. So if you are on 500mbps, better upgrade your router and wifi card.
Oct 27 2016, 08:39 AM
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