Downloading is using all my bandwidth, preventing any other apps connecting to the internet. Why?

Question

This is new. I've been in many locations with many ISPs, i'm even certain this was not the case prior to the past 3-4months on the same ISP i moved into the current property with.

I used to be able to download a game or movie while simultaneously playing an online game or watching a 1080p stream or streaming music. Now, regardless of the app i'm using to download or the size of the download, nothing else will connect to the internet. Online games won't connect to menus, streaming websites won't connect to chat, music won't play.

I can't think of what has changed, and i don't particularly know where to start or what to try. My download is ~60Mbps, my upload is ~30Mbps. My router is in my garage and my PC is in a bedroom above the garage. I have a wireless connection using a 160Mhz adaptor, and i have a wired connection via the mains plug sockets (as i don't have the means to run a cable directly from the router).

Other devices in the house seem to operate as usual. Internet connectivity slows when something is downloading, but it does not halt the way it does on my machine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

• Try using a tool such as Free Download Manager (shown below) or qBittorrent that allow restricting the download and upload rates. If downloading at reduced rate allows parallel use of the web, you know the cause and have a tool to resolve it.

If it does not resolve the issue, the cause could be with the router settings or with the ISP.

• Check if a router setting has changed, limiting bandwidth.
• Temporarily try connecting, in the garage, via Ethernet cable to test if the issue has to do with WiFi speed.
• Check the quality of the WiFi signal with a tool such as wavemon or WiFi Info View. In addition to a weak signal, RF noise can also cause issues.
• Finally, after you've determined that the issue is not local, contact the ISP for help.