My PC is connected to the internet through Ethernet. Actual downloads from browsers, Steam, Free Download Manager, and qBittorrent stay around 500–700 KB/s, which is roughly 4–6 Mbps. However, Fast.com and other speed tests show 70–80+ Mbps, and normal web browsing works fine. My internet plan is 25 Mbps, so I expected real downloads to reach at least around 3 MB/s, preferably closer to 6 MB/s if the higher test results are accurate. My phone does not have this download problem on the same connection. I have already tried using a VPN, disabling Energy Efficient Ethernet, resetting the IP configuration, flushing DNS, performing a network reset, and updating the network adapter driver. I experienced something similar before and it eventually fixed itself. What could be causing the difference between speed-test results and actual download speeds?
3 Answers
Double-check the units first. Internet plans and speed tests usually report megabits per second (Mbps), while download programs often show megabytes per second (MB/s). Divide Mbps by eight for a rough conversion. A 25 Mbps plan should provide about 3 MB/s under ideal conditions, not 25 MB/s. That said, downloads of only 500–700 KB/s are still lower than expected if the speed tests are accurate.
You can try renewing the network configuration from Command Prompt with ipconfig /release followed by ipconfig /renew, then restart the PC. Since you already reset the network and flushed DNS, also compare results in another browser and check whether security software or other background applications are limiting downloads. Speed tests use optimized nearby servers, while the actual download server may be slower or take a different network route.
Try replacing the Ethernet cable, even if it looks fine. A damaged cable or a connection negotiating at an unexpected speed or duplex mode can affect performance. Also check the adapter status to confirm the link is negotiating at 1 Gbps or at least 100 Mbps, rather than 10 Mbps.
I understand the Mbps versus MB/s difference. Even allowing for that, I should normally be getting more than 500–700 KB/s on this connection.