Is Your Internet Speed Mysteriously Dropping? Here’s What to Do
Have you ever found yourself wondering if someone is siphoning off your internet? Recently, I experienced a perplexing situation where my home’s internet speed plummeted from a robust 900 Mbps to a frustrating 4 Mbps seemingly overnight. As someone who relies on my CenturyLink fiber internet for both work and leisure, this drastic change left me bewildered and seeking answers.
My Internet Saga: A Deep Dive into the Problem
I’ve been using CenturyLink fiber for about nine months in my private residence located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Up until recently, my internet connection was impressively fast, delivering nearly 950 Mbps for downloads and about half that for uploads. Then, without warning, everything took a downturn. Suddenly, I found myself grappling with speeds that barely reached 4 Mbps.
Upon conducting speed tests, I noticed erratic performance. Some tests indicated speeds of 20 Mbps, while others dipped as low as 1.5 Mbps. In stark contrast, my upload speeds remained stellar, sometimes even approaching 900 Mbps. The inconsistency left me scratching my head, primarily as these tests were performed over a direct Ethernet connection—WiFi performance was even poorer.
After reaching out to CenturyLink support, a technician was sent to my home. He ran multiple diagnostic tests, inspected the fiber line, replaced the modem, and even swapped the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and Ethernet cables—all to no avail. Frustratingly, he repeatedly questioned whether I was using a VPN. As someone who has only a rudimentary understanding of what a VPN is, I confidently assured him I wasn’t using one. He left, stumped, prompting me to reach out to tech support again, where I received the same response: everything looked fine—except it didn’t feel fine to me.
The Mystery Deepens
To complicate matters further, I started encountering captchas on Google searches, which claimed suspicious activity from my connection.
This led me to wonder: Is it possible that someone else has set up a VPN on my network? Could someone be “stealing” my internet? I admit that my technical knowledge isn’t extensive, and this whole situation feels overwhelming.
Community Assistance Needed
I’m reaching out to this community for advice and insights. If anyone has experienced similar issues or has expertise in troubleshooting internet connectivity problems, I would greatly appreciate your feedback.
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