Netflix is slow lately on FIOS

[glugglug]

For the past few weeks I am intermittently getting only 1-2 bars on the bandwidth meter for the XBOX Netflix app, which I think means it is ~1-2Mbps.

I have a 35/35Mbps plan with FIOS, so it should be getting HD all the time. (it used to until recently).

Are others having this problem lately?  Is it a FIOS issue or is Netflix downgrading their service for any customers not on OpenConnect ISPs?

[Namronorman]

Bad news:

Still running terrible. I'm wondering if this is a combination of Cogent and BPON networks becoming overly saturated.

WinMTR statistics

Host	%	Sent	Recv	Best	Avrg	Wrst	Last
firewall.*.com	0	29347	29347	0	0	2	0
108.39.200.1	1	29325	29321	2	5	1854	4

MTR data from roughly midnight to 9am from my network to the local verizon gateway. Latency spikes and packet loss. Sounds like a problem to me, no?

Good news:

I'm no longer under contract with Verizon 🙂

[anonFios]

I streamed Netflix in high definition ALL NIGHT LONG and it was wonderful!

Now if only I could do the same thing on Verizon Fios...

[mm112]

People need to pay close attention to what is going on in a lawsuit between verizon and the fcc because what is at stake is the future of the internet where customers who pay for internet service while they also pay for access to certain websites could be the ones who end up losing big time based on what that decision is. If the isps win then that means that they can pick and choose which websites they will make it impossible for their customers to have access to simply because they are not getting paid and if the fcc wins they will now have a legal ruling that they can use to go after a isp if their customers complain about being intentionally throttled to favor those own isp's paid services. What is at stake is not only the future of the internet but also what customers use right now. Google, youtube (who is owned by google), hulu, amazon, and netflix are just a few of the websites who online users could be complaining a lot more about not having access to if the decision goes the way the isps want it to go. From that point on it really will be a guessing game as to which isp is feuding with a certain website all because the isp is not getting paid by that webiste because their customers want access to it. Google "verizon fcc" to read more about what is going on. People need  to hope that if the isps win the use of the internet will not be made to be so difficult that people will not even want to turn on their computers any more because of the insanity of isps choosing to discriminate against websites to allow their users access to them and if they do that the experience will not be so bad that it will make people want to switch to another provider only to go through that same experience all over again after they have signed a 2 year contract.

[dschlic1]

I am having an issue with Netflix and Verizon FIOS. I have performed speed tests both using the Verizon speed test and also two other independent speed test websites. All have reported 15/5 speed. Netflix is reporting my connection speed as 3 Mbps. However when I start a video the initial speed as shown in task manager, is around 15 Mbps. Then after 10 to 15 seconds the speed drops way down. The HD button never shows on the screen.

The only thing I can say is that it looks like an issue between Verizon and Netflix. Both are accusing the other of the problem.

[Namronorman]

Well, you can only point your finger at others so many times before you make it back to yourself. Verizon is pointing the finger at the likes of LLNW, Akamai, and Level3 now. I seriously doubt they're having issues on THEIR end. Also, it doesn't help that Verizon has its own "competing" product now in addition to the fact that the current CEO could not care less about wired services when there's so much money to be made in wireless.

[Vikingdude1]

I have experiencing this a lot.  In fact I was convinced that I should upgrade my router and then it would be fixed.  I now have upgraded my router have my blu-ray plugged into the router and Netflix still only gets 1-2 mbpps and is constantly buffering.  Amazon runs fine though.  Thoughts?

[Namronorman]

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@Vikingdude wrote:

I have experiencing this a lot.  In fact I was convinced that I should upgrade my router and then it would be fixed.  I now have upgraded my router have my blu-ray plugged into the router and Netflix still only gets 1-2 mbpps and is constantly buffering.  Amazon runs fine though.  Thoughts?

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Switch ISPs if there's an alternative in your area. If no other options available, try a VPN or something. Netflix is using quality transit these days and Verizon is answering by letting peering points between them and Level 3 become saturated.

[db909]

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@Namronorman wrote:

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@Vikingdude wrote:

I have experiencing this a lot.  In fact I was convinced that I should upgrade my router and then it would be fixed.  I now have upgraded my router have my blu-ray plugged into the router and Netflix still only gets 1-2 mbpps and is constantly buffering.  Amazon runs fine though.  Thoughts?

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Switch ISPs if there's an alternative in your area. If no other options available, try a VPN or something. Netflix is using quality transit these days and Verizon is answering by letting peering points between them and Level 3 become saturated.

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I'd suggest the VPN route, dslreports is full of people complaining about netflix on virtually every ISP.  It seems to be where you are and not the ISP, so swapping ISPs may accomplish nada.

[Namronorman]

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@db909 wrote:

I'd suggest the VPN route, dslreports is full of people complaining about netflix on virtually every ISP.  It seems to be where you are and not the ISP, so swapping ISPs may accomplish nada.

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Depending on the ISP, yes. I frequent DSLReports too much. If Vikingdude doesn't like what Verizon is doing and an alternative ISP is comparable in most ways plus is an OpenConnect partner, that would most likely solve his problems.

[db909]

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@Namronorman wrote:

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 plus is an OpenConnect partner, that would most likely solve his problems.

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That is a huge IF

"Major ISPs around the world have already connected to Open Connect, including Frontier, British Telecom, TDC, Clearwire, GVT, Telus, Bell Canada, Virgin, Cablevision, Google Fiber, Telmex, and more."

https://signup.netflix.com/openconnect

Not exactly a whos who of US ISPs.

[Namronorman]

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@db909 wrote:

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@Namronorman wrote:

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 plus is an OpenConnect partner, that would most likely solve his problems.

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That is a huge IF

"Major ISPs around the world have already connected to Open Connect, including Frontier, British Telecom, TDC, Clearwire, GVT, Telus, Bell Canada, Virgin, Cablevision, Google Fiber, Telmex, and more."

https://signup.netflix.com/openconnect

Not exactly a whos who of US ISPs.

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Well, I know that RCN is a partner and is not on that list. A few people on RCN that I know have been pretty content with overall service including Netflix.

[db909]

lol ok, Comcast is about 57 times bigger than RCN, TWC 27 times bigger, Uverse 23 times bigger.

http://www.netmarketshare.com

I would agree he should look at his ISP options and probably would be best served at researching how that ISP does with Netflix in that locale.  Statistically not very likely to bear any fruit, but it could.

[Namronorman]

I'm fully aware how small RCN is. I just think that if one can vote with his or her wallet in a situation like this, one should. Especially with the cost of rotting ONTs... 🙂

[bzoum]

Hello,

I have been experiencing bad quality on Netflix for one month now.

Before December, the quality was perfect. I could watch 3D movies !

And now, the image is bad (it's not HD) and it freezes.

My speedtest.net are very good and when I contact Verizon support, they tell me that everything is fine !!

Edit : I tried to connect to netflix with VPN from my computer and I have obtained good results (good quality, no freeze).

The only problem is that I cannot setup a vpn on my TV !

[working4buddha]

I have been having similar problems for the last month.  Whenever I play something on Netflix it starts out at terrible quality (worse than SD, it is often completely pixelated). Eventually it switches to what seems to be HD, but  this always takes several minutes. And it happens whenever I pause or rewind too which is even more annoying.

When I watched a cartoon it seemed to have jagged lines the entire time which made me think maybe I wasn't getting HD at all and just going from "terrible" to "good" quality.

I am glad I found this thread. I did not really know whether to call Verizon or Netflix about this.  I am using a PS3 and they are always making changes to the interface so I thought maybe that was why this was happening. 

It is really frustraing to learn that this is a common problem. I switched to FIOS a year ago and thought I was happy with it. But if they are deliberately doing this (or not fixing it) to promote Redbox instant, that  is infuriating and it may be time to switch back. 

[anonFios]

If anyone is watching something and not sure of what bit rate they are currently able to stream, search for one of the "Example Shorts" on Netflix and play it.

These test videos have the bit rate hard encoded into the video so you can easily see what bitrate you are streaming on (Note: this doesn't work for mobile phones or devices that don't actively switch bitrates like older Rokus).

Some devices like Wii U, Windows 8 app and various televisions allow you to bring up video info so you can see what quality you are currently streaming (minus button on Wii U, Ctr-S or Ctr-D on Windows 8, info button on some TVs)

[NetflixFan]

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@glugglug wrote:

For the past few weeks I am intermittently getting only 1-2 bars on the bandwidth meter for the XBOX Netflix app, which I think means it is ~1-2Mbps.

I have a 35/35Mbps plan with FIOS, so it should be getting HD all the time. (it used to until recently).

Are others having this problem lately?  Is it a FIOS issue or is Netflix downgrading their service for any customers not on OpenConnect ISPs?

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I have been using Roku and Netflix for years but, like others, have experienced an increasingly intolerable slowdown between 8 - 10 PM Eastern for the past couple months.  The number of quality bars is down but worse than that, the Roku repeatedly returns to the "loading" screen and the download takes up to 2 minutes before play resumes.   Last night while watching an episode of Law and Order, the Roku went back to "loading" at least ten times.

I called Netflix and was assured that they have multiple routers in many locations and that the load on their service has not exceeded 70% capacity.  It appears to me that Verizon has begun to throttle back on the bandwidth available to Netflix originated traffic during peak hours.  I don't know that there is anything subscribers can do about it other than complain.  I think that tonight I will stream video from Amazon and see if I encounter the problem. 

[NetflixFan]

Fellow Netflix streamers,

I did some testing yesterday evening starting at 7 P.M. Eastern.  The results indicate to me that the issue outlined in this article is the most likely source of the poor quality of Netflix and the endless buffering I have endured for the past several weeks.  I made an Ethernet connection from the FIOS router to my laptop and tested the download speed at 84 Mbs to confirm that FIOS speed is not the problem.  I used my commercial VPN (Private Internet Access – PIA) to connect (my laptop only) to one of the PIA servers on the East Coast.   I connected to Netflix and started an episode of Leverage simultaneously on my laptop and Roku (which is also Ethernet connected to the router).  The initial buffering took at least 5 – 10 times as long on the Roku as on the laptop.  I restarted the Roku and the second time it attempted an HD download but stalled.  I started it again and it dropped back to 2-bullets and buffered slowly but successfully.  The quality on my HD TV was really crummy while it was HD quality on the laptop.  I did not experience any re-buffering on either device. 

After watching Leverage, I reconnected the VPN on my laptop to a PIA server in the Midwest and started an episode of Numbers with the same result – slow load and lousy on the TV while HD on the laptop.

Next I disconnected the VPN and simultaneously streamed an episode of Law and Order.  The quality on the laptop was now lousy like on the TV.  It was now nearly 10 P.M. Eastern and both feeds had to re-buffer a couple times.

I don’t know which party is to be blamed but it seems to me that our best hope for a resolution is tell Netflix about our increasing dissatisfaction with  the quality of their video streaming service to our homes.  Let them straighten it out through their ISP.  I don’t think that my ISP is the source of the problem since Netflix works just fine over my VPN which also rides my ISPs’ backbone but which by-passes the offending ISP peering point.

NetflixFan

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/06/verizon-bandwidth-provider-blame-each-other-fo...

[Namronorman]

Netflix buys an appropriate amount of transit. The issue lies with peering between Verizon and other tier 1 providers. Generally, Verizon customers will see Netflix delivered to them via Level 3. It would not surprise me if Verizon is just getting creative with their peering setups in order to degrade Netflix streaming without implementing any actual throttling. You should look into what COMCAST does with running specific TATA links hot on purpose in order to punish specific types of traffic. It was quite the topic back in 2010 on NANOG.

[db909]

Well it is good to know that you can get a business account and bypass all this nonsense.  At least until FIOS starts throttling business accounts also.

[eversor1]

This likely has something to do with it: http://davesblog.com/blog/2014/02/05/verizon-using-recent-net-neutrality-victory-to-wage-war-against...

For some reason Verizon has figured that limiting bandwidth to particular services is a good business decision. I pay for internet access, and even though I feel that FIOS has been a great service in the past, if this practice continues, I will cancel my account and move elsewhere. 

Are there ANY Verizon reps even looking at this thread?