Its been snowing non stop for the past day and I was wondering if snow on the telephone lines can slow your internet down. I recently switched to Qwest DSL and it was fine earlier today but like a few hours ago it got uber slow. I cant even listen in to PostapocRadio without it cutting out, and I don't even want to try playing FE with my internet being all crappy like that.

Well my speed is supposed to be at 1.5mbps ive done various speed tests and the highest I got was 0.50 mbps but usually its like 0.3mbps on speedtest.net.  The funny thing is my upload is at 0.66 and is faster than my download speeds. 

Im going to boot up linux and see if that might change anything, all my computers are having the same slow internet speeds so I dont think it was 7 or any of the tweaks I did on my computer but who knows.

Im lucky enough to even log in to write this so hopefully my internet will speed up soon. My computer is other peoples TV, lol well at least I can still play guitar for now.

Never had any problems from snow or cold. Other than when it breaks equipment.  DSL companies not mine:)

 I do get slow downs. Always first step is to unplug power from modem and router if you have one and shut down computer.

Leave unplugged for 30+ seconds then plug modem and router back in and let em reset. Then reboot computer. If that does not help most likely a problem on the DSL company side. Check their web site see if they have reported slow downs or anything in your area and last thing wait till the next day see if it improves. If not give tech a call.

Letting modem and router reset fixes 99% of my issues.

It depends if they use above or below ground lines.  Below ground lines should be fine, but if it utilizes the old phone network lines then there will be problems.  However, its improbable any broadband carrier would use above ground wiring.

Cold will have positive effects when it comes to electronics and electrical signals.

The most likely case is that its cold outside and all your neighbors are utilizing the internet.

Thanks for the replies.  Yeah I wasn't to sure if this snow would be causing problems or not. I was going to do the router thing once everyone goes to bed. We are all internet freaks around here and were fighting for our own bandwith as well with our neighbors. I know one has quests for sure but IDK what all the others have.

Its going to be a long winter If this sort of thing happens every time it snows.  Looks like I might upgrade to fiber optic after all. lol

You might just want to call them, have them test your signal strength or something. Also I'm not sure how to access a DSL modem's GUI but they often have signal strength stats there. On a cable modem you can go to http://192.168.100.1 to check your signal strength and signal to noise ratio. You should be able to find guidelines for a good signal level someplace with google, apparently 12dB or better is good, or just check the values when it's running fine on a nice day then check them again on a snowy day.

If the people you share internet with use any torrenting or p2p btw you should set up QoS and max upstream in your router if it supports those settings. It's better to cap your upstream slightly under your max in the router than to let the modem get backed up at max upstream.

if its cable internet you got its shared and slows down the more poeple are on it. If its snowing non stop more people at their homes using it maybe the reason.

Yeah IDK what happened to it but now its back up to normal speeds maybe all the kids in my area were off school downloading torrents.lol

Originally posted by noquarter

You might just want to call them, have them test your signal strength or something. Also I'm not sure how to access a DSL modem's GUI but they often have signal strength stats there. On a cable modem you can go to http://192.168.100.1 to check your signal strength and signal to noise ratio. You should be able to find guidelines for a good signal level someplace with google, apparently 12dB or better is good, or just check the values when it's running fine on a nice day then check them again on a snowy day.

If the people you share internet with use any torrenting or p2p btw you should set up QoS and max upstream in your router if it supports those settings. It's better to cap your upstream slightly under your max in the router than to let the modem get backed up at max upstream.

Better they do it right from the office and ask them if there are any issues with the node. With DSL and the node use, sometimes in bad weather or if someone has been messing outside can give issues or even if regular upgrades are happening.

I've never had problems from snow, but a squirell ate through the line once. lol

Snow and other environmental things should have no effect on x-dsl lines.

particularly bad weather usually affects my wireless, but not the connection itself.

maybe if its driving rain/snow there could be a leak at your exchange or something.

or maybe a lot of people are staying in watching TV ondemand, and your area isnt suited to having all of its connections at max :p