Option 3: Check if the speed of your internet changes when using a VPN. If you’ve been comfortably using one of these ports, and it suddenly hits you with a “Rejected” status, you might have a problem with throttling. The first step in that case is to try port forwarding, if you haven’t done so already. You should worry only if a game you play is coming back with a “Timed-Out” status. This advice is relevant only if you use an open port while gaming online and have recently begun experiencing issues. Gamers will want to go to, click Port Scanners, and then click Game Ports. Option 2: Check if certain ports are blocked. The ISP can use this tactic as a bargaining chip to get the streaming service to pay them, which is unfair to you. This test detects whether your ISP is slowing down streaming platforms like Netflix. Here’s what good results tend to look like: This test checks your connection speed to popular access points and detects any unusual slowdowns. Option 1: Use the Internet Health Test to see how your internet performs over a short period of time. Here are the three easiest ways to check if your ISP is throttling your internet connection: And there are other services that help you spot connection abnormalities. But if you do, the next step is to use an internet throttling test, which analyzes your internet speed and lets you know if it's being messed with. If you don't experience slowdowns often, you don't need to worry about data throttling. Some websites seem to be blocked or non-functional. Your videos are constantly buffering or lagging. Your internet has become slower than usual, or your Wi-Fi connection is choppy or broken.Ĭertain websites or services load slower than others. If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms listed here, ask yourself: Is my internet being throttled? If your internet is slower than normal, especially on certain websites, this may indicate that data throttling is happening on your connection. How can I tell if my internet is being throttled? If your internet connection has a real effect on your daily life, you should pay attention to the issue of internet throttling. That’s an anti-consumer business practice, and it keeps the internet from being freely accessible to everyone. What's more, your ISP can keep providing subpar service with impunity. In the worst-case scenario, you might be kept from doing your work or other important tasks.

Internet throttling violates the principle of net neutrality, which states that ISPs must give equal treatment to all communications over the internet. This may happen because you visit those sites frequently, or maybe your ISP’s available bandwidth is overloaded and they need to throttle your connection. Slow loading times don’t always indicate internet throttling - you might be browsing during peak hours, or you might need to do some browser maintenance.īut maybe your ISP is deliberately impeding your connection to those sites.

Connection throttled meaning