Topic 'I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE' in forum 'Qwest' - dslreports.com

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 22:32:42 EDT

hwertz posted : I'll add my two cents. I've seen buffering and random speed fluctations from Youtube on Avalon (who has been absorbed by Lightedge; this runs over a Qwest DSL line) at 1.5mbps.. I of course had plenty of buffering when this line used to be 256kbps.. on Mediacom, on Verizon Wireless 3G (even in areas where I was getting 2+mbps), on Verizon FiOS when I was visiting in Baltimore, Qwest DSL as well as "Qwest with MSN" DSL. I noticed one video or even a section of a video would load quite slowly and the next would load just fine. By paying attention to the status bar (which in Firefox 3 would show http stuff being transferred to flash.. in Firefox 5 it doesn't seem to any more...but a traffic monitor like etherape would show this too) I noticed, for instance, slow loads would be all from ab1.youtube.com while other videos (or even sections of the same video) from say ab2.youtube.com would load fine. In other words, I think at least some of the problem is on youtube's end.. perhaps a specific box sees a usage spike, and it bogs down before the videos on it can be copied to other boxes for load balancing.

Re: Users who don't understand how the Internet works. Read this

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 22:09:23 EDT

wigwam posted :

said by No_Strings:

Many, many people have posted here with this problem and the thread contains some excellent suggestions on how to isolate the many potential causes. Those are always more helpful than "No, they don't" posts.

Making it sticky allows members to find the help easily.

Making it a sticky also shows the complete lack of knowledge about how the modern Internet works.

Re: Users who don't understand how the Internet works. Read this

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:48:20 EDT

No_Strings posted : Many, many people have posted here with this problem and the thread contains some excellent suggestions on how to isolate the many potential causes. Those are always more helpful than "No, they don't" posts.

Making it sticky allows members to find the help easily.

Users who don't understand how the Internet works. Read this.

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:35:58 EDT

wigwam posted : Oh My God... I am shocked that this thread is a sticky.

I was sure I debunked this thing a few years ago. Qwest is a Tier 1 provider and to suggest that we would be allowed by one of our customers to 'shape'/'block' their content with out their knowledge is utter nonsense.

What Google does beyond their peering point is their business.

They have a very sophisticated content management and distribution system. If your having problems with a specific video it should be reported to Google/Youtube. Video, your public ip, city, state, time, date, url and as much as you can give them.
Who knows maybe they would be inclined to check things out.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:10:43 EDT

rapsure posted : I have 5Mbps/896Kbps service myself and have been able to watch 1080p video from Youtube without any issues. The line speed is only barely faster than the required rate from a 1080p video and I haven't had any issues. 720p has never given me an issue either or any of the other resolutions.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:55:47 EDT

rapsure posted :

said by fragile:

I have noticed extreme slowness with video sites like youtube. It might work initially, but after a few videos it starts to slow down. I then run a speed test and my download speed drops below 1mbps.

You need to have your route changed. Qwest isn't shaping the traffic from Youtube. I had a similar problem and the route that I was on was congested and so I called them and had my line route changed which fixed the problem.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:50:19 EDT

anon posted : I have Qwest at home and at work. We have multiple people streaming youtube all day long with very few issues. The same with netflix, which uses a lot more bandwidth.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:55:17 EDT

fragile posted : I am a recent customer to Qwest DSL. I have the 7mbps speed. I switched from Comcast. I have noticed extreme slowness with video sites like youtube. It might work initially, but after a few videos it starts to slow down. I then run a speed test and my download speed drops below 1mbps. I then try other sites and other computers and its the same extreme slowness on any site. If you wait and come back perhaps in 30 minutes, the speed seems back to normal.

I should say I was using the supplied Q1000 modem/router from Qwest initially. I just changed my setup to bypass the router portion and the routing is now handled by my old router which I was using with no problem with Comcast. So between switching routers, computers, websites, the problem is either with the modem which seems unlikely, or with Qwest itself.

Has anyone experienced this?

thanks

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:19:07 EDT

FenixSucks posted : Definitely not PC. Take the laptop to campus, connect to their WiFi and streaming is silk smooth.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:37:59 EDT

Turbocpe posted : I've said it before, but I'm a Mediacom and Qwest customer and I see this performance issue on both ISPs, intermittently, with YouTube where it barely can stream ahead of the video. Sometimes if I refresh the video the status bar shows a different server for the video and it may work significantly better.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:25:56 EDT

CappinHoff posted : It's either your PC or youtube.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:44:10 EDT

FenixSucks posted : It's the OP reporting back.

My service is 7M/896k here, and YouTube access is not what I consider acceptable for 7Mbps download speed.

Qworst is Qworst.

240p works good on a good day
360p eh....
720p? FORGET IT!

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 04 May 2011 10:17:24 EDT

Boss302_1970 posted : I agree with Loomy

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 08:08:38 EDT

Brisk posted : Tried to watch a 22-minute video last night.
It stalled at least five times for at least 20-30 seconds, forcing me to reload the page each time.
I eventually gave up on streaming it and just downloaded the video using the downloadhelper extension for firefox. Even then, I had to keep pausing and resuming the download to "stimulate" it when it stalled.

Just adding my story to the pile.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:09:12 EDT

Loomy posted : I've been having on and off issues for over two years with youtube. Some videos (Most recently this one

»www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYTrzkPg0Zs ) will not load quickly on some bitrates. This particular one only uses 100KBps out of my 1.2MBps on the 1080p setting, while it will load at 700KBps on the 720p setting. I don't believe the issue is with Qwest but with Youtube.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 09:45:24 EDT

anon posted : This may be an issue with some of Qwest's DNS servers, but it is not Qwest throttling these domains by design. I have no issues with my 3072/640 connection on Qwest DNS or OpenDNS either.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 13:43:21 EDT

Boss302_1970 posted : works fine here

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 01:37:23 EDT

MHoltum posted : I have never had an issue loading vids off of Youtube and I am on that site every day.
--
Sarcasm, confusing stupid people since 1869

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:35:59 EDT

caffeinator posted :

said by longstreet:

I've had 20 meg dsl for 6 month and no issues at all.

Ditto.

I have the 7/896 service, upgraded from the 1.5/1 a few years ago. Both work just fine.

I think what people want is a perfect connect..fast all the time, no latency anywhere and cheap.

Newsflash: It does not exist.

Perhaps some think that packets from your computer go directly to your ISP and then wherever it is you're trying to go. This never happens. They are usually many hops that your ISP cannot control because they are outside of their network. The place you're trying to reach could be in a different timezone, a different country, or across the world.

When I ping seattle from spokane, it SHOULD go directly there right? It's only 300-odd miles, but that's not how the traffic is routed. Not even close. And there is nothing that can be done about that. It's all about peering arrangements, network conjestion, etc.

Changing DNS to other than your ISP's can help, or it might not. I use OpenDNS purely because they offer more features and arguably more security.

Here's a trace done just now...

--- 01/26/10 08:43:46 Pacific Standard Time--- looking up host youtube.com--- traceroute to youtube.com [74.125.45.100],    30 hops max, 18 byte packets   1  [    192.168.0.1]  192.168.0.1  0 ms    2  [   66.45.176.66]  dsl1.spkn.tierpoint.com  45 ms    3  [   66.45.176.65]  66-45-176-65.ptr.llix.net  46 ms    4  [   66.45.179.33]  66-45-179-33.ptr.tierpoint.com  46 ms    5  [   65.61.96.117]  br2-20g-po6.spkn.tierpoint.com  46 ms    6  [    65.61.96.30]  pr1-ge-2-0.spkn.tierpoint.com  46 ms    7  [   206.81.80.17]  six.sea01.google.com  62 ms    8  [  209.85.249.32]  209.85.249.32  62 ms    9  [  72.14.233.117]  72.14.233.117  110 ms   10  [ 209.85.242.215]  209.85.242.215  126 ms   11  [  72.14.232.215]  72.14.232.215  126 ms   12  [ 209.85.253.145]  209.85.253.145  142 ms   13  [  74.125.45.100]  yx-in-f100.1e100.net  126 ms   --- traceroute statistics for youtube.com    13 packets transmitted, 13 received    round-trip time (ms) min 0, avg 75, max 142

Notice how the ping nearly doubles as soon as it leaves my ISP, hits Google servers starting in Seattle and then bounces around inside Google's network on it's way to Cali? It's just how it is. The Internet is dynamic by it's very nature. It wasn't built to make any one person happy.

I've watched several YT vids today, including some embedded into Google News and other sites. They play just fine within seconds.

Perhaps you people with problems need to contact Google and ask them to look at their peering arrangements with Qwest?

*edit again..damn typos*

--

My 9/11 Tribute..online since 9/14/01
Need an Avatar? Check out Wafen's Avatar Pages

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:39:14 EDT

longstreet posted : I've had 20 meg dsl for 6 month and no issues at all.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:07:39 EDT

Psythik posted : So I've been reading through this thread and so far have seen a bunch of jib jab instead of actual solutions. OpenDNS is an OK workaround, but it adds up to an extra 50-100ms to my ping. Does anyone have a real solution, or will this thread go on for another ten pages without providing any answers?

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:21:18 EDT

So0o0Confuse posted : i just upgraded to the 12 MB from qwest, and i have absolutley NO problems on youtube i watch it all the time

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:26:42 EDT

NormanS posted : I doubt it is the DNS servers. DNS just performs a name lookup, and passes an IP address to the client for access.

More likely it is BGP issue, return path, or something along those lines. Very likely, using OpenDNS causes YouTube to send you to a different content delivery server than using Qwest DNS, and you are experiencing a difference in the path. In which case, there is no problem with the DNS servers.

OTOH, connection between the CDN (i.e., YouTube) and your IP network requires cooperation between the networks.
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:07:39 EDT

jkozlow3 posted : Just to add my experience...

I don't really use YouTube, but I have been experiencing VERY slow HD movie trailer downloads with my Apple TV for awhile now. Lately, they have been taking up to 2-3 minutes to start playing.

I switched my DNS servers in the router to OpenDNS servers and now HD movie trailers play after 30-45 seconds like they used to!

I've switched the DNS back and forth in the router from Qwest>OpenDNS several times to verify that it was in fact related to the DNS change, and I get repeatable results each time. Something is VERY wrong with the Qwest DNS servers. I'm no expert and I don't pretend to know how all this stuff works, but if changing a single variable repeatedly results in 3-4x faster/slower speeds, there is a serious problem.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:04:03 EDT

anon posted :

said by caffeinator:

Flash blows for quality anyways..

Flash isn't really a determining factor in video quality. It is the codec, resolution, and bitrate that most influence quality.

The 1080p sources on CBS look great. Yes, they do look better if they are downloaded and played on a local player as opposed to streaming within the online flash player, but they still have very good quality either way.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:14:35 EDT

caffeinator posted : All that means is if your computer isn't up to the task of HD video, neither is Flash.

Mine isn't as it's got onboard Intel video from 2004...I'm not gonna blame Flash over it though. I can watch HQ vids on YT just fine, but my video chokes on HD because it's old. It's not a Qwest or Adobe problem.

Flash blows for quality anyways..watch THIS SITE and see true HD...

This is news?
--

My 9/11 Tribute..online since 9/14/01
Need an Avatar? Check out Wafen's Avatar Pages

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:09:32 EDT

Anonymous_ posted :

said by caffeinator:

said by Anonymous_
downgrading to flash player 9 might fix it
as 10.0 disables hardware acceleration = slower

Umm, where are you getting that info?

From the Flash 10 features page: »www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/features/

quote:
Hardware acceleration Enhanced

Use the hardware processing power of the graphics card to paint SWF files into the browser and accelerate compositing calculations of bitmaps, filters, blend modes, and video overlays faster than would be performed in software.

»www.adobe.com/products/flashplay···temreqs/

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:04:23 EDT

caffeinator posted :

said by Anonymous_
downgrading to flash player 9 might fix it
as 10.0 disables hardware acceleration = slower

Umm, where are you getting that info?

From the Flash 10 features page: »www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/features/

quote:
Hardware acceleration Enhanced

Use the hardware processing power of the graphics card to paint SWF files into the browser and accelerate compositing calculations of bitmaps, filters, blend modes, and video overlays faster than would be performed in software.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:28:29 EDT

Anonymous_ posted :

said by Turbocpe:

I don't think this is a Qwest issue. With my cable ISP, some YouTube clips don't load, load slowly, and few load normally. YouTube has always been slow no matter what location or ISP I've used.

same here

downgrading to flash player 9 might fix it
as 10.0 disables hardware acceleration = slower

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:28:54 EDT

caffeinator posted : Ah, I see.

I'm not using Qwest as an ISP directly, so I'd never heard of that before.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:47:08 EDT

Maxxxt posted : I was talking about Qwest DNS redirecting "service".

»www.qwest.net/web.help/

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefruit

Not sure if it's related to slowdowns but I can't stand DNS redirect advertising.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:57:23 EDT

caffeinator posted : Hmm, are you talking about the OpenDNS Guide page for loading errors?

like this: »guide.opendns.com/?url=www.mmogc···rt7.html

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:52:58 EDT

nonymous posted : Which new service?

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:30:17 EDT

Maxxxt posted : I have been having problems with the constant buffering on Youtube for the last month or so, also allot of 404, resets etc. With Youtube video running I would get spikes of speed every other second at barely half of my total speed, not enough to keep a standard video going.

I reset my DNS to one public and one open DNS with VERY promising results, it works fine now.

I guess Qwest's routing is messed up. On another note I just opted out of Qwest's 404 hijack advertising as well, it kinda bothered me. I wonder If that new "service" has anything to do with the slowdowns?

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:17:28 EDT

longstreet posted : Google / YouTube needs to send traffic AROUND problems instead of through them.

Notice, that getting to YouTube isn't the problem, it's how YouTube sends it back.

This is why the OpenDNS trick works, because it forces Google / YouTube to route you differently.

Getting on the Internet was the responsibility of Qwest, however sending something back isn't Qwest's problem.

Here's an analogy to the problem :

You can write a letter and put it in your mailbox very promptly but if the addressee has a problem, somehow it's the local post office fault and not the remote one, even though we know the remote office has problems (look at the trace route)

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:28:55 EDT

NormanS posted :

said by snorf :

I've had to have them "move me to a different server at the corporate office*" 3 times in the past year just to get around 5-6 Mbps (instead of 3) ...

Possibly related to issues with the aggregation router. SBC had to change my connection once, switching me from a nearby (Santa Clara, California) aggregation router to a more distant (Pleasanton, California) aggregation router.

Another recurring problem in SBC (now AT&T) land is profile hash. A fair number of users wind up with lower speeds than they are paying for because something went FUBAR with their profile. At least AT&T (as SBC before them) will fix the problem as soon as somebody brings it to their attention.
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:46:28 EDT

anon posted : I am in Phx using Qwest 6mps dsl. Have experienced the same prob of slow loading and buffering when trying to view youtube. Changed to Open DNS - solved the problem.
I talked to a Qwest rep yesterday and he never heard of the problem - then I asked him to read this thread - oh my. He called his support and while I waited he stated that Qwest does have a problem with streaming from a google site ( youtube) and that they were working to solve the problem with Google-Qwest.

He then reccomended to use Open DNS meanwhile. Ummm! Told him I already was and he said that was fine.

Since I changed to open DNS I have had no problems with Youtube or any other sites. The only annoyance is if you don't get the url right it come up with the Open DNS Home Page.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:08:01 EDT

anon posted : I have been having similar issues to the OP on multiple video sites since mid-September, though mostly on youtube. It was happening again today on pbs.org's video site, so I went into my prefs and used the OpenDNS servers, and presto...problem (temporarily?) solved.

I won't pretend I know exactly what's going on here (e.g. old Qwest DNS entries as speculated upthread), but I can safely say that QWest has gone way downhill here in Washington over the past 6-12 months and it wouldn't surprise me if this was yet another problem of their own making. I've had to have them "move me to a different server at the corporate office*" 3 times in the past year just to get around 5-6 Mbps (instead of 3), which is a godawful hassle that requires hours of being on hold with folks from the Philippines as they talk to higher level support.

Anyway, just wanted to add another voice to the thread in support of the OpenDNS "fix". I'd also like to see any Qwest people respond to the umm/Slamma conversation on p.8 to see if they can help shed additional light on what is happening here. This may be something that happens with many ISPs, but I've only seen it consistently on my Qwest connection and not my friend's Comcast or my parent's Verizon.

* = I wish I actually knew what that meant...if they are moving me to a different place on a patch panel at the local POP or something like that. I have never been able to get a straight answer/detailed explanation from the techs because I never get to speak to any of the higher level people directly. The tech they sent over to my house once mentioned that it did involve moving a physical cable from one port to another, though.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:04:57 EDT

azzonie3 posted : I suggest you guys try www.hulu.com to see if you get a good stream from them. If you do then make your conclusions as to where the problem is.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:07:07 EDT

NormanS posted :

said by Mirazh:

Youtube blows big time on Qwest.

And on Comcast, and on Cox ...

Seems like the only providers not having YouTube issues are providers with direct peering to the Google transit network; but I am not even sure about that.
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:27:44 EDT

longstreet posted : Your problem is likely your internal wiring in your home.

I have the 20 megabit service. When I first got it, I was getting 3-4 meg.

When I unplugged an old phone cord that wasn't being used, it jumped up to 20.

Might want to check you don't have a similar issue.

Anything that uses the telephone line outside of the modem itself must be filtered.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:08:34 EDT

Mirazh posted : Well here I am a brand spanking new Qwest user. Only 30 minutes old. Of coarse I post self made videos up on youtube and as soon as I went to the site I noticed a HUGE lag in video playback.

I have been with DSL or Cable providers for about 10 years now.

AOL DSL, Telocity, Direct TV DSL, Speakeasy, DSL EXTREME and @home and most recently Comcast, all services provided in the Bay Area mind you. Each had their strengths and weaknesses.

Now that I am up here in Central Oregon, I seem to have a limited choice of providers which I understand completely. Clearwire (garbage) Bend Broadband (100gig cap garbage) and Qwest.

So I went with Qwest, and I am here, to say, they they most certainly have a routing or dns issue. I brought my systems up here about 3 weeks ago. No changes to them what so ever. I did not install that MSN garbage on my machines and purchased my own Actiontec 701 basic modem, using it in conjunction with a Buffalo Wireless G router with DD-WRT installed.

Youtube blows big time on Qwest. And it is a damn shame too because I am a content provider on Youtube. Other than maybe, purchasing a different modem, I should have brought my old school 5660 modem up with me. What can I do about this horrible slow down? Which is completely unacceptable in my eyes. Not to mention having a 7mb package and getting a highly fluctuating 3mb - 1.5mb download speed. And I know all about overhead and distance and line quality.

Ugh, so far I am not impressed, but it is internet, that remains at least for now, uncapped. Guess I have to log my complaint with them first thing in the morning. 45 minutes new to qwest, and already not so thrilled.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:07:59 EDT

cyclone_z posted :

said by mrhuggles:

for me contacting them directly only gets me to the same old thing, thats why every time i see them pasting that here it really bugs me, its not like they are reaching out to people in a meaningful way they are just trying to put you into the unplug wait plugbackin team hehe.

If you're having problems, call at 9 AM sharp M-F and ask to speak to a U.S. agent. I've talked to level 2 in Salt Lake City and they were very helpful.

Re: I think Qwest is blocking YOUTUBE

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:55:50 EDT

azzonie3 posted :

said by FenixSucks:

Has it been fixed yet?
It seems like posting on Qwest's twitter only results in a solicitation to contact them privately at talktous@ *** .com

The Twitter team only does the samething. If you have a problem, please contact us privately, blah blah.

OpenDNS does not function right when I put it in Qwest Actionscrap router, which explains why it wasn't working the first time around. With the OpenDNS enabled in my computer, Youtube is working pretty good. Is it safe to switch back to Qwest DNS yet???

Qwest DNS is working fine for me, always has been. But then again you already know this and your just bumping your thread because you like the attention.