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Question

Internet speeds very different in different browsers

May 27, 2019 1:07PM PDT

I apologize if this has already been asked and answered, but I searched and couldn't really find much similar.

Within the last few days we switched ISPs and I now have a 400x20 connection. If I'm very close to our wireless router (not the ISP's) I can get pretty much full speed out of any of our 5G nets, on one condition - if I use Firefox as the browser. That's correct - other browsers tested at the same physical location all deliver various and slower speeds at the same web site. This apparent problem is made worse if I'm anywhere else in our home. Chrome, Edge, and IE all show different download speeds and are generally quite a bit slower than Firefox. Upload speeds can also vary wildly, with some tests not even able to complete depending on the browser.

This makes no sense to me, although I certainly don't understand the inner workings of browsers, and more specifically, how their interaction with the same wireless connection could vary so drastically. In any case, I'm wondering if anyone knows of specific settings in various browsers that could potentially cause this kind of aberrant behavior. I prefer Chrome, but if it's really handling data that much slower, I'm considering a change.

If it's not in settings somewhere, can anyone offer a suggestion for what could cause such bizarre behavior?

Thanks!
-Mostly Just Curious

Discussion is locked

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Answer
This is what most folk see.
May 27, 2019 1:17PM PDT

And it even changes as the browsers update. To really get into this you should be in the developer forums for each browser. For now you can research what network and cache settings each browser exposes and see if you can tinker there.

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Very interesting...
May 27, 2019 5:41PM PDT

I wouldn't have expected that, but I sure understand the point. I suppose what makes me most curious is how other applications, say Outlook, experience the connection. Are they able to utilize the full available speed since they don't likely do all the caching, etc. that the browsers do?

Anyway, ultimately it's not a big deal, I guess. As long as we can see the speed we're paying for, under any circumstances, we shouldn't have much to complain about.

Thanks for the reply.  Happy