ozsmacd
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Q: iPhone 5 + Issues downloading Podcasts over WIFI networks

Hi All, reading the interwebs I can see many people with the same issue as me, very slow downloading of some some Podcasts using Apples Podcast app, downcast, instacast or icatcher (ie any client) over WIFI only. Just to confirm this is repeatable over quite a number of different podcasts, basically WIFI download is shockingly slow whilst 3G or LTE is super quick.

If I disable WFI and head over to 3G/LTE everything is better, back to any WIFI network and it's advising me approx 1 hour to download the ~50MB audio version of the podcast. Oddly I don't have this issue with the Video vergecast, it downloads solidly over WIFI or 3G/LTE.

This has been driving me nuts for a few months now, I've tried everything I can think of, including open access points, static IP, google dns (rather than local DNS), 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 6.1 (beta), 6.1.1....nothing seems to make a difference.

Does anyone have any suggestions, here are some screen grabs to put things into context:

 

1 - Connected to strong 5.0GHz or 2.5GHz wifi network (timecapsule) with a 116Mbps / 2.4Mbps cable internet link (speeds tested on desktop and iPhone confirm fast speeds), very slow download.

Shot1wifi_medium

 

2 - Test same download with WIFI disabled, falling back to 3G network with a reasonable signal, speed is far far better

Shot23g_medium

3 - Just to confirm download speed, run a speedtest.net test over wifi network, application maxes out at this speeds and won't report any additional bandwidth

Shot3speedtestmaxedout_medium

4 - Test WIFI download again to confirm speed issue

Shot4testwifiagain_medium

6 - Test Video version of theverge cast, super quick download & throughput (same wifi connection), reaches to head and starts scratching

Shot5testvideoversion_medium

6 - Test original audio download with iCatcher over WIFI, same slow download speed

Shot6testwithicatcher_medium

 

This just doesn't make any sense to me......am I alone? What am I missing?

 

Issue is with Podcast hosting service = Nope, if so would have slow download over both WIFI and 3G/LTE

Issue is with local WIFI network = Nope, tested a few different networks same issue & confirmed speed is available by downloading other podcasts & running speedtest.net app

Issue is with specific app = Nope, can get same result using four different podcast apps

Help!

iPhone 5, iOS 6.1.1

Posted on Feb 18, 2013 4:11 PM

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ozsmacd

Q: iPhone 5 + Issues downloading Podcasts over WIFI networks

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  • by themenace60,

    themenace60 themenace60 May 16, 2013 11:39 PM in response to ozsmacd
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 16, 2013 11:39 PM in response to ozsmacd

    Nice work ozsmacd, I've done something similar and am working a little down the track.

    I've now thrown my WLAN into a bridge arrangement and look at packet size which is now 1510 and I can get a consistent download. Whilst I've had this cronic problem for a while, my current situation is that I cannot replicate the fault !!!

    I think you are on to something.

    I'm seeing the retransmissions too, looking further into it, they appear to be related to Null Function Packets where the STA (iPhone) is telling the AP it's going to sleep (it's doing this LOTS), this, by design, causes the AP to buffer / queue packets and make them available when the STA reports back that it's online again.

    Thoughts ?

  • by berniefl34,

    berniefl34 berniefl34 May 17, 2013 5:54 AM in response to themenace60
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 17, 2013 5:54 AM in response to themenace60

    Good find,,, the question is can this be fixed with iOS 7 or is it a hardware issue,,,or can it be fixed with a work around without having to download something in the background to speed up the wifi

  • by Stephen Dawson1,

    Stephen Dawson1 Stephen Dawson1 May 17, 2013 9:45 PM in response to ozsmacd
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 17, 2013 9:45 PM in response to ozsmacd

    Felt for a long time that this is a network stack problem. A concurrent download might just change the timing enough to change things. Also, the problem seems to be worse with higher latency connections (compared to older devices) which again might be a tming issue.

     

    I think it would be good to post the findings to the Apple feedback site.

  • by ozsmacd,

    ozsmacd ozsmacd May 21, 2013 12:07 AM in response to ozsmacd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 21, 2013 12:07 AM in response to ozsmacd

    So for those who want a work around to solve this issue, and I can't believe that I didn't think of this sooner, use a proxy server in your local network.  A good example for Windows is WinGate (http://www.wingate.com free now for 3 users, you don't need more), just install the program and accept defaults, then under your WIFI connection define the proxy server.

     

    It's not an actual fix, but it's close enough for me & my lord it's sorted out my issue right away.

     

    Today is a good day, I have 200MB podcasts downloading over WIFI in just over a minute, reliably.

  • by ozsmacd,

    ozsmacd ozsmacd May 21, 2013 12:14 AM in response to ozsmacd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 21, 2013 12:14 AM in response to ozsmacd

    Perhaps we can all take the 5 minutes to provide bug feed-back to Apple about this?

     

    https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

  • by Stephen Dawson1,

    Stephen Dawson1 Stephen Dawson1 May 21, 2013 2:14 AM in response to ozsmacd
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 21, 2013 2:14 AM in response to ozsmacd

    Great idea! Also kind of proves how broken the iPhone 5s (and iPad4's and iPad Mini's) network stack is. Not sure how to accomplish this with Macs though.

  • by berniefl34,

    berniefl34 berniefl34 May 21, 2013 7:09 AM in response to Stephen Dawson1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 21, 2013 7:09 AM in response to Stephen Dawson1

    How do you set the wingate up? I'm totally lost,, lol

  • by berniefl34,

    berniefl34 berniefl34 May 21, 2013 9:34 AM in response to berniefl34
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 21, 2013 9:34 AM in response to berniefl34

    I figured the proxy thing out and it's working great now,,it's a shame that we have to even do it,,something is badly wrong

  • by Franco Solerio,

    Franco Solerio Franco Solerio May 21, 2013 4:05 PM in response to ozsmacd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 21, 2013 4:05 PM in response to ozsmacd

    I can confirm connecting through a proxy server solves the issue. You can install Squid using Homebrew if you are good at unix stuff or try Squidman for OS X. Don't know if Squidman works on 10.8 though.

  • by Mareshalu,

    Mareshalu Mareshalu May 21, 2013 8:05 PM in response to ozsmacd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 21, 2013 8:05 PM in response to ozsmacd

    Geez Apple, get your bugs straightened out.

  • by Stephen Dawson1,

    Stephen Dawson1 Stephen Dawson1 May 23, 2013 1:12 AM in response to Franco Solerio
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 23, 2013 1:12 AM in response to Franco Solerio

    Installed Squid via Squidman (on a Lion machine). I can also confirm it makes a considerable difference. I can now download large files from Dropbox in a reasonable time. Mind you, it's not as fast as my 3G connection, even though the 3G connection tests slower than wifi using Speedtest.

     

    I also tested speeds on high latency connections (something I've bought up before). I'm in Sydney, and Speedtest to my closest server (with a ping of 22) is around 17mb/sec (with or without the proxy). However, if I change to a Singapore server, which has a ping around 6-700, without the proxy I get speeds down around .3 to .6mb/sec. With the proxy, this jumps to 3 to 3.5mb/sec.

     

    I'm hitting the Apple feedback page again!

  • by berniefl34,

    berniefl34 berniefl34 May 23, 2013 6:13 PM in response to Stephen Dawson1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 23, 2013 6:13 PM in response to Stephen Dawson1

    The wingate server proxy works well but for some reason around 6 or 7pm Everynite the wifi gets slow again but is fine again in the morning,,, why is that ? Any ideas ,,is it something I have to change in wingate or is it just Internet traffic in the neighborhood slowing it down ?  Any ideas? Thanks in advance

  • by ozsmacd,

    ozsmacd ozsmacd May 28, 2013 10:36 PM in response to berniefl34
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 28, 2013 10:36 PM in response to berniefl34

    I'd do a few speedtest.net bandwith tests from your PC or MacBook, it's likely this is simply congestion on your broadband (are you on cable?).

     

    When you say slow, what example could you provide?

  • by berniefl34,

    berniefl34 berniefl34 Jun 3, 2013 7:04 AM in response to ozsmacd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 3, 2013 7:04 AM in response to ozsmacd

    I wonder if iOS 7 will fix this wifi issue,, I will try the iOS 7 beta when it comes out,,,do you guys think iOS 7 will fix it or is it hardware related,, this stack issue

  • by Stephen Dawson1,

    Stephen Dawson1 Stephen Dawson1 Jun 3, 2013 6:46 PM in response to berniefl34
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 3, 2013 6:46 PM in response to berniefl34

    I would think it would be fixable with an update - some sort of driver issue or maybe firmware. Fingers crossed anyway!

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