Many more report slow .Mac speeds in Europe; Apple responds
We've received overwhelming response to a recently posted story regarding extremely slow transfer speeds to and from .Mac servers in Europe. Dozens of users emailed to corroborate the dismal throughput, which appears to be the result of some type of bandwidth capping on transfers. Some typical reports:
- "I was recently in Sweden Norway and Denmark. I gave up using my .mac account because of slow speeds and used gmail instead. This happened in all the hotels, mostly 4 star and internet access points in tourist offices, and was not an isolated incident."
- "Can only confirm this. VERY slow."
- "I live in Spain, and yes, the transfer speed to and from .Mac servers are terribly slow. The Gallery feature for me is useless, it take ages to display. In my case, even with iDisk (the speed rate does not goes above of 52kb)." -- Enrique Zamora
- "Local .Mac-email for instance is almost unusable at the moment while with my other accounts run smoothly.'
Apple is now sending detailed responses to users reporting the speed issues, and querying them on a number of specific points. One reader received the response:
"I understand you are trying to view a .Mac Web Gallery that loads more slowly than expected. Apple is currently investigating reports of this, so I would like to get some additional information from you. Please reply and insert your answers to these questions: In which country are you located? What is the Web Gallery you are attempting to view?; What troubleshooting steps, if any, have you taken so far?; What web browser and version are you using? (For example, Safari 2.0.4) [...]; Have you tried to view the Web Gallery from another computer on the same network or Internet connection as yours? If so, does the Web Gallery load slowly there, too?; Have you tried to view the Web Gallery via a different Internet connection? If so, does the Web Gallery load slowly there, too?; What is the name of your Internet service provider (ISP)? (etc.)"
Unfortunately, as aforementioned, this doesn't appear to be any type of localized issue, but rather a cap on the bandwidth flowing to and from some .Mac servers in Europe, meaning Apple's queries regarding speed tests and local troubleshooting procedures are likely fruitless.
In most cases, users report that when they connect to a .Mac Gallery they are unable to download content at speeds faster than 80 KB/sec, regardless of connection type, making the Gallery feature virtually unusable for both Images and Video. However, downloads or uploads to iDisks take place at normal speeds. This would seem to evdience some sort of cap.
Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.
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