What Is Data Throttle Bypass? How To Bypass ISP Speed Limit?
Our modern society has slowly but surely become fully entwined with the internet and all of its subcultures. You can’t really function in this world if you’re not connected somehow so the issue of internet speeds has become quite the hot topic all over the internet. Most people don’t understand a lot about the internet or how it functions so trying to explain concepts such as data throttle bypass or how to bypass ISP speed limit can prove quite cumbersome.
There have also been multiple discussions all over the globe related to internet neutrality and new legislation that should be put in place. From a legal standpoint, this is new territory, and depending on where you live the options that you have at your disposal to confront your ISP in a court of law can be slim to none. So generally your best bet is to simply figure out a workaround for your problems.
This is why my main goal in this article will be to delve deeper into this subject and try to paint the bigger picture for you in layman’s terms. So read on if you want to find out how to bypass your ISP maximum speed limit and other useful information.
Table of contents
What exactly is ISP bandwidth throttling?
To put it plainly, ISP throttling is the process through which your internet service provider (ISP) will deliberately restrict your bandwidth or your internet speed without informing you. This will generally result in slower speeds than what your ISP should be offering you per your contract. Sometimes only your latency might be affected which can be a huge problem if you’re an online gamer.
Most ISPs use throttling in order to better control the traffic over their network, reduce bandwidth congestion, or simply enforce data limits. In certain cases, this type of throttling isn’t necessarily bad. If you are one of many mobile users which are using the same cell tower, throttling will help to equally distribute that bandwidth.
There are also some very rare cases in which certain ISPs will try to throttle people they consider “heavy” internet users. But these types of situations mostly happen in areas where high-speed internet is a valued commodity due to geographical or weather issues.
Why is my Internet speed being throttled?
Before asking yourself this question you should first read the contract that you have signed with your ISP. If you have a monthly bandwidth limit you should try your best to not go over it. Whenever you do your ISP will automatically throttle your speed until the end of that month.
Another reason why your ISP might engage in this type of tactic is when they are unable to provide all of their users with the promised data limit that they signed up for. They will often oversell their capabilities and severely underestimate the amount of data a given user can consume per month.
Even if you’re paying for an unlimited data plan, there have been cases in the past where ISPs still throttled their users despite asking for premium prices. Especially if you live in the US, data plans are unlimited only as long as you consume internet data within certain arbitrary limits.
Another issue that ISPs have to deal with is how fast things move in the online world. One day your average users might use a small amount of data to check some emails and browse around, nothing unusual. The next day though they might have already decided to start a Youtube or Twitch career which will drastically increase the amount of data that they consume daily.
In recent years the concept of paid prioritization has also reared its ugly head into this conversation. ISPs will sometimes throttle your connection to specific websites or applications that are known to take up a lot of bandwidth. Things like Netflix, Twitch, or other video streaming services are targeted the most in order to discourage you from using them.
The answer to why your ISP is doing this will also change depending on who is answering that question. Your ISP will always inform you they have your best interests at heart, even if most of the time they really don’t. Their sole purpose is to make a profit, not ensure that every user is content with their services, which can only mean that you should do your best to learn how to bypass ISP throttling if you want to take full advantage of their services.
There are also some very shady tactics that have happened in the past such as ISP companies paying smaller companies to throttle their users in order to force some of them to inquire about their more expensive services.
While this is completely illegal in Europe, in the US net neutrality was repealed by the FCC in 2017 so these types of tactics are still around.
This doesn’t happen only in the USA though. Canada, for example, still has Internet Service Providers who openly throttle internet speeds and the same is true for Australia and some other regions. If that doesn’t make one wonder how to bypass the maximum speed limit by ISP, I don’t know what will.
How can I tell if my connection is being throttled?
There are multiple ways to figure out if your connection speed is being throttled as well as options in order to bypass ISP throttling. As stated above, simply trusting your ISP won’t always pan out since you can’t take everything that they state at face value.
In order to find out for yourself if your data is being throttled, you will have to measure your internet speed over a period of time. More often than not you will clearly see slower traffic towards the end of a month. This indicates that you have either consumed too much internet traffic or that your ISP is having issues with offering adequate speeds to all its users.
You can visit free websites like securitygladiators.com and speedtest.net to check and keep a record of your speeds regularly. If you do this for a few months you will then have a clearer image of how your connection speed is being throttled.
Generally, simple network congestion problems should be temporary. If you are having issues with your bandwidth at all times then your ISP is probably the culprit. Check your internet speed during the day as well as at night. If there are clear differences in numbers then your network might just be congested due to how many users it has rather than your ISP directly throttling your connection.
Another useful tool that can help you figure this out is a speed test tool from Netflix. Keep in mind that this tool will only show if your provider is throttling connections going solely to Netflix. But it can offer you a base number that you can compare to other speed tests.
There is also the Google Video Quality Report tool which will offer information on your connection quality to YouTube servers. If you are having issues with YouTube content then definitely check this tool out.
After you’ve tried all of these options you will definitely be able to see a pattern in how your internet behaves at different hours or when visiting different websites. While this won’t clearly indicate that your ISP is tampering with your connection, it’s a good start and could provide you with evidence that you can then discuss with your ISP.
How can I bypass ISP throttling?
We have finally arrived at the most important question, how to bypass ISP speed limit?
The ISP data cap is a bit tough to bypass, but not impossible.
For example, using data compression in your browser could be a great start. While it doesn’t exactly bypass the cap, this could be a great solution to simply use less data and not reach the stage when your internet speed is being throttled. Some browsers like Chrome and Opera offer data compression options both for mobile and desktop use.
For mobile users, there are also special apps that can be installed on smartphones or tablets which can significantly reduce data usage.
Some ISPs who lend WiFi routers to their customers have the data caps hardcoded in the devices. Switching from the device you get from your ISP to a store-bought modem or router can be a great solution to bypass ISP data caps.
It’s also important to know that your ISP is not the only one who can throttle your bandwidth. The WiFi networks in hotels or other public places are known to have serious limitations especially for users who want to stream content, leaving many customers wondering how to bypass hotel WiFi throttling.
The best solution to all of this is simply using dedicated VPN software when going online. As I've stated before, certain services will be automatically throttled by your ISP to discourage you from using them. A VPN will immediately fix this problem for you since your ISP will no longer be able to see exactly what you’re doing online.
To check if a VPN can help you with data throttle bypass, you should:
- 1. Check your Internet speed with one of the tools mentioned above, without being connected to the VPN server and make a note of the result.
- 2. Open your VPN client and connect to one of their servers.
- 3. Check your Internet speed again and compare the results.
Considering that in normal conditions a VPN actually slightly slows down your internet speed, if your speed is better while connected to a VPN, it means that your ISP is definitely throttling your bandwidth and you should always browse the web-connected to a VPN for better performance.
Keep in mind though that a VPN will only protect your particular connection from throttling. If your ISP decides to throttle all the users in your network, there’s nothing you can do about that. As I’ve mentioned earlier, most ISPs will do this during the day at peak hours.
If you are still on the fence about using a VPN you should know that it comes with a lot of other advantages. Since all your data will travel through a tunnel of encryption, this will protect you from hackers and advertisers, as well as the prying eyes of government agencies and ISPs.
Looking for a VPN Provider for data throttle bypass?
If you’re thinking of making this move for the benefit of your internet speed, HideIPVPN could be the right choice for you. With a long history of providing users with amazing services, we are proud to say that our VPN client is fast, secure and very reliable.
As mentioned above, one of the most important steps in managing to bypass your ISPs data throttling is keeping your online activity private. Well, you’ll be happy to know that HideIPVPN uses the extremely efficient AES-256 encryption, which will make it close to impossible for anyone to access any details about what you do online.
On top of this, our servers are scattered around the globe in strategic locations, making it extremely easy for you to access restricted websites regardless of where you are, and in case any of them will be used for streaming content, your ISP will not know about it and your speed won’t be affected.
And to make things even better, our support team is always here for you and ready to help should you ever need anything. Give it a shot and you’ll see for yourself!
Conclusion
All in all the issue of ISP throttling is a very fickle one, especially in certain parts of the world. Whether it is due to poor infrastructure or simple corporate greed, finding an ISP that won’t resort to these tactics can sometimes prove impossible.
Looking on the bright side though, new legislation will definitely improve the situation in the coming years and soon enough these types of tactics will hopefully be a thing of the past.
Until then, the best you can do is get yourself a proper VPN that will ensure you won’t be throttled based on your browsing preferences.
