Well I did go there and I also went to AT&T's speed test and I got 2 different answers. The one I did on AT&T was worse than the other one.

What was the reading? What speed/bandwidth level are you paying to have and what kind of a connection is it - DSL, Cable, Fiber, Satellite ?

Every time I test it's different. Today on the AT&T site earlier it was 1.11 for download, don't remember what upload was. Just now it was 1.28 for download and 0 upload. On the speedtest.net which was what Dell used and surprisingly AT&T told me to use, just now the readings were 1.19 download and 0.31 upload. Yesterday there were times when it read as low as 0.03 on download on the AT&T site. (That was when the update was running.) Don't know what the readings are supposed to be but when I looked online it can vary and I get the lowest priced speed package they have. I am now wondering if I should just keep quiet and let them come out and look or call them and cancel since I am able to do what I normally do online.

I was having almost the same problem but I was on Frontier for internet . I too did the speed tests etc and I was getting 2 mp on the DL and less then 1 on the upload. they promise me 4 megs ... guy came out and said I was too far away from something and I would never see anything higher the 2. I called Comcast and was told they have fiber lines in my area . I cancelled with Frontier and went with Comcast ( XInfinity ) I now get ... you ready for this over 100 mps for less cost. See if Comcast is in your area ... can't hurt ... good luck !

DSL over a copper phone line is distance dependent. Distance isn't a factor for cable internet or fiber (whether from the phone company or the cable company).

rita, your bandwidth is very limited. If a Windows update was in progress, there was no added capacity in the connection to do a speed test, it was all being used by the update and that probably explains what you saw.

Capacity (sometimes called speed, wrongly) is expressed in Megabits per second (megs, or Mb/sec). File sizes are expressed in bytes, There are 8 bits to the byte. A Windows update can be 200-300 megaBYTES, so 1600-2400 megaBITS. Average it to 2000,. At a connection capacity of 2 megs (Mbit/sec) that would take, say, 1000 seconds. 15+ minutes. At 1 Mb, 30+ minutes. With no ability to do anything else at the same time, because trying to share an already burdened connection will cause all uses to choke. I think that's what happened with your update.

If you want or need to do a Windows update, take the laptops to a public place (like a library) that may have a faster connection than you have at home.

Edited to correct math

Big Al, unfortunately DSL is our only option here. I live in a rural area and on a dead-end road on the wrong side of a railroad track (story of my life) and the cable companies won't run lines, we've asked. Thanks for explaining it for me, Elmer. I'm a dummy when it comes to technology, especially computers but when it's explained in simple words I am usually able to understand. I will definitely remember not to do updates again in the hours that I need to use the computer. And never until I've gotten all my business done that requires getting on a website. I've been doing updates all along with no problems but this time it was a disaster. The guy at Dell said that it was a big update. I don't know why it went quickly for the one computer but bogged down on the other one.

If you have an up-to-date Cell phone, and unlimited good connection service, you could possibly make the cell phone a 'hot spot' & run your computer internet connection through it.

You might also consider scheduling your updates to run overnight while you sleep so it won't impact your normal usage.

Steve, yes I've already decided on what you are suggesting. Elmer, Mike, I guess me saying I'm a tech dummy above didn't sink in. Elmer, did you really think I was going to notice an error in the math? Really? LOL!!! Mike, I don't have a smart phone and what you suggest about making one a "hot spot" is like explaining string theory to me. Again - LOL!! But thanks to both of you for trying!

Ha rita, I try to be accurate and avoid errors. To try to do that, I reread my posts later, when and if I have a chance, to catch such things. I corrected it for myself and for others trying to follow along.

It sounds like you got hit with a Windows10 update with a slow internet connection. Even with decent internet speed, a few Win10 updates seem to take forever, and once started, it should not be interrupted.

Yes, particularly if the computer has been off awhile, or I'm using Linux on that computer instead of windows for awhile. There are ways to limit bandwidth usage and/or "active" time (time of day to allow update downloading) in the update options.

Same situation here -- I have DSL since there's no option for cable, but it is possible to get satellite internet.