Closed Bug 765633 Opened 14 years ago Closed 10 years ago

[Adbe 3219554} Speed tests sites such as speedtest.net misreport my download speed with Flash Protected mode enabled

Categories

(External Software Affecting Firefox Graveyard :: Flash (Adobe), defect)

Product:
External Software Affecting Firefox Graveyard
Component:
Flash (Adobe)
Platform:
x86_64
Windows 7
Type:
defect
Priority:
Not set
Severity:
normal

Tracking

(Not tracked)

Status:
RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

People

(Reporter: vincent.edwards3, Unassigned)

References

Details

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:16.0) Gecko/16.0 Firefox/16.0a1 Build ID: 20120616030538 Steps to reproduce: I upgraded to Firefox 13.0 initially then used broadband speed test sites such as speedtest.net. Actual results: Speed test showed only 65Mb download speed. Expected results: Speed test should have shown 104Mb. ( It continues to do so in IE9. ) Problem has not been resolved by upgrading to FF 14, 15 or Nightly. All Flash and shockwave plugins up-to-date.
Virgin Media customer services told me that this is an ongoing issue with Firefox. The reason I contacted them is that my download speed seemed low. They tell me that they have had a rash of such reports since FF 13.0 final candidate was released. Problem does not apply to Java-based speed tests such as Think Broadband's. Have checked processor use during speed tests. This is low <10%. Usually higher during if my memory serves me right.
I can't reproduce your issue on speedtest.net Gross rate from my DSL-Modem Rate (Kbps): 6652 667 Speedtest reports: 5.67Mbps 0.56Mbps Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:16.0) Gecko/16.0 Firefox/16.0a1 SeaMonkey/2.13a1 Build identifier: 20120615003002 Shockwave Flash Version: 11.3.300.257 Please do not compare with IE as they use a different plugin (ActiveX). Use an< other browser.
I have used speedtest.net- London - NAMESCO in Google Chrome. 103Mb/9.3Mb was achieved. I was aware of the difference between active X and plugins, but assumed that it was a Firefox plugin problem. I just wanted to contrast with IE9 to demonstrate what results I should be getting. It appears that Firefox is the issue on my system, at least. I have another PC in my house. Firefox displays the same problems on that machine too. Firefox 14.0 Apart from Google Chrome what other browsers would you suggest to narrow the problem down?
It interests me that, although my other PC is W7 32 bit it does have the same issue with Firefox 13.0 or higher despite having uninstalled and reinstalled Adobe Flash Player and Shockwave player. It is worth noting that I have had none of the problems, that some folk have had, running YouTube videos in Firefox. Does this suggest that Flash is running properly and that the flash-based speed test problem is due to something else? I am unable to use my netbook as part of the process of elimination. It is running Firefox 11.00, but is rather underpowered and does not run flash-based speed tests cleanly without maxing out the processor anyway. I guess that one of the things in common between my various Windows machines is that they have the same internet settings and the same Firefox settings. They are synced via Firefox sync. Tell me. Does Chrome use Flash as a plugin? It is not presenting with the same issues as Firefox. Can we assume yet that this is just a Firefox problem on my network? If it is I would like some suggestions as to how to put things right. Forgive my ramblings. I am not an expert!! If necessary I will just cease carrying out speed tests in Firefox.
Can you please test this in Firefox12 ? This shows us if a flash plugin update caused this or the Firefox update. Please also test in the Firefox safemode to be sure that this isn't caused by an extension. http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Safe+Mode >Tell me. Does Chrome use Flash as a plugin? Yes and no. All browsers are using NPAPI plugins except IE5+ (activex). Google has a contract with Adobe and has a modified Flash plugin that comes with the browser. You can switch in Chrome to the external Flash plugin and it would be more comparable with Firefox. The last flash update ( Version: 11.3.300.25) introduced a special feature called Protected mode that is currently only used in Firefox on Windows vista/7/8 That massive internal change in the flash plugin could have caused this as well. We have to find the change that caused the issue (Firefox, flash or an Firefox extension). I assume that this is really something new and nothing older and only you can test this as I can't reproduce this. My available bandwidth is probably too low to see the effect.
OK! In safe mode I got a full 104Mb at http://www.speedtester.bt.com/beta/speedtest-remote.jsp on the initial test, but subsequent test couldn't get above 56Mb. CPU usage maxed at 67% usage. At http://www.speedtest.bbmax.co.uk/ I get 77Mb when normally I would get 104Mb at that tester. CPU maxed at 70% usage. At speedtest.net - London - Namesco I get 66Mb and a very jerky test process. CPU maxed at 87% usage. It is worth noting that the BT tester is pretty light on the graphics, animations etc. The other two locations, particularly speedtest.net use a lot! I know you didn't want comparisons with IE9, but CPU usage didn't exceed 35% on either test. Google Chrome continues to give me >100Mb on all tests and CPU usage <40%. I may be barking up the wrong tree; CPU usage having nothing to do with the issue.
The safemode disables a little bit more than just the extension (e.g. graphic hardware acceleration) and that may explain a jerky behavior. Do you know if this worked in Firefox 12 ? Please test again in Firefox 12 to be sure that this isn't caused by a flash update. Older releases are downloadable here : ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/
Component: Untriaged → Plug-ins
Product: Firefox → Core
QA Contact: untriaged → plugins
Prior to the automated upgrade to FF 13.0 all the test sites worked, giving 104Mb without fail 24/7. Unfortunately I cannot recall the timing of the beginning issues precisely. ie Was everything OK until Flash upgrades? Which came first? FF 13.0 or the Flash update. I don't know. I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention. Remember I was in contact with Virgin Media regarding a problem with upload speeds on my connection, ( Now resolved.) I began to have apparent download problems before they had resolved the problem with my connection. It was they who identified the different performance of Firefox 13.0 and IE9. It was they who said this was a common problem lately. I have now re-tested using Firefox 12.0 and indeed Firefox 10.0. in full and safe mode. In both cases I am getting test results of <70Mb. So it appears that Flash is the issue.
Can you disable the Protected mode for Flash ? To do that you can use for example this instructions: http://techdows.com/2012/06/disable-flash-players-protected-mode-for-firefox.html BTW: A good tool for a connection test is http://netalyzr.icsi.berkeley.edu/ /with Java)
I have attempted to follow the instructions. However I don't see the mms.cfg file in the appropriate flash directory. I have opted to see hidden files. Might the file be in a different location than the one suggested? A general search doesn't locate it. My system is Windows 7 Home Premium. 64 bit
Are the flash files in this directory ? NPSWF32_11_3_300_257.dll is the Flash plugin that should be there. In that case create an empty text file mms.cfg with that entry.
According to the Adobe FAQ (http://forums.adobe.com/message/4468493) the path is different on 64bit system. "C:\windows\syswow64\macromed\flash"
Found the file. However, I need administrators permission to save the amended file in that location! That's bizarre. I am logged on as an administrator.
Ok solved that problem. I ran Notepad as administrator and saved the amended file with ProtectedMode = 0 in the third line. That works! All the speed test locations now give me 104Mb. I realise that this is just a temporary fix. Flash shouldn't be running in unprotected mode should it?
I reported this to adobe in their bug tracker. Thanks for your help to narrow down the issue !
Component: Plug-ins → Flash (Adobe)
Product: Core → Plugins
QA Contact: plugins → adobe-flash
Version: 16 Branch → 11.x
(In reply to Matthias Versen (Matti) from comment #15) > I reported this to adobe in their bug tracker. Any public URL to share?
Thanks for your help too! Although the problem wasn't critical, it was bloody annoying! It would've niggled me until it was dealt with. I look forward to a corrective update from Adobe.
https://bugbase.adobe.com/index.cfm?event=bug&id=3219554 Unfortunately i submitted the bug too early by a mistake but the reference to this bug report should be enough.
Summary: Speed tests sites such as speedtest.net misreport my download speed in all Firefox versions since 13.0 → [Adbe 3219554} Speed tests sites such as speedtest.net misreport my download speed with Flash Protected mode enabled
I'm closing a lot of bugs which are filed as Adobe Flash bugs which are either irrelevant, not actionable, or not serious enough to track in the Mozilla bug tracker. For the most part, Flash bugs should be filed in Adobe bugbase, and we'll only track a few highly-critical issues in the Mozilla tracker.
Status: UNCONFIRMED → RESOLVED
Closed: 10 years ago
Resolution: --- → INCOMPLETE
Version and milestone values are being reset to defaults as part of product refactoring.
Version: 11.x → unspecified
Product: External Software Affecting Firefox → External Software Affecting Firefox Graveyard
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