Slow download speeds on iPad Air!

[Sordfish18]

Just got an iPad Air and was excited to rent a movie from iTunes for an upcoming trip. The problem is that when the download started, it said it would take 27 hours to complete!!!

Our home internet connection is through AT&T DSL and when I went to speedtest.net to check our download speed it came back at 1.3 mbps. Now I know that is not great speed, but should it really take 27 hours?!
We previously had a Galaxy Tab 2 and I think the most it ever took to download a movie was just over an hour.

Has anyone else had this issue, and if so, were you able to fix it?

Thanks!

 

[J. A.]

Hi, Sordfish! Welcome to iPF!

27 hours to download a movie is very long.

Here are a few things you could try:
Restart iPad and router: turn them off, wait for a few minutes and turn them on again.

Go to Settings - Airplane Mode. Enable it. Then select Settings - General - Reset - Reset Network Settings. That done, disable Airplane Mode and set up your connection once more.

Make sure your router software is up to date, also look at the software on your iPad. The latest one is iOS 7.1.1. You'll find it in Settings - General - About - Version.

Hope that helps.

 

[giradman]

Hi Sordfish - welcome to the forum!

Hopefully, Johanna's advice will solve your issue; but if you are still having a problem, please provide some further information: 1) Router brand/model; 2) ISP (e.g. DSL, cable, or other); 3) And the wireless (assume you are doing the DL via Wi-Fi?) download speed of your iPad - obtain the app (from the Apple store) called Speedltest and begin a test (at the moment my iPad 2 is receiving @ 21 Mbps).

A 2-hr compressed movie is usually 1-4 GB in size (mainly depending on whether in a SD or HD format is being downloaded) - see the attached chart and the blue arrows; the DL speed is crucial - for myself a SD movie should be on my device w/i 5 minutes and an HD one w/i 15-20 minutes - if your wireless speeds are in the 1-2 Mbps, then hours would be more likely but certainly NOT 24 hours - good luck and please post back - Dave
.

 

[twerppoet]

Hold in mind the initial report of how long a download will take can be misleading. The calculation is a moving average. The first few seconds, or even minutes, can sometimes be way off.

It's been a long time since I downloaded anything big from iTunes, but I can remember predictions of 2 to 3 hours that ended up taking 30 minutes or less.

Still, 27 hours sounds excessively pessimistic.

There is also the possibility that there is something else on your home network taking up bandwidth. Computers are often downloading updates in the background, which can put a crimp in your current speeds. This rarely affects the computer itself, since it can detect user activity and throttle the background update until there is less activity. But other devices on the same network may suffer. Especially if you've only got 1.3 Mbps to work with.

 

[Sordfish18]

Hi Sordfish - welcome to the forum!

Hopefully, Johanna's advice will solve your issue; but if you are still having a problem, please provide some further information: 1) Router brand/model; 2) ISP (e.g. DSL, cable, or other); 3) And the wireless (assume you are doing the DL via Wi-Fi?) download speed of your iPad - obtain the app (from the Apple store) called Speedltest and begin a test (at the moment my iPad 2 is receiving @ 21 Mbps).

A 2-hr compressed movie is usually 1-4 GB in size (mainly depending on whether in a SD or HD format is being downloaded) - see the attached chart and the blue arrows; the DL speed is crucial - for myself a SD movie should be on my device w/i 5 minutes and an HD one w/i 15-20 minutes - if your wireless speeds are in the 1-2 Mbps, then hours would be more likely but certainly NOT 24 hours - good luck and please post back - Dave
.
View attachment 57903

Thanks for the response! Here are the details to your 3 questions.
1) Netgear N300 WNR2000
2) AT&T DSL
3) Wireless speeds via Speedtest.net app: Ping = 70, Dowload = 1.29 Mbps, Upload = .32 Mbps

 

[giradman]

Thanks for the response! Here are the details to your 3 questions.
1) Netgear N300 WNR2000
2) AT&T DSL
3) Wireless speeds via Speedtest.net app: Ping = 70, Dowload = 1.29 Mbps, Upload = .32 Mbps

Hi - thanks for responding quickly - well as you can see, your DL speed (i.e. 1.29 Mbps) is quite slow and from the chart, your DL time would be prolonged - as Twerppoet indicated, often the initial time indicated for your DL is an exaggeration - let us know if that might be the issue - BUT the bottom line w/ your present download speeds, expect to wait. Dave

 

[Sordfish18]

Hi - thanks for responding quickly - well as you can see, your DL speed (i.e. 1.29 Mbps) is quite slow and from the chart, your DL time would be prolonged - as Twerppoet indicated, often the initial time indicated for your DL is an exaggeration - let us know if that might be the issue - BUT the bottom line w/ your present download speeds, expect to wait. Dave

Yeah, I knew my internet speed was pretty crappy (paying too much for it too). Will be looking for a new provided once contract is up. Even though it is only around 1.3 Mbps, it still shouldn't be taking over 20 hours to download. We'll see what happens.

 

[jwt873]

Have you done speed tests on your home PC and your iPad Air? The average times should be roughly the same on both devices.. (FWIWI use the Ookla speed test app on my iPad Air and the Ookla web site on my PC. They both use the same nearby test server).

Like twerppoet says, the initial download time estimate can be deceiving. Internet speeds can change during a download depending on time of day, web congestion etc. This is especially true on large downloads.

Try download a whole movie. You might find that your estimated download time drops drastically during the transfer.

The chart that giradman included above shows that your 1.9 Mbps DSL connection should be able to download a 2 Hr HD movie in about 6 hours. If it actually takes a lot longer than this, you'll have to start looking at other causes.

 

[cyberfish2]

Just got an iPad Air and was excited to rent a movie from iTunes for an upcoming trip. The problem is that when the download started, it said it would take 27 hours to complete!!!

Our home internet connection is through AT&T DSL and when I went to speedtest.net to check our download speed it came back at 1.3 mbps. Now I know that is not great speed, but should it really take 27 hours?!
We previously had a Galaxy Tab 2 and I think the most it ever took to download a movie was just over an hour.

Has anyone else had this issue, and if so, were you able to fix it?

Thanks!

I just downloaded a 104 minute movie to my new iPad Air. I have ATT-DSL @ 5.1down/.62up (I pay extra). It took 94 minutes. Problem is, now I can't find it on the iPad...?? I think I did it in SD, not HD. At 1.3, you would need about 4X longer.

 

[twerppoet]

I just downloaded a 104 minute movie to my new iPad Air. I have ATT-DSL @ 5.1down/.62up (I pay extra). It took 94 minutes. Problem is, now I can't find it on the iPad...?? I think I did it in SD, not HD. At 1.3, you would need about 4X longer.

It should be in the Videos app, if you downloaded it from the iTunes Store app. Make sure you check all the tabs at the top: Movies, TV Shows, Music Videos, etc.

 

[cyberfish2]

It should be in the Videos app, if you downloaded it from the iTunes Store app. Make sure you check all the tabs at the top: Movies, TV Shows, Music Videos, etc.

Thanks, That's where it went - Videos app.
I wish Apple had a flash drive with a tutorial, included with their $500+ iPads. I guess the technology changes so fast, Apple just expects customers to solve everything online, one problem at a time. Which is why I don't own an iPhone, or an Apple computer.

 

[scifan57]

Thanks, That's where it went - Videos app.
I wish Apple had a flash drive with a tutorial, included with their $500+ iPads. I guess the technology changes so fast, Apple just expects customers to solve everything online, one problem at a time. Which is why I don't own an iPhone, or an Apple computer.

If you go to this site, it has user guides for all current Apple devices. http://support.apple.com/manuals/

 

[twerppoet]

Thanks, That's where it went - Videos app.
I wish Apple had a flash drive with a tutorial, included with their $500+ iPads. I guess the technology changes so fast, Apple just expects customers to solve everything online, one problem at a time. Which is why I don't own an iPhone, or an Apple computer.

No problem.

Besides the online site Scifan57 linked, you can also download the iPad User Guide (free) from the iBook Store in the iBooks app (free). Or if you prefer a PDF version that you ca read on your computer you can get it here: http://support.apple.com/manuals/#ipad

Make sure you get the right manual for your iOS version.

I like the iBooks version, as it has better search options.

By the way, Apple does (kind of) give you the manual with the iPad. In the box there should have been a small card, easy to overlook. On one side it supplies the link to the online help manual, and I think it mentions the iBooks version.

It would probably be a good idea of Apple overlooked tasteful on this one subject and made it a big, bright card with "Get Manual Here" printed in bold text.

 

[cyberfish2]

If you go to this site, it has user guides for all current Apple devices. http://support.apple.com/manuals/

You guys are as good as having a grandkid here. Thanks again.