MS Server Problems and VPNs: IMPORTANT

[David Mills 4,772]

I want to briefly share my experiences recently with server-related streaming problems for MSFS, along with the solution I found thanks to others' expertise. I think many of you will relate to this topic.

Until about two months ago, I suffered no problem at all streaming all the Bing data and photogrammetry I wanted for MSFS. Everything worked great. No problems at all with my internet connection. Then, for no apparent reason, I started getting warning messages within the sim that my bandwidth was too low to support online data. I was sometimes given a choice whether I wanted to ignore this warning. But many times I was involuntarily taken offline altogether. No Bing data. No photogrammetry. And even when I didn't receive these warnings, the quality of the ground textures and scenery was becoming increasingly poor -- blurry and randomly popping. I was constantly testing and re-testing my internet speed and invariably coming up with a very solid 130Mb down and 23Mb up. While this internet speed is less than many of you get, it's more than enough to successfully stream Bing and photogrammetry data for MSFS. So what, then, was my problem?

At first, my theory was that MS servers must be overloaded with new users, due to the popularity of the sim. While there is no doubt some truth in this theory, I discovered that the actual root of the data-streaming problem was, not my computer or settings, not my ISP's overall connection speed, and probably not MS servers -- at least not to the extent I had previously ascribed to server overload. The problem, for me at least, was that my ISP (Comcast) had been throttling data-transfer speeds on specific programs that use a lot of bandwidth, MSFS apparently among them. This explained why my frequent ISP speed testing always returned good numbers (because the testing software wasn't throttled) but I never got the same good results when streaming to MSFS over the same network. This also explained why many MSFS users suffer no bandwidth problems at all with streaming data, while others, with equal or higher bandwidth, are now finding the sim almost unflyable. Different ISPs have different policies on bandwidth for specific programs.

Several days ago, this forum contained a few posts from some very smart guys about using a VPN to improve data-streaming speeds. I didn't understand how using a VPN could possibly help me since, as I said, all my speed tests of my internet connection always returned excellent results. It was through Google searches that I discovered that my ISP selectively throttles data-transmission speeds to programs that use a lot of bandwidth. Was MSFS one of those throttled programs?

After downloading and subscribing to a VPN, I found the answer is yes: Comcast has started throttling connection speeds to MSFS (at least where I live, in Huntington, WV, in the Eastern United States). How do I know this?

Because the moment that I switched on the VPN, every single issue I suffered with streaming data instantly disappeared completely. I don't mean there was a significant improvement. I mean the disconnect and streaming problems were eliminated instantly and totally. I had never before seen such gorgeous scenery and such smooth operation in MSFS. I was thrilled. But I wanted to do a little more testing: I have five different flights that I routinely fly in MSFS. So my plan was to first fly each of these without the VPN and then to enable the VPN and fly the identical flight -- same aircraft, same settings, same everything. To summarize, each of my five flights without the VPN repeatedly flashed warning messages and either disconnected me completely or disabled photogrammetry. However, when using the VPN for these same flights, everything was perfect. No warning messages, and the streaming scenery looked better than I'd ever seen.

So the point here is that, if you're experiencing disconnect or streaming issues with MSFS -- and you know your internet speed is good and reliable -- you might give serious consideration to trying a VPN. I used Nord VPN, but I'm sure other VPNs would work in a similar way. I chose the cheapest month-to-month plan for about $14. You can cancel the month-to-month plans at will. I had always looked askance at VPNs, believing that anyone who used one must be engaged in some kind of nefarious activity that he wanted to conceal. But I'm now a firm believer in them. The only "nefarious" activity I'm wanting to conceal from my ISP is that I'm using MSFS and deserve the bandwidth that I'm already overpaying for. It would be great if MSFS itself could somehow be its own VPN to avoid this localized throttling.

[RJC68 823]

Glad you got it sorted out David but man it sucks that your ISP was throttling your bandwidth. I’m curious are you on an unlimited plan?

[mspencer 425]

See, that's interesting. I have CenturyLink fiber, 1Gbps/1Gbps (actually does about 600Mbps/980Mbps), and the MSFS server connection tanks about 20 minutes after turning on ProtonVPN, to the point that it inevitably will switch me to offline mode.

[Tuskin38 6,518]

I don't get any bandwidth issues during flight, but I do not get anywhere near my download speed cap when updating/downloading from the marketplace unless I use a VPN.

I'm in Canada with Bell Aliant.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Tuskin38

[edpatino 1,964]

I would rather talk to the ISP to know the reasons why they're throttling down the connection, and the feasible solutions. It should be annoying having to pay an additional cost for a good VPN.

[David Mills 4,772]

3 hours ago, RJC68 said:

Glad you got it sorted out David but man it sucks that your ISP was throttling your bandwidth. I’m curious are you on an unlimited plan?

There is a monthly cap at 1.5TB. But I never come close to using even half of that. I'm usually around 500GB. I pay $124 a month.

Edited April 16, 2023 by David Mills

[Noel 4,503]

Is there a way to monitor for down-throttling while using MSFS?  How far down does it need to get to before we will get the connection messages in MSFS?

[Sky_Pilot071 580]

Depends on where you are I think.  Currently I'm in Utah where ISPs are not allowed to throttle I believe.

sp

 

[Biggles2010 343]

1 hour ago, edpatino said:

I would rather talk to the ISP to know the reasons why they're throttling down the connection, and the feasible solutions. It should be annoying having to pay an additional cost for a good VPN.

It's about the bottom line in their accounts. They throttle their services to limit their bandwidth requirements, because extra bandwidth costs them money. They do this selectively, while  ensuring speed test sites will always show close to the full line speeds. Any other downloads are likely to be at much lower speeds. Using a VPN confuses the throttling system at the moment, but I am sure the ISPs will try to find ways of dealing with that.

Most ISP's deny throttling, especially where it's illegal, but they get away with it because it's difficult to prove. Certainly sufficiently for any legal proceedings.

[pmb 5,137]

Honestly, I am pretty much shocked to read this. "I think" it didn't bite me yet.

But what do these ISPs do about movie streamers who probably (?) require an even higher bandwith than MSFS for two hours (and some perhaps for all day)?

Kind regards, Michael

[regis9 4,014]

Lorby SI has a neat tool that gives info real-time on MSFS download rates.  Might be helpful in looking at this.  

Mine seems to max out around 300 mbps.  This is below the alleged top speed of my interest connection but I’m not sure if MSFS needs more than that.

https://www.lorby-si.com

Edited April 15, 2023 by regis9

[David Mills 4,772]

29 minutes ago, pmb said:

But what do these ISPs do about movie streamers who probably (?) require an even higher bandwidth than MSFS for two hours (and some perhaps for all day)?

Some of the promotional material l read about Nord mentioned overcoming throttling affecting Netflix. I very strongly suspect that my YouTube TV service is being throttled as well, because the video streaming resolution is constantly lowering itself from 1080P to 480 (which looks terrible). But you can't use a VPN on YouTube TV because they require your location to determine your local network affiliates. If you're using a VPN, YouTube TV simply won't let you sign on. I've also noticed that some financial institutions, such as Goldman Sachs, won't let you sign in with a VPN (for probably justifiable security reasons).

[bofhlusr 453]

4 hours ago, David Mills said:

I chose the cheapest month-to-month plan for about $14.

I've been using PIA for years. About U$2 / month. No problems at all. In addition to protecting your privacy (no man-in-the-middle issues), no tracking, blocking ads and malware; it also uses open source tools.
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[eslader 1,783]

3 hours ago, RJC68 said:

Glad you got it sorted out David but man it sucks that your ISP was throttling your bandwidth. I’m curious are you on an unlimited plan?

Anyone remember the debate about getting rid of net neutrality? This is the end result of killing it.

[Adamski_NZ 952]

55 minutes ago, regis9 said:

Lorby SI has a neat tool that gives info real-time on MSFS download rates.  Might be helpful in looking at this.

https://www.lorby-si.com

Which product? I don't see anything on Lorby that appears to do that <??>.

Found it! :https://www.lorby-si.com/downloads.html

https://www.lorby-si.com/uploads/6/0/8/2/60827113/lorbymsfsnetworkmonitor.zip

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Adamski_NZ