What internet speed for multiple devices?

[JustMe]

ETA--I am editing my post so people know its not just about OOMA. What internet speed do you think I need for at least 2 devices (laptop and ipad)? Thanks!

I would like to be able to use at least 2 devices (laptop and ipad without its own internet) at the same time, download/watch movies, and do all the usual internet stuff. No gaming or anything else like that.

What speed internet do I need? We qualify for the low-income Comcast deal and I believe its 5 (whatever the unit is). Is this enough? If not, what speed do I need.

Second question: Do you prefer a regular landline or an OOMA? I know that OOMA is just that one time fee, but if I end up getting internet a different way, the price to add a home phone is pretty good. thanks!

[JustMe]

bump---anyone?

[lele]

I'm not sure what our internet speed is. I think we pay for 40 mbps speed, but who knows what it actually is. We can use laptop, netflix and ooma all at the same time. I've never had an issue with it. I've had ooma for 3 or more years now and love it. We took our number with us when we moved. While moving, we set it up in the hotel. It's been great.

[JustMe]

Thanks for the reply. Anyone else have any idea what speed I might need?

[egoldber]

The things that tend to hog bandwidth are streaming video and music. If you're just talking about standard web surfing, then you probably don't need a very fast connection.

[JustMe]

Thanks! So, even if I want to have 2 devices at the same time?

[twowhat?]

I don't know a ton about this but things to note to your internet provider so they can get you the best setup:

Are all these devices going to be wireless? If so (and probably the answer is yes), the capacity of the router is more important than speed (assuming your upload/download speed is suffient to begin with). We recently had to replace our wireless router with one that could handle multiple devices (we have A LOT and we were overloading our old router). We finally got a verizon tech out here who knew what he was talking about and the first thing he asked was "how many devices are using wireless" and we started counting them off...and then it became obvious what the problem was!

Don't think just about your computers/tablets! Remember your smartphones, printers, guests' devices, Apple TV, even your regular flat screen TV if it has WiFi capability, etc. Even old non-activated smartphones that you keep around for the kids (we do this) are still able to connect to wireless and put a load on the router.

[zukeypur]

We have 15 and regularly have Ooma, a cell phone, 1-3 iPads, a laptop, and some sort of streaming going on all the time on the weekends. The only issue I've ever had was with netflix, and I'm not sure that was a problem with Internet speed..

[arivecchi]

We went from 1 which was clearly insufficient to 16 which cut our downloading time from 24 hours for movies (I kid you not!) to mere seconds.

[JElaineB]

I think we have 12 Mbps (fastest we can get right now) and it is fine on multiple devices usually except when DS is uploading videos (of him playing Minecraft) to YouTube. Then it really slows down for even web surfing. If we could get 20 Mbps or higher I would.

[AnnieW625]

We have 15mpbs now, but when we change to Verizon are getting 25mbps (for a little less money too). We have 1 smart TV, 1 desktop, 2 iPhones, and an occasional use of a laptop and the 15mbps second hadn't been an issue, but the 25mbps was part of the current promo.

[jiggaman]

Firstly watch out for the capitalization when comparing

MBps = Megabytes per second
Mbps = Megabits per second

1 byte is 8 bits if you want to convert

Secondly, download speed is different than upload speed. Typically all anyone cares about is download speed since they surf, watch videos, etc. Upload speed is if you want to upload a video to youtube for example. Upload speed is usually far slower than download, you don't really need fast upload speeds unless you are hosting a server. But if you are maxing out your upload speed doing something it will probably congest your download line.

Thirdly, here is a general guide from various streaming sites

Netflix

1 Mbps for viewing on a laptop computer
2 Mbps for SD video on a TV
4 Mbps for 720p HD video
5 Mbps for "the best video and audio experience" (according to Netflix)

Hulu Plus

1 Mbps for SD video
2 Mbps for 720p video
Over 3.2 Mbps for best quality HD video and audio

Vudu

1.0 - 2.3 Mbps for SD video
2.3 - 4.5 Mbps for 720p video
4.5 - 9.0 Mbps for HDX 1080p video
Over 9 Mbps for 3D HD movies



Surfing the web doesn't take that much bandwidth at all, even on multiple computers/tablets. The main reason for large download speeds is watching HD video on multiple devices.