❓Answering Common Questions: What is Bandwidth? Why does it keep me from doing anything?
I'm sure many of you have found out the
hard way that bandwidth even existed.
hard way that bandwidth even existed.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmbwLF6UvsiHnx7yn57N6unFYnvMmZPHq9y5KhE6bGkbdw/image.png)
You know the error message:
"...bandwidth limit exceeded. Please wait to transact or power up STEEM."
"...bandwidth limit exceeded. Please wait to transact or power up STEEM."
You have no idea how often I hear the questions on:
- What's this bandwidth thing? Why can't I post, vote, claim rewards...basically anything?
- How long until the bandwidth is available again?
- Why is this even happening? Can't they just do away with this bandwidth thing?
- What can be done to stop this from happening? Is there anything I can do?
So, I'm going to go through every one of these questions...right here...right now...with you! Now everybody gets to know what it's like to be a moderator in Steemit Chat's General Channel for a little while. Lol!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
Q: What's this bandwidth thing? Why can't I post, vote, claim rewards...basically anything?
Think of this like your internet. You have the cheapest packet at only $20/month. So when you have 3 televisions streaming, 2 gaming computers and a tablet all using your internet at the same time...things may start to get choppy, need to buffer, lag, etc.
Steemit's bandwidth is like this in that there is only so much that can be 'using the blockchain' at one time. Obviously, more active users, means more demand for bandwidth. Now, I hear you all saying, "Ok, great...but why is it keeping me from posting and voting?"
This is because similar to how having more Steem Power makes your votes worth more...it also means you get allocated more bandwidth to use. (I.E. Paying for a better internet package.) Unfortunately, this means people that are new and have little Steem Power, have the least available to them.
Now, not long ago Steemit's daily user counts jumped almost doubled, as you can see here (check @penguinpablo's post HERE to more Steemit statistics.) This of course means...more people to spread the bandwidth across.
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX5PzJHpnvSiSh19xM8z1cXbfhEtX4MZCpnDi3NNR2SES/image.png)
Sure, some of these may be bots or accounts that just sit there and don't do much. But the daily post count had the same jump in numbers...which also means more activity.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmectWqdZ6aevBPgud6ijtFqHFjuC6gEXQm3zDoSeWqNo2/image.png)
OK, OK..this all is great...but WHY CAN'T I POST?!??!!
The reason that you can't post is two fold:
- Every action we take uses part of our bandwidth. Some actions use more than others. If you don't have enough (which you can check the % at steemd.com/@YourSteemitName) then you can't perform that action.
- How much Maximum bandwidth you have is effected by how many people are actively using the blockchain at once. So during "High Traffic" times...we all have a much lower Max bandwidth. (Which has seemed to be during the daytime in the US.)
The actions we do (posting, editing, commenting, voting, powering up, etc) each use differing amounts of bandwidth. This is actually measure in Bytes (you know..like your movie file is 4GB...that kinda byte). So posts that are large DO use up MORE bandwidth than say, a meme. So trying to do many big posts, comments, or following hundreds of people....can and will quickly use up your bandwidth.
So Make GOOD USE of this Precious Resource!!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
Q: How long until the bandwidth is available again?
**SHORT ANSWER: I can't give you an exact time. All I can say is give it some hours. (Again, peak usage time seems to be daytime in the US.)
Your bandwidth does regenerate over time, but remember that this is a percentage. So when it's a peak usage time and you have a very low Max Bandwidth...it can take a while for enough 'bytes' to build up. Often these users are really instead waiting for the 'site traffic' to slow down...again giving us all more Max Bandwidth.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
Q: Why is this even happening? Can't they just do away with this bandwidth thing?
This system is to prevent a bunch of new accounts, especially bot armies, from being able to come onto Steemit and clog it up with worthless posts (cough...Fakebook). Though it does provide more and more bandwidth to you as your Steem Power goes up. In fact, once you get to a certain level...you don't even notice it even exists.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
Q: What can be done to stop this from happening? Is there anything I can do?
There are some things you can do to reduce your bandwidth problems.
- Try to find and use 'off peak' hours (i.e. not daytime in the US)
- Build up your Steem Power
- Power up your Steem Dollars instead of cashing them out
- Try to win or buy Steem Power delegation
- Don't edit your posts
- Limit following people
- Limit resteeming
Choose your actions WISELY!!!
Is it really worth following 10,000 people in a day? Did I really have to publish 12 posts, each with a single photo in them today? Or 1000 comments all saying "Nice Post, Follow Me"?
As a new user, among a surge or other new users...plan out what actions are most important for you. Get's your posts published first. Maybe instead of posting 5 ok things, you spend the extra time and make 2-3 fantastic things. After all...you're trying to get yourself noticed, right?
So Why NOT Choose to be fantastic?!?!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
Please Follow, Upvote and Resteem if you found this Helpful.
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Penguin Pablo's Post
Thanks for this we have been having non stop questions about bandwidth over on PAL. One thing I never see addressed is how much sp would it take roughly to clear this issue up. I haven't had bandwidth problems in such a long time so when people ask me I don't even have an estimate...
Haha...I SOOO understand between my time in general and help rooms in chat. Lord knows I'm pretty sick of answering it at this point (not that it's the fault of the person asking.)
I was in the same boat...mines never below 99% now and when I was really new there were so few users/activity it never came up. I actually had somebody ask to rent a little sp just because of the bandwidth problems, so I got at least some idea of the effectiveness of that 400-500 range. But yea..it's def easier to give people a reasonable mark to shoot for.
going to post this everywhere!
Hahaha....beat you to it!! (At least in one spot, lol)
I am 6 months old on steemit and I was still not aware about what bandwidth is
:p.
Thanks a lot !!
I first encountered this problem yesterday and I was googling for hours trying to figure it out! I thought I was being punished. I wish I would have come across this post for a better understanding. I never even knew that bandwidth was an issue. I have gotten 5 friends to sign up for steemit in the last couple days and I will pass this along to them so they know!
I think it somewhat panics most people when they first have it pop up, wondering if they broke something, if the sites broken, etc. I've seen it effect sooooooo many people while I help out in Steemit chat..it was just time to do a full on guide for it. It can be a tough thing to convey quickly and just through text.
I'm def glad you found it now (sorry you had to go through yesterday)! And ideally be able to save your friends from the frustration. :)
Hey @sykochica, thanks for the explanation of bandwidth! I've never dealt with bandwidth problems... probably because one of the first things I did on Steemit was win your trivia competition and power it up! :D
I noticed a couple errors in your post:
Haha...thank you! This one definitely wound up taking more time than most my posts and I was definitely getting wore out by the time I was done looking it over. I got those fixed.
That little bit of Steem can definitely go a long way..I'm glad you were able to get a head start with it! I've actually got a little Steem in the 'trivia/fun' fund...hopefully I can get that passed around soon. Maybe you'll be able to get a little bit more. Lol
I don't know... I think I've recused myself from trivia at least for a while. The STEEM fun-fund would be put to better use helping others just starting out!
Your trivia competition really helped get me excited about the Steem community and check it out and get more involved. Now it's mostly what I do in my spare time. Originally I was really just looking for a way to hold the STEEM I bought in cold storage.... little did I know....
Yeah... I ended up powering all that up, too. :)
Haha, steemit... The most addictive wallet you'll ever have!
I always saw mine at around 99% but some steemians I saw at 100% and never could figure out what it really meant or did the research .now it’s right in front of me and extremely knowledgeable . That’s what I love about this paltform , we learn from one another
Yea..you're luckily in a spot where that's usually the case. I can't think of the last time I saw mine under 99%. But with as many new or small users I've had asking questions about this...it seemed time to just put this all together. (I think I was just tired of answering it..now I can just give them a link. lol)
Thank you for sharing the indepth understanding on this topic. I used to wonder and related a bit but never that deeply. Reading through I do have one question where you mention "Don't edit the post". Can you please explain a bit more in detail what happens when you edit the post? Is it like many times more bandwidth to edit the post?
Say for an easy example that you have 50kb of bandwidth available. You first publish a post for 10kb and notice some typos in there, so you edit it, fix them and click 'update post'...which then costs another 1kb (just the changes are what 'cost' this time).
[Edited to reflect only changes 'charge' bandwidth on edits.]
It doesn't use another 10K of bandwidth.
It actually only uses a basic envelope value which is extremely low, plus only enough bandwidth to describe the delta – the change between the old post in the new post. There's no need to repost the entire content to the blockchain because it's already there. All that it needs to do is to commit a reference to the block where the original post lives and then a series of matching bits which describe the changes.
Editing is not what's eating the bandwidth on the blockchain.
If you feel like editing something, go ahead and edit it.
Aah, I see, so it uses the same bandwidth as it requires to create the post in the blockchain and that I assume is the most costliest operation. Thanks for carification.
Thank you very much for your post!Very many do not know what it is and are frightened.I myself recently encountered this problem.Thank you and good luck to you @sykochica !
@sykochica Just yesterday and today I had problems with the bandwidth, I had to review several articles of steemit that spoke of it, if many with general indications of what one should take into account. However, his article is much more explicit and with excellent suggestions especially to work on the platform outside peak hours and be careful in the photos and video that one uploads to the platform. Grateful
I was actually just reminded that the file size of photos don't have an effect. I had forgotten that they're not actually on the blockchain...just their links are. I am mistaken here and there..and edit the post. :P
skyochia you tips are awosme ! last night this happen to me when i posting or comment on someone post brandwithlimit exceeded accur !
i am new to steemit so really confused so now i will follow your rul;les to prevent from limit exceeded!
i dint have power but your post are valuablefor me and community as new peopleodf steemit !
thanks you sharing us and aware us god bless you!
Thank you! I love being able to help people on here. Always soooo much to learn.
The 'rules' may not completely keep it from happening, but it can definitely help. :)
Keep Smilin' and Steem On! :D
yaah i will help me and other peolple to deal with bandwidth!
you are helping people i really appriciate !
as a new steemition limit exceeded cause confusion and dishearts me!
now from your support and valuable tips i will prevent from it!
Thanks for the info. I've been waking up to -150%, for the past few days. So annoying.