regular ping spikes during online gaming

[#1]

Hello

For the last couple of months I've been getting very high ping spikes when playing Left 4 Dead 2 (the only game I play online).

The spikes are every 30 seconds to 1 minute apart - last only a second or two and start to come down immediately and go as high as 1000ms. The spikes are so brief that I'd be unlikley to notice them when web browsing but when gaming you really need a consistent connection and they cause a real problem.

Nothing about my home has changed to cause this and the signal I get from my router is good and strong - I have done the obvious and checked that no one locally is using the same channels. I've reset the router and left it off briefly .... made no difference. 

[#2]

Hi @BenE and welcome to the Community Forums. I'm sorry to hear you've been having connection issues as of recent.

Checking into your connection from this side, I can see the only thing looking out of place or looking problematic when testing is that you're currently syncing at 32.3Mbps but the estimates for your line are 32.3 - 46.4Mbps. Checking into the profile set on our suppliers side I can see currently it's banding your speed to be 32.4Mbps. This is incorrect and something we can raise to get adjusted. I've sent this to the relevant team to correct and this should take effect in the next 48-72 hours. This doesn't relate to your raised concerns regarding ping and performance however but I thought I'd let you know we're correcting this.

In regards to your raised concerns regarding your spiking ping, I can't see anything out of place or any sign of errors which would be causing an underlying issue with the connection. As you've hinted that your connection method is wireless I'm thinking it very well could be wireless interference causing the spikes you've been seeing and I'd advise trying a wired connection to see if the same issues persist. This will help us determine if wireless is behind the ping spikes first of all.
You've mentioned that you've changed wireless channel and checked for other routers on similar channels which is great however I'd also recommend looking to split the 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless frequencies as this may help improve your wireless performance further. I've included my wireless improvement steps below which will guide you through splitting the frequencies.

Coming from a gaming background myself I can't stress enough how gaming (unlike streaming that can buffer ahead or browsing that can load bits at a time) needs a constant connection so it can transfer small packets of data forward and back updating the game/server as to what actions your doing as you've also pointed out. This meaning wireless which can be interfered by a huge number of things isn't ideal for gaming and I'd always suggest a wired connection over Ethernet cable for a solid constant connection and if a trailing Ethernet cable isn't ideal to look into power line adapters as they use a houses electric wiring to transfer a much more solid signal.

The guide below will show you how to log into the router and change the wireless channel as it's usually another router in the area on the same or similar channel that will be causing issues for both wireless frequencies. Before picking a channel I'd suggest downloading a free app called wifi analyzer which will scan your area for all the routers and show what channels they are on between 1-13. Although the above app isn't essential it helps you pick where your router would be best in terms of channels and saves a lot of time doing it via trial and error.

1) To connect to your Hub One, you will need to open a browser and go to 192.168.1.254 If you have any issues doing this via Wireless, we recommend trying to do it via Ethernet cable instead.

2) You should come to a page with information about your connection, click 'Advanced Settings' at the top and it will ask you to sign in with a Password. This is located on the back of your router under 'Admin Password'

3) Select the option for 'Wireless' followed by '5 GHz Wireless'. What we want to do to begin with is turn 'Sync with 2.4 GHz Wireless' to 'Off' and update the SSID to be different. The easiest way would be to add '-5G' to the end so it is identified as its own connection. Once this is changed, we will need to keep an eye on it for a day or 2 to see if the issue continues. If it does, the next step would be to change the wireless channel. Keeping in mind the original 2.4Ghz unchanged name network connection would be the best to connect your devices to for a stronger signal.
(When deciding which device goes on what frequency keep in mind that the 5GHz is designed for close range stationary devices and standard 2.4GHz the one which gets the wireless around your property further.)

4) Following the above guide to get to your 'Advanced Settings' page, you will need to change the settings within the 2.4 GHz Wireless tab and the 5 GHz Wireless tab.

5) Under the correct heading, you will need to find 'Channel Selection' on the list and change this from 'Automatic' to any one of the other channels, This can also need doing under '5 GHz Wireless' to cover both signals. Give it 3-4 hours of testing to see if the issue still persists and try to change the channel again if you see little or no improvement.

Let us know how it goes.



 

[#3]

Thank you for the reply - in particular the admission that I was on the wrong banding.

When I joined Plusnet on 17th August 2017 I was guaranteed a minimum 34Mbps download speed and for a while that was what I got. On 7th March 2019 I recieved an email saying that I was incorrectly getting Unlimited Fibre Extra (with a potential download speed of 66Mbps) instead of the Unlimited Fibre (36Mbps) I was paying for. I contacted Plusnet to say that this was incorrect and I have never had a dowload speed exceeding 36 Mbps - was told that you/Plusnet had made a mistake and to ignore that .... BUT .... since then I have seen my connection speed deteriorate. 

I have reported it and the line was tweaked a little but I have never since then seen the full 36Mbps connection I used to get.

There was mention of getting a engineer to call but if no fault was found that could have incurred a substantial fee and I was pretty sure nothing had gone wrong here so didnt want to risk that.

My connection speed in general now hovers around 29Mbps when I used a broadband checker and it will creep up to around 32Mbps occasionally ... and as I said in my first post ... in the last few months Ive started to notice these brief but very high ping spikes when gaming. 

Thank you for your suggestions but I've been using wifi for a couple of years now and know the usual tricks. Im in a one bed flat - my PC is in one room and the router is lterally 2 feet away with a partition wall in between - no radiator or suchlike in the way. I use a wifi card with 3 antennas and get a strong 5 bar signal - I have split the channels and use wifi analyser to make sure Im not overlapping with my neighbours.

It has been my belief that the signal strength was altered either by Plusnet or BT (to save bandwidth) as I havent seen that promised MINIMUM 34Mbps since around last March - maybe I should have complained more but it didnt get me much help last March. I've checked and my contract is up in October so I'll definitely be shopping around. 

[#4]

Hey @BenE,

Thanks for getting back to us.

I'm sorry for the experience you've had with the speeds and with ourselves, the troubleshooting my colleague provided is generally the only we can give for WiFi. Is it possible to use an Ethernet cable to connect to your PC?

Thanks.

[#5]

I have ordered a 10 meter ethernet cable and will try that in the next day or two. 

I've checked the usual - temperatures in my PC are all normal - intake and outake fans running okay so no throttling or overheating. Virus and malware scan = clean. Web browsing emailing etc is fine but its gaming where an unreliable connection really shows up and that is what Im seeing plus the decrease in speed since last March means my connection is usually below the promised 34Mbps. 

[#6]

fn@BenE,

The reset put through on Monday still hasn't taken effect on the line so it's still banded to 0.128M-32.4M Downstream instead of 0.128M-40M Downstream. I've requested this uplift again, but if it doesn't complete this time then we'll need to go down the engineer route. 

To clarify though your MGAL is not 34Mbps it's 30Mbps as detailed here, but with the line banding you will be on the cusp of the lower end of the estimates likely hitting that lower speed. We'll confirm when this has completed, or if it fails again and arrange an engineer. Once it has we'll confirm what the profile and sync speeds are. 

In the meantime if you test your ping with an ethernet cable and see if you notice any differences, although doing this before the reset will not show an increase in throughput while the line's banded.

[#7]

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from ADSL Broadband to Fibre

[#8]

Thank you for your reply.

Ive been going through all the emails Ive recieved from you since 17 August 2017 when I joined Plusnet and the very first one states clearly a Minimum Guaranteed Access Line speed of 34Mbps but I cannot find an email telling me that had changed. Can you please point me to the date when that email was sent so that I can check it?

[#9]

Hi @BenE - The ticket was sent on 25/09/18 as part of your house move.

Thanks

Dave

[#10]

My connection seems to be sorted now which is good. 35Mbs download 5Mbs upload and 12ms ping. The same sort of speeds I got when first joined Plusnet AND when I moved house to Stroud in October 2018. I checked my 83 emails from Plusnet and I have nothing telling me my speed would be dropping but I do have a gap for the month of September 2018. As I said - my speed was consistent until March 2019 after that erroneous email saying I was recieving the wrong product.

I shall be keeping an eye on things and checking my options in October when my contract is finished.