Latency Issues

[#1]

So, it’s been close to three weeks now where I’ve been having horrible latency spike issues. I’ve gone about replacing both my DSL cable and ethernet cables as well as re-installing windows, disabling Wi-Fi and doing some other random tests in hopes for this issue to go away. I’m even waiting a new router to arrive. The main reason why I’ve asked for a router replacement is that It was making loud buzzing noises when Wi-Fi was in use. So, I don’t really expect It to fix anything and I couldn’t hold out on posting about this before I tested it.

The problem itself is that I get continuous lag spikes anywhere between 50 to 150 when watching Twitch/ YouTube/ any other media stuff or even when skipping songs on Spotify (most weirdest). Believe me when I say that throughout the 20 months or so now that I’ve been with Plusnet I have never ever encountered anything like this. That said, I have also never touched or messed around with any of the hardware at home. I’ve also always had three devices connected to the network, my phone was one of them and most of the time I forgot to even turn off data usage. The other two are my personal desktop PC and a TV, I haven’t watched TV for over a year now, in fact I’m pretty sure it’s been completely disconnected from the network.

I have noticed that when watching YouTube, the lag spikes only happen when the buffer bar moves (the white bar that shows how much of the video is loaded). As for Spotify, seconds after skipping or changing the song I get this massive lag spike which lasts for a second or two. This is most noticeable when playing games, since that’s what I do most of the time. On a London server before the issue started, I would get barely any spikes, if any at all and my latency would float around 10-15.

I’ll provide some screenshots to give you a better representation of the issue.

In case you're wondering why I performed a test on an Amsterdam server, it was the closest working server they had. Also it shouldn't matter because I play on Amsterdam servers all the time. I don't get a ping over 20.

The second tests are shown when Twitch is on and what my latency looks like in game. This had more frequent spikes because It Twitch requires constant loading. I guess this is they way this works because of what i mentioned before about the buffer bar.

If anyone has any clues as to what's going on please do tell me.

[#2]

So, it’s been close to three weeks now where I’ve been having horrible latency spike issues. I’ve gone about replacing both my DSL cable and ethernet cables as well as re-installing windows, disabling Wi-Fi and doing some other random stuff in hopes for this issue to go away. I’m even waiting for a new router to arrive. Although the main reason why I’ve asked for a router replacement was that It was making loud buzzing noises when Wi-Fi was in use. So, I don’t really have my hopes up that It will fix anything and I couldn’t hold out on posting about this before I actually tested it.

The problem itself is that I get continuous lag spikes anywhere between 50 to 150 when watching Twitch/ YouTube/ any other media stuff or even when skipping songs on Spotify (most weirdest). Believe me when I say that throughout the 20 months or so now that I’ve been with Plusnet I have never ever encountered anything like this. That said, I have also never touched or messed around with any of the hardware at home. I’ve also always had three devices connected to the network, my phone was one of them and most of the time It wasn't even connected to the Wi-Fi. The other two are my personal desktop PC and a TV, I haven’t watched TV for over a year now, in fact I’m pretty sure it’s been completely disconnected from the network.

I have noticed that when watching YouTube, the lag spikes only happen when the buffer bar moves (the white bar that shows how much of the video is loaded). As for Spotify, seconds after skipping or changing the song I always get this massive lag spike. This is most noticeable when playing games, since that’s what I do most of the time. On a London server before the issue started, I would get barely any spikes, if any at all and my latency would float around 10-15.

I’ll provide some screenshots to give you a better representation of the issue.

In case you're wondering why the test was performed on a Amsterdam server its because it  was the closest working server they had. Besides I sometimes play on an Amsterdam server for one of my games and I don’t get a ping over 20 so it wasn’t a problem.

If there's anything that you know why this is being cause please do tell me.

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Post released from Spam Filter.

[#3]

Hi @Rimvydas,

I'm sorry to hear that you've been experiencing these connection issues. I've tested your line today, but it's not picking up the cause.

GEA Test Detail
Circuit ID	NA	Service ID	BBEUXXXXXXXX

Test Outcome	Pass
Test Outcome Code	GTC_FTTC_SERVICE_0000
Description	GEA service test completed and no fault found .
Main Fault Location	OK
Sync Status	In Sync
Downstream Speed	40.0 Mbps
Upstream Speed	10.0 Mbps
Appointment Required	N
Fault Report Advised	N
NTE Power Status	PowerOn
Voice Line Test Result	Pass
Bridge Tap	Not Detected
Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise	Not Detected
Estimated Line Length In Metres	424.4
Upstream Rate Assessment	Very Good
Downstream Rate Assessment	Very Good
Interference Pattern	Not Detected
Service Impact	No Impact Observed
Home Wiring Problem	Not Detected
Downstream Policing Discard Rate	0.0
Customer Traffic Level	Upstream and Downstream Traffic Detected
Technology	VDSL
Profile Name	0.128M-40M Downstream, Retransmission Low - 0.128M-10M Upstream, Error Protection Off
Time Stamp	2018-06-04T17:00:00

Parameters	MIN	MAX	AVG
Down Stream Line Rate	39.9 Mbps	39.9 Mbps	39.9 Mbps
Up Stream Line Rate	9.9 Mbps	9.9 Mbps	9.9 Mbps
Up Time	0.0 Sec	900.0 Sec	896.1 Sec
Retrains	0.0	6.0	0.0

Current and Last 15 Minute Bin Performance
Parameters	Last Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins)	Current Traffic Count(Upto 15 mins)
Start Time Stamp	2018-06-17T15:32:32Z	2018-06-17T15:47:32Z
Ingress Code Violation	1	0
Egress Code Violation	0	0
Errored Seconds	0	0
Severely Errored Seconds	0	0
Unavailable Seconds	0	0

Thank you for running through the troubleshooting checks. If the issue persists once you've got the new router, please report the issue here  and let us know when you've completed it. We'll then be able to investigate this further for you.

[#4]

Hey, received the new router today. I guess its 50/50 news, the annoying buzzing which was initially occurring with the old router has now been fixed with the new one. However, as for the latency issue, it's still happening. The new router did not affect the issue in the slightest way. 

I have made a ticket through the link you gave me. I think I must've misread something when submitting it so it came out like there was something wrong with the phone line instead of the broadband. But i corrected myself by leaving a comment that it's just the broadband itself. 

I also included a link to this community post in the "any additional information" section when filling out the ticket.

[#5]

Hi @Rimvydas,

Thanks for raising a ticket to us on the account. After reviewing this information and the information on the ticket along with the tests I've carried out on your line today, I've raised a response to the open ticket on your account which can be viewed here.

Please let us know once you've been able to update the ticket again and if you have any further questions regarding the issue so we can get back to you as soon as possible.

[#6]

Hey,

I've carried out the tests and updated the ticket.

[#7]

Thanks for the update.

As was seen in our previous reply, no obvious fault had been discovered. I've also checked for any VLAN (capacity) in your area but nothing has come up. Assuming all is ok with your setup, we have a couple of options.

I note a few drops in connection since the 20th June which may or may not be related. We can try to change your connection to 'stable' with our suppliers in the hope that this will make the connection stable and as a consequence, improve the spikes.

The second option would be to log a fault and book an engineer. I suspect this would be the better option as I'd like the engineer to look for a hardware / cabling issue which may be causing a problem. I'm thinking water on the line or corrosion which I'd like to be investigated first as well as possible cab/exchange issues.

I've closed a duplicate ticket on your account to keep everything together in one place. I'll update 177086456 in a moment.

Tony

[#8]

Morning, 

I've updated the ticket.

[#9]

Thanks for that, I've progressed the fault option for you. I have the supplier looking at it now, but this is generally automated so expect to move to the next stage quite soon.

Tony

[#10]

Afternoon,

If an engineer is to be sent out will i get to schedule it?

[#11]

We'll come back to you with the options available. Generally speaking this is weekdays in morning (0800-1300 hours) or afternoon (1300 to 1800) slots. On rare occasions weekends are available but this depends on suppliers.

[#12]

@Rimvydas

Please could you run a ThinkBroadBand Quality Monitor test here and post up the graph when the issue next occurs?

Make sure you're doing this over a wired connection.

Cheers

[#13]

@Gandalf

I have set up a BQM but I am concerned as to the results it will output because in here it says that it does not support the router I'm using. I noticed this after i decided to investigate why the first hour on the graph showed 100% packet loss. Additionally to record the lag spikes i would have to leave Twitch and YouTube on the whole time, since that is when the spikes only occur.

[#14]

Are you using your own router or the one we sent you?

Would it be possible for you to leave the BQM on continually? That way when you're using YouTube/Twitch it should record the lag spikes.

[#15]

Yes i am using the new router you sent me, which is the hub one, if i'm correct. I had the BQM set up for a little bit now with YouTube and Twitch running but like i said its displaying 100% packet loss and no other information. You can see what's been displayed on the graph so far here.

Edit - I'll try creating an inbound rule for ICMP to see if that has any affect.