My Ping and I

[#1]

@Gandalf thanks for update, let me know when you hear back.
@ElGappo interesting how many people have the exact, specific issues I have. Hopefully if they find a faulty server and fix it, it will relieve allot of other gamer's connections.

[#2]

Welcome to the forums @ElGappo

Ignore hop 3. It doesn't always respond to ICMP pings and if it's busy it can time out.

I guess a good question would be do both of you connect through the PLA's at the same time?

[#3]

 @jbligh87 Fingers crossed!

@DS Yeah both machines on PLAs though I doubt that's the issue as if I pull up a video on my mobile over wifi it has the exact same effect. 

[#4]

Well, we had PLA's that claimed to be 200Mbps ones and if I was getting a download speed of around 18Mbps via a direct cable, the PLA's could sometimes report 6-9Mbps. We had them for many years and it was only around March time that it got really bad, but that was using a Hub One. For just over a month now we have been connecting through a Hub 6 plus we also retired them and went via a hardwired a Cat7 cable.

But my connection has also been fixed since too. We now get around 30Mbps on all devices most of the time.

As part of the fault finding process Plusnet will more than likely ask for you to go direct with a cable, rather than the PLA's.

Having said that, as you also see it on another device, this may make them think differently

(though again they may ask you to use a wired device and not a mobile)

Hopefully a member of staff will jump on this and check it out at their end. Putting the router into the test point of you master socket would be one of the first things to do whilst you're waiting.

[#5]

Yeah, the fact it does it when any device on the network streams video eliminates the PLA as the source of the problem in my mind. I'll check it out wired directly but I don't expect much of a different result.  

Been setting up QoS rules for specific games, still no joy. 

Router's in the test socket now. Lets wait and see...

[#6]

Me again.

Of the examples I've collated and I've been comparing, there doesn't seem to be anything common apart from two people have tried both dynamic and static IP addresses and are still having issues which I'm told that this indicates the issue is unlikely to be anything related to our network.

One of the users I've been comparing against (Here) had this fixed by using the Pro-Addon but it doesn't seem to have done the trick for Joe. I'm conscious that we're trying to find some common ground between the latency issues people are experiencing where there may not actually be one and this will probably delay getting it this sorted for the individuals affected.

I recall that @jbligh87 was experiencing problems just after a fault at the cabinet was fixed and we were (quietly) confident that the latency issue lay at the cabinet or with the Wholesale S-VLAN infrastructure at the exchange.

Now the consensus has moved that the issue lies with our network even though there's no real evidence. Having said that I'm not ruling out the possibility, just trying to look at this from every angle to try to make sure we cover everything.

At this stage what I'd suggest is raising support tickets/queries to the developers of the games in question you're having issues with and while I'm not saying this to pass the buck to them, just to see if they are either aware of a known problem, have had other people report a similar issue and know what to do next or can suggest something else.

@ElGappo, welcome to our community forums and sorry that you're having issues with your latency too. Line tests don't pick up on any issues, I'd definitely try a direct ethernet connection between your router and your computer as the next step.

As you've said you're using a non-Plusnet/BT router you should be able to setup a ThinkBroadband Quality Monitor from Here with not much effort. Post up a graph once it's setup and run for a bit and we'll take a look.

It would be good to see it when you've got nothing else running on your network and also when you are streaming something in the background while gaming.

If you're still having issues I'll add on a static IP address temporarily and free of charge, and we'll see what difference that makes. I'm reluctant to do that at the same time you're trying a direct ethernet connection as if you do find the issue to be sorted then we won't know what resolved it.

Finally and this is probably a silly question as you may not be free to play games during the daytime but do you experience these problems any time of the day or just evenings and weekends?

This weekend (after my shift as it's my weekend at the office) I'm going to wipe the dust off my copy of World of Warcraft and see if I can replicate what you guys are seeing.

[#7]

Dont mean to come across as a dick, but im definately NOT going to be writing up emails to the game developers as this happens on every single online game and also occurs on online pingtests, writing up those emails and then having to reply to them confirming that i have infact turned my router off and on again is going to wind me up....

I understand theres really not much you can do as its such a rare problem but i do feel like we should be owed some kind of compensation for this seen as we have in essence not been getting even close to the service we have paid, not only that but i actually upgraded my internet speed to try and combat the issue, which i now cant just reduce the speed on, is it possible that you could reduce me back to my old package? atleast that way im not paying more than is needed for what im getting.

[#8]

Sorry to hear that.

im definately NOT going to be writing up emails to the game developers as this happens on every single online game and also occurs on online pingtests, writing up those emails and then having to reply to them confirming that i have infact turned my router off and on again is going to wind me up....

It was just a suggestion in order to try to get to the bottom of this. I'm not sure about other games but I know for WoW you can easily raise a support ticket and their guys are normally really good and efficient when responding back.

I understand theres really not much you can do as its such a rare problem but i do feel like we should be owed some kind of compensation for this seen as we have in essence not been getting even close to the service we have paid

Unfortunately latency issues aren't considered a fault with the service so it's generally not something we'd be in a position to provide compensation for. At the moment we don't even know what's causing the issue you're experiencing though. It may be something out of our control as much as it may be something within our control.

Do you experience the issue only at peak times i.e. evenings and weekends or during a week day too?

Also discussing this with Kelly once more it may be good to get some wiresharks. We recommend to fire up the game, start the wireshark, start a download on another PC, hopefully capture the lag, stop the download, then hopefully show no lag.

I understand @jbligh87 you've said you've added wiresharks onto your support ticket but I can't find the file. Are you able to send me a PM with the pcap file? Make sure there are no spaces in the file name otherwise I believe it won't upload.

Having said that it may also be worth getting a fresh wireshark

is it possible that you could reduce me back to my old package? atleast that way im not paying more than is needed for what im getting

You'll need to call our customer options team on 0800 013 2632 to discuss this I'm afraid.

[#9]

Cheers @Gandalf. 

https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality/share/95b6350aec6a5d32230a4c35e19461695c9dce0f

Live link to the quality monitor. Can check how that looks tomorrow I guess but you can already see just from watching youtube on my end it's totally unplayable. 

Unfortunately I do shiftwork and can confirm this happens at all hours of the day. 

Maybe it would be best illustrated by a video showing the network diagnostics in CS:GO. The ping being at 60+ wouldn't be so bad if it stayed that way, but the way in which it happens in real time is incredibly frustrating. Fluctuating between the teens and 100+, then back again in a matter of seconds. 

[#10]

Cheers for getting back to me.

Live link to the quality monitor. Can check how that looks tomorrow I guess but you can already see just from watching youtube on my end it's totally unplayable. 

We'll see how it looks tomorrow.

If you get a chance, could you try setting up a wireshark too?

Unfortunately I do shiftwork 

Me too! Unfortunately...

and can confirm this happens at all hours of the day. 

Thanks for confirming, seems to rule out congestion as an issue.

Maybe it would be best illustrated by a video showing the network diagnostics in CS:GO. The ping being at 60+ wouldn't be so bad if it stayed that way, but the way in which it happens in real time is incredibly frustrating. Fluctuating between the teens and 100+, then back again in a matter of seconds. 

Yeah definitely feel free to post up a video as it may help in diagnosing this.

[#11]

@Gandalf I appreciate we originally thought the issue was with the box, but after 4months of trying different things, having 5 engineers out and changing the card and the socket for brand new ones. After that, then changing the router 4 times once at my own expense.I think its obvious the issue isn't at my end. The ping traces I have been running show the issue is beyond my house or the box I'm connected to.

I'm not implying I know the ins and outs of networks but the descriptions these folks are giving are 100% the exact same as what I am getting (and have evidenced early on in this lengthy process of trouble shooting). They will eventually tick all the boxes and jump through the hoops I've been jumping through for the last 4 months. At that point hopefully their issue will be resolved by the same fix as mine (if we ever get there).

I agree with ElGappo in that writing to the 4-5 different games developers saying "I'm getting ping spikes, is that you?" would be a fruitless en-devour. 

I know you have said you have pushed the question out to other teams, I sincerely hope they come back with something. Looks to be a growing issue

[#12]

No worries I appreciate what you've said, I'm just staying conscious of the fact we're trying to find something common which isn't there. At the moment it appears we are going down this path and hopefully it leads somewhere but sooner or later it may be worth anyone who hasn't already to raise a fault and we'll look at getting at an engineer out to check the Openreach network in their area. For now, would you be able to capture more wiresharks for us please? In the format of:

fire up the game, start the wireshark, start a download on another PC, hopefully capture the lag, stop the download, then hopefully show no lag.

[#13]

With my connection and what I've heard of others. The issue isn't directly with downloads. What triggers the spikes seems to be streaming as I have said before. Youtube/twitch etc (not even on same device both wired and wireless on the network - i.e if my wife is watching YT on her phone via wifi my ping goes wild). Downloads definitely amplify that behavior but the problem definitely seems to be triggered by the streaming.

I have previously sent Wireshark reports in whilst streaming. Am I to do this again? -.-

[#14]

Thanks for the detail.

As per my previous response:

I understand @jbligh87 you've said you've added wiresharks onto your support ticket but I can't find the file. Are you able to send me a PM with the pcap file? Make sure there are no spaces in the file name otherwise I believe it won't upload.

Although it may be worth getting fresh Wiresharks before, during and after you stream while gaming. 

[#15]

If online gaming is important to you:

1) Connect to your router via a network cable wire instead of WIFI (wifi encryption and poor sign through walls slows you down).

2) Ask to have your ISPs internet child protection filter turned off (if you've got no kids) censorship may slow you down.

3) Play on a console. PC are full of cheats. If it's a peer-2-peer game they may know your IP address and flood your network.