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Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

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Cube
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎22-02-2019

Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

Before switching to PlusNet I was with TalkTalk and I had almost zero problems with gaming. After switching to PlusNet, I experience issues daily while gaming on my PC via Ethernet - this includes things such as teleporting every few seconds and actions and commands being delayed in-game. Furthermore, this isn't just an in-game issue, it also happens when I am in voice chat as there are spikes of lag in the calls every few moments and it is really frustrating. I have tested pinging the gateway through Command Prompt and it shows those spikes that I am talking about. I would like to get rid of this lag because it never happened with my previous ISP.

16 REPLIES 16
EmilyD
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 2,032
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Registered: ‎26-03-2018

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

Hi @Cube,

 

I'm sorry that you've been experiencing problems with your connection since moving to us and for the inconvenience caused.

 

I've tested your line however the test isn't picking up any problems from here:

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 78.9 Mbps
Upstream Speed 20.0 Mbps
Appointment Required N
Fault Report Advised N
NTE Power Status PowerOn
Voice Line Test Result Pass
Bridge Tap Detected
Radio Frequency Ingress Not Detected
Repetitive Electrical Impulse Noise Not Detected
Cross Talk Not Detected
Estimated Line Length In Metres 201.6
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-80M Downstream, Retransmission Low - 0.128M-20M Upstream, Error Protection Off
Time Stamp 2019-02-09T19:30:00
Parameters MIN MAX AVG
Down Stream Line Rate 78.8 Mbps 79.6 Mbps 79.1 Mbps
Up Stream Line Rate 20.0 Mbps 20.0 Mbps 20.0 Mbps
Up Time 777.0 Sec 900.0 Sec 899.5 Sec
Retrains 0.0 1.0 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 2019-02-22T18:55:16Z 2019-02-22T19:10:16Z
Ingress Code Violation 5 4
Egress Code Violation 0 0
Errored Seconds 0 0
Severely Errored Seconds 0 0
Unavailable Seconds 0 0

 

We'll need to do some troubleshooting to try and narrow down the cause of this issue.

 

I'd recommend starting with basic checks here, If these checks don't resolve the problem, the next step would be to connect your router directly to the test socket, which is under the faceplate of your master socket and seeing if the drops stop. This rules out internal wiring, face plates and extension sockets as being the cause. Please see the following guide for instructions on how to connect to the test socket. https://community.plus.net/t5/Library/Testing-From-The-Master-Socket/ba-p/1322242

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Emily D
 Plusnet Help Team
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

@Cube  Instead of using 'ping' can you use 'mtr' (or maybe WinMTR for Windows) ?

 

The 'ping' trace you provided, is indicating that the LAN port of your router occasionally takes a long time to respond, but gives us no clue as to if that is just a local LAN issue, or whether it also affects your internet connection.

 

'mtr' builds a table showing the best, worst, and average latency for each hop of your internet connection, including that first hop from your PC to your router.  Therefore it would be interesting to see if your latency problem is only on your LAN, or whether there are corresponding delay spikes on your internet connection.

 

It is likely that those ping spikes that you reported from your router's LAN interface are irrelevant, as it is probable that only the local 'ping' and not any real traffic is showing that symptom.

The only hop that actually matters is the last one, i.e. the latency from your specified target server.

 

So for example, if I 'mtr' to the BBC, I get -

$ mtr bbc.co.uk
                                               Loss%    Snt   Last   Avg  Best  Wrst StDev
  1.|-- My-Home-Router                          0.0%    100    0.1   0.1   0.1   0.2   0.0
  2.|-- vl241.ptw-ag02.plus.net                 0.0%    100    7.7   7.5   7.2   8.4   0.0
  3.|-- 84.93.253.123                           0.0%    100    8.3   8.3   7.8   9.0   0.0
  4.|-- core1-BE1.southbank.ukcore.bt.net       0.0%    100    8.6   8.4   7.9   8.8   0.0
  5.|-- peer8-et-0-0-2.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net  0.0%    100    8.8  10.2   8.3  16.7   3.2
  6.|-- 195.99.126.83                           0.0%    100    8.6   8.8   8.5   9.2   0.0
  7.|-- 151.101.128.81                          0.0%    100    7.6   7.8   7.4   8.4   0.0

 

Ideally as you are having problems during gaming, then doing 'mtr' traces to the gaming servers would be worth looking at.

 

Wink

Cube
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎22-02-2019

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

I know it does effect my internet connection because these spikes occur when pinging other sites and not just the local gateway as shown in the screen shot attached. The lux.valve.net is one of the game servers that I play on which is EU West.EU West game serverEU West game serverSteampowered.comSteampowered.com

bobpullen
Community Gaffer
Community Gaffer
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Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

Is it a direct ethernet connection or are you routing via Powerline adapters/a switch etc.

Whilst unlikely to be the cause, have you tried swapping the ethernet cable out? 

Bob Pullen
Plusnet Product Team
If I've been helpful then please give thanks ⤵

Cube
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎22-02-2019

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

It's not a direct Ethernet connection - I am using Powerline adapters but I have never had a problem with them before. I have tested the connection on another computer using another one of the Powerline adapters and still the same problem is present, so I don't think that changing the Ethernet cable would solve the issue if I am not mistaken.

bobpullen
Community Gaffer
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Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

Definitely worth ruling out the Powerline adapters. I don't know of any acknowledged problems with the Hub One that would cause latency spikes like those you're describing.

Also, I assume both computers are using the same ethernet cable between router and Powerline socket?

Edit: you can rule out the Internet connection itself by running the ping tests to the gateway with the DSL cable unplugged.

Bob Pullen
Plusnet Product Team
If I've been helpful then please give thanks ⤵

Cube
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎22-02-2019

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

That is the hub that I am using currently - does it usually suffer from multiple devices using the network at once?

Cube
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎22-02-2019

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

The Powerline adapters are not all using the same exact Ethernet cable.

Cube
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎22-02-2019

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

Whenever I do a tracing route test the 2nd hop always results in "request timed out" no matter what site I am tracing. From what I have heard, this means that the gateway does not respond to ICMP, meaning a firewall must be preventing it from doing so. I am not sure if this is a problem or not.

annie2355
Newbie
Posts: 2
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎18-04-2016

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

Fix

Yes it does.  I have had the same problem, wired and hugely so with appalling WiFi for years but Plusnet keep telling me they dont know what is causing the problem so I have been researching outside their bubble and apparently their hubs are insufficient for 21st century broadband traffic. Get yourself a BT broadband router and you should be fine.  I shall be leaving PN as soon as and going to BT, as they guarantee full strength signal in all rooms. 

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

There is another recent thread with this same problem - Very high ping spikes ALL THE TIME.

 

I agree with @annie2355, that the answer is to use another router.

Using a router of your choice gives you the option of controlling gaming traffic priority using QoS, using a ping monitor (such as TBB BQM) to keep an eye on your connection, using an IPv6 tunnel for gaming, and regular firmware updates and support from the manufacturer, - none of which can be done with the Plusnet device.

bobpullen
Community Gaffer
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Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible


@Cube wrote:

That is the hub that I am using currently - does it usually suffer from multiple devices using the network at once?



No. I'm not using a Hub One at the moment, but when I have, it's worked satisfactorily on my network at home. I have approaching 30 connected devices, 8 of them wired, I'm using Powerlines, and I'm running 9 externally facing servers. Seeing the spikes you are would have definitely caused me problems.

@Cube wrote:

The Powerline adapters are not all using the same exact Ethernet cable.


Perhaps I've misunderstood. When I asked you to look at swapping the cabling, you replied to say you'd tried from another computer using a different Powerline socket so it was probably not worth doing. I (perhaps incorrectly) assume things are set up like this though?

powerline.jpg

Meaning there is a common ethernet cable in use irrespective of the computer you're testing from (arrow). It's this cable it would be worth swapping (assuming I've not got the wrong end of the stick).

@Cube wrote:

Whenever I do a tracing route test the 2nd hop always results in "request timed out" no matter what site I am tracing. 


That's expected behaviour.

@annie2355 wrote:

Yes it does.  I have had the same problem...


Sorry to hear. Are you able to share some evidence of this (the wired problem, not the wireless), and explain a bit about how your home network is set up?

@Anonymous wrote:

There is another recent thread with this same problem - Very high ping spikes ALL THE TIME.


That's not the same problem. The poster over there has confirmed that they *don't* see ping spikes across the local link.

@Anonymous wrote:

... and regular firmware updates and support from the manufacturer, - none of which can be done with the Plusnet device.


We've pushed out several firmware updates over recent years. In fact we're 20% of the way through one now Huh

Bob Pullen
Plusnet Product Team
If I've been helpful then please give thanks ⤵

Cube
Hooked
Posts: 7
Registered: ‎22-02-2019

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible

I don't really see how changing that specific cable would solve the issue as this problem has only occurred when changing to PlusNet and using the router you gave to us (PN Hub One). Before PN it was all working perfectly...

Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
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Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Switched to PlusNet, gaming experience is horrible


Moderators Note


This topic has been moved from ADSL Broadband to Fibre Broadband.

 


 

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