Intermittent Connection Drop every Several seconds

tylabov · Jan 5, 2018

I use an Alienware X17 Laptop - I'm 100% certain my problem is not hardware related in terms of CPU/GPU/RAM.

I use the default router provided by my ISP, Xfinity, which in the past has worked more or less in a stable manner for purposes of online gaming (which, of course, demands nearly perfect connections for smooth gameplay). However, recently I noticed in all my games that, about every 8-15 seconds, there will be a sudden "lag spike" as if the game no longer is processing anything, but half a second later, everything "snaps" right back into place and runs smoothly again.

I ran a test on speedtest.net and noticed a corresponding trend on the download speed vs time graph, which I'll link a picture of here: https://imgur.com/eB7Yley

My first instinct told me this is likely a wireless wi-fi problem. But after plugging in an ethernet cable, the problem still persists with really no observable difference. However, switiching to the 5ghz channel on the wireless setting does seem to make a noticeable difference in connectivity. So how can I have better connection on the 5ghz wireless channel vs the ethernet connection? The ethernet connection is named after the "2.4 ghz" channel, but my understanding of wired connection was that it is always superior to wi-fi? Therefore, I assume the problem lies within the router itself, or my ISP is to blame. Is there any fix for this issue or do I just have to pray to the ISP Gods that the issue will resolve itself?
Thanks for any help or insight you can provide

anotherdrew · Jan 5, 2018

Are you the only one using the connection? Could the lag spikes be related to someone else (or something else) using bandwidth?

Have you looked at the connection statistics page on your router/modem? Are there a high number of dropped packets or other issues? Connection issues will have to be referred to your ISP.

Wifi vs wired ... a wired connection should always be "better" than wifi ... unless you have a bad cable/port, QOS is limiting wired bandwidth, or something whacky is going on ... also kinda depends on how you define "noticeable difference in connectivity".

tylabov · Jan 5, 2018

Other people do use the connection on Wi-fi, but the problem persists no matter the level of people using it. For example, I get the same affect when people are streaming netflix or if I'm playing in the dead-of-night when no one is awake.

What I mean by "noticeable difference in connectivity" is that the problem of intermittent lag spikes (or sudden but very brief drops in connection/download speed) seem to be 0 to none. So for example, the 5 ghz will allow me to play a game where I have good ping to the server (whereas before, even if I had good ping, I would still experience those lag spikes) - but I still notice slight drops every now and again, just not as extreme. So in some games, I can significantly reduce or eliminate the lag-spikes on 5ghz whereas the ethernet connection makes no difference to the 2.4ghz channel (meaning connecting to the 5ghz channel on wi-fi is currently better from my perspective of online gaming - though not perfect due to the nature of Wi-fi).

I ran a -ping cmd test on both wireless connections and it returned a 0% loss in packets - I ran the test on both wi-fi channels. I'm unsure how to find this statistics page for my specific router if you think it would contain any details to illuminate the situation. As of writing this, I don't notice that particular spike to be as severe at the moment (meaning games that generally offer more stable connection, like League of Legends, seem to play fine whereas other games still have that stuttering of visuals snapping back into place that I normally note on wifi connections). The problem is ethernet makes no difference, which is odd. I tried plugging it into all the available ports in the router with no difference between any of them that I an observe.

anotherdrew · Jan 5, 2018

Thank you for more information. Other people are using the wifi ... do they have the same problems? If you run speed test from other computers do they see the same thing you do? Are the other people using 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz? If you are the only one having an issue, then it more likely an issue with your machine. If everyone sees the same thing, then it is more likely an issue with your ISP or router/modem.

Lagging in game can be due to network, CPU, or GPU ... but the lags you see in speedtest is almost definitely due to network.

2.4 GHz wifi gives better range, but less bandwidth (slower, but will go through more walls) ... 5GHz gives better bandwidth, but less range. Pick which one you want accordingly.

"The ethernet connection is named after the "2.4 ghz" channel" ... this still does not make sense to me. On my machine, when I plug in an ethernet cable the wifi adapter is automatically disabled. (If you open "Network and Sharing Center" and then click "Change adapter settings", you should see your ethernet adapter and your wifi adapter. On mine, there is a red X by ethernet until I plug in the cable, then red X moves to the wifi adapter). Ensure that your wifi adapter is really disabled while testing with a cable.

Let us know what you find out.

tylabov · Jan 8, 2018

I use windows 10.

When I plug the ethernet in, i get the Icon that it is plugged in - the speed of my internet doesn't change whether the wi-fi is turned on or off (which I control through clicking the on or off button through clicking the icon on the toolbar) with a connected ethernet.

Every other device experiences the same issue. There are few TVs also connected to the 2.4 ghz wi-fi channel as well.

I also experience sporadic dropds in connection - meaning the internet just doesn't even work from anywhere between 20 seconds to 5 minutes before the router comes back alive (from my computer's view, it cannot even detect the signals until the router stops throwing a fit). It looks like the ethernet connection is simply named after the 2.4ghz channel and has no other relation to it - I was confused at first but I did enough research to figure it out.

I recently played some games at my friend's place with no issues - all of this confirms that the problem is either with the router (which I restarted multiple times to no avail) or with comcast/xfinity.

Personally, I suspect that comcast cannot process the amount of internet users in my zone (a dense suburban area) - so I imagine all the users are causing too much stress/load on their ability to provide a perfect connection. I imagine there are not too many other gamers around (most folks here either above the age of 45 or below the age of 13), so I would also suspect they don't get many complaints since the drop in quality isn't enough to really hinder web surfing to Netflix streaming.
You would think in 2018 they would be able to provide some stable internet...

anotherdrew · Jan 8, 2018

Oh ... if your router drops out for 30 seconds it will definitely hinder Netflix and you know those old folks (me being one of em) will be up in arms! And hey I game a bit too

So anyway ... since it is happening to all your machines, it is most likely an issue with your router, your ISP, or the internet. Fortunately, there is a test for that. I apologize if I make this too simplistic, but I would rather assume you know less than more.

1. Open a command prompt (type "cmd" in your search bar)
2. Type "tracert google.com" (this will give you a listing of all the hops needed to get to google ... for me it's 10)
3. Type "ping x.x.x.x -n 50" where the x.x is the IP address of the 1st hop (your gateway or router/modem ... there should be no lost packets and a consistent time. If not, there is a problem with the link between your computer and your router).
4 Type "ping x.x.x.x -n 50" where the x.x is the IP address of the 2nd hop (your ISPs gateway (unless you have 2 routers) ... there should be 1 or less lost packets and pretty consistent times. If not, there is problem with the link between your computer and your ISP. This problem could be congestion, so if you see a problem test at different times, morning, noon, night, etc. Your ISP will probably not work too hard to fix congestion).
5. Type "ping google.com -n 50" (this will test the internet in general ... if this shows a problem and the others don't then your screwed ... I don't know anyone paid enough to fix the internet).

This is a good starting point. If you don't capture any of the drop out doing this, then change the number of pings to 100 or 200 or more. The key is figuring out which link is dropping out and needs fixing. Let us know.

Oh, BTW, it is 2018 and we still live in a country with a capitalist economy (ok, I'm assuming your in the USA). Your ISP's goal is provide service good enough that you don't complain, but not so bad that you stop paying your bill ... that's life ... it sucks ... get use to it (just one old guys view).

tylabov · Jan 8, 2018

So I tested the ping to the IP address of the 1st 2nd and 3rd hops and google.com.

I couldn't even connect to the 2nd hop - just returns "request timed out" with 100% packet loss
- It's night atm - I'll do this again in the morning.

My ping to all other addresses seem to be relatively stable (I get one time-out when I ping google.com during the 1st attempt to send a packet - then it shows a stable ping). I also want to clarify that I do experience complete disconnects to the internet at times, but is much more rare than the other problem I was describing beforehand.

anotherdrew · Jan 8, 2018

If you get 100% packet loss that is a sign that that router is set not to reply to ICMP packets (pings) ... ignore this.

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