Hey all I've got an issue with high ping - to the extent that I frequently get kicked out of games, and lose connection on my video calls. Our internet is with Plusnet, and we are using their modem. We've had multiple BT engineers out to look at the line/box/wiring etc outside the house, and they have replaced a few things just to be sure, but nothing has made any difference. Plusnet has sent us a new modem/router, and tested the line and can't find any faults with it. The modem software shows an uptime of a month without any breaks in the connection. I have tried scanning our local network, and although there aren't many houses around us, I've moved our wifi to the least used bands. I then disabled the Wifi on the Plusnet Modem/router, and installed a super powerful Wifi 6 AX3 Huawei router to see if it was Wifi - yet the problems persist. When I use something like https://www.netmeter.co.uk/ping-test/ I get anywhere from 20ms to 5000ms, but I consistently get high ping spikes well above 300ms. I also then tried using CMD to ping both a URL and my modem and although I'm getting 0% packet loss, I'm still getting spikes of over 3000ms. (see attached pic) I've got to the stage where I'm having FTTH installed in two weeks time with another provider, but I'd like to get to the bottom of it, particularly because if I had that installed, and then still had the same issue I'd be gutted! I'm not a networking expert so any help appreciated!
go here and set one of these up Broadband Quality Monitor FAQ | thinkbroadband You will likely be served a dynamic IP but it tends to last long enough for this to be useful, will help so show if connection to house is stable. Sounds like and internal issue though if you have done internal pings. Detail how things are connected in the house and what you are using for connection, the hardware/interface etc. repeaters, powerlines etc.
Thanks for the quick response. I'm using Wifi - a brand new TP-Link AC1300 High Gain USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Dongle (which I bought to ensure it wasn't my previous dongle causing the issues). That is connected to the Huawei router, which is connected via ethernet to the Plusnet Modem/Router. The modem is about 4/5m away from me, through two (stud rather than supporting) walls. I scanned the local wifi channels using WifiInfoView and it shows me that my signal quality is around 70% on both 2.4 and 5ghz bands No powerline adapters, no repeaters in the house.
BTW do you still have ping issues with the ethernet cable direct to PC Sounds like the AMD USB issue but you have intel, I'd still consider it usb related have you got all the latest chipset drivers etc. How many usb devices do you have, any high demand stuff like drives low latency gamer devices etc? Often motherboards will have different usb hubs onboard, some from chipset, third party and some from the chip, perhaps try an alternate hub, see if it goes away.
FYI I have the Huawei AX3 and it works fine on all channels I will see ~2ms ping despite hopping through another to get to the main one, of course your dongle won't take the best advantage of it if you are after speed, but one problem at a time
OK so I tried the Wifi dongle across 3 different Hubs and same issue on all three. I've got 5 USB devices plugged in, no low latency gamer devices that I am aware of. I need to connect via ethernet to test the wifi but I don't actually have a cable long enough at the moment. I also tried a Traceroute via the CMD interface and you can see the issue below on the attached pic It looks like its hitting the Huawei router just fine but the Plusnet modem/router is taking 3000ms+ to return the ping. That is slightly confusing because I was also getting high ping when pinging just the Huawei router.
You can use the AX3 as a wifi AP/repeater connecting to the Plus net routers wifi AP and then ethernet into your PC to test. Of course not as optimal as wired but you are just trying to debug where the problem might be, FYI, I use two AX3 as a wifi bridge and maintains single digits pings, it can also can sustain a 1Gb wifi link on transfers between floors, obviously not simultaneously, something has to give, it cheap wifi.
Just a thought, as your dongle isn't up there with modern standards have you tried the wifi 5 compatibility mode called Backup Wifi under myWifi page in AX3 I have to do this for my old ring devices that don't want to play with 11ax.
Ok....... that actually made a huge instantanous difference. Thats so weird though - because I was using the "old" 5ghz on Plusnet modem/router and had the same issue. I'm wondering if 1. My Plusnet modem/router has rubbish 2.4 and 5ghz wifi 2. My Huawei router was "incompatible" or whatever with my current dongle as its not 11ax. Both of those problems together could have thrown the results I was getting. I will test again tomorrow!
Cool, fingers crossed that is it What you can do now is pick up another AX3 rather than another NIC and use it as a mesh device to your PC, with PC wired into it for best performance.
Just as a side note, when I had Plusnet if I wanted to get on the WiFi in the loft I had to lay on the floor with my phone My Vodafone one has no issues so it was definitely a router issue. I mean it's not the problem you have but I think it's probably the worst router I used.
Have you got a laptop or phone app that can run ping? Try ethernet to laptop and ping the router. Try the same with phone within line-of-sight of wifi antenna. Let's pin down the problem to router first. It may disappear when you get FTTH in a few weeks time with a new router.
Are you by any chance near a radar installation of any description? (near being within ~5 or 10 miles)
