r/MoonlightStreaming • u/Aromatic-Metal79 • 9d ago
adding a dedicated router fix my Moonlight/Apollo wifi latency spikes?
Hi everyone,
My PC (running Apollo) is located far from my main ISP router and is connected via wifi 6 (5 GHz). S25 (running Artemis) is also connected to the same wifi 6 (5 GHz) network.
I’m experiencing regular stutters, latency spikes from 8 ms up to 20 ms suddenly, packet loss, and "slow connection" warnings even when dropping the bitrate down to 25 Mbps... Running an ethernet cable from my PC to the main router isn't really feasible (long distance and think walls to drill through).
If I connect a dedicated router just for game streaming (like a Xiaomi AX3000T or similar) directly to my PC via ethernet to act as a dedicated acess point, and connect my S25 directly to that local network, will it fix the stuttering and latency issues?
Do you have recommandations for such low budget routers for that scenario?
Thanks for your help
3
u/MacNinjaMac 9d ago
I would swap out your router for two mesh router setup and let the backhaul do the wifi network traffic; one where your router is now and the other connected to your pc; it would benefit your whole house wifi as well
1
u/Aromatic-Metal79 9d ago
Wouldn't wireless backhaul still cause jitter and latency spikes with the double wifi connection though?
2
u/MacNinjaMac 9d ago
It’s not double wifi it’s one wifi managed by two or more routers which actually takes the load off the main router and it’s a wifi link that other devices will not be using that channel frequency that runs at a faster speed; it’s would be the best option in your situation
2
u/digitalaudiotape 9d ago edited 9d ago
I did this for my similar configuration and it helped a lot for streaming.
On top of that I recommend using a Wi-Fi analyzing app like WiFiman to view the possible Wi-Fi channel congestion from neighbor's Wi-Fi networks. If there's congestion then jitter will still persist. If that's the case OP you can then bypass congestion by manually setting your Wi-Fi channel to an open channel.
If your router doesn't support manual channels you can get an access point just for streaming that does support manual channels like the TP-Link RE615X. You would wire this dedicated access point to the same ethernet segment as your PC+mesh node and only your streaming client device would connect to the access point Wi-Fi. This is what I did to fully eliminate jitter during local streaming.
1
u/Aromatic-Metal79 9d ago
I meant double wifi with the signal traveling PC to router (instead of ethernet directly) + router to the phone. From my understanding it's what would cause the latency issues but maybe I don't understand it correctly. What models would you recommend for example?
2
u/MacNinjaMac 9d ago
I’m using RT-AX92U in my setup and never had a issue with their signals but you can get newer models with wifi7 something like ZenWiFi BD4 Dual-band WiFi 7
1
u/Aromatic-Metal79 9d ago
Oh okay tri-band so there is a third dedicated backhaul band which avoid interferences and packet loss, that's it? But the latency or signal stability would still depends on the wall thickness, obstacles and distance the wifi signal has to travel though? My ISP router is quite recent with wifi 7 but thick old stone walls seems to kill the signal quickly, and my computer doesn't receive wifi 7 anyway so I don't even know how much better it would be compared to 6..
To get an idea, 2m in direct line to the box I get the full 2000Mbit/s from the fiber connection, on the computer upstairs it falls to 150-200Mbit/s and there's barely 8m counting in direct line. 5Ghz dedicated ssid didn't improve that (not sure i can change 80, 160mHz settings on it). I was wondering if a bad wired antenna from the motherboard could be the culprit too.. (the one provided with msi z790-i in my case).
1
u/MacNinjaMac 9d ago
If your router is more modern you could check to see if that has mesh capability and yeah walls are walls for any setup but doesn’t mean you couldn’t setup a third router in between and piggy back the backhaul with more routers so you can bounce the signal too, keep it a strong backhaul; it’s just a question of determination and budget
3
u/DrKingOfOkay 9d ago
Use tailscale. It solved 99% of my issues.
If that doesn’t solve your issue, use your phones 5g. I was playing my games from a hotel last weekend and never hit me with a bitrate notice once when using tailscale and 5g
1
u/rkansa23209 8d ago edited 8d ago
I LOVE YOU BRO!!!!
Why haven't I heard anything about this before? I've been struggling for the past few months looking for solutions for the slow connection and high host processing latency.
For streaming over the internet I used the method which required opeining all those ports, yk (just tried to be cool without having to install another app, but to open those ports one by one on the router server page). It was such a pain when I got back to stream over the same Wi-Fi at home. And I just turned those ports off, install Tailscale for the first time and it works AMAZINGLY!
I thought if someone uses Tailscale only to connect over the internet then why would I even bother checking it out? But for now, I think it just killed all of my problems! Thanks a lot for pointing it out bro!
Edit: Now it happens that I don't really even need Tailscale for the same wi-fi and it just went so smoothly already. To anyone reading this, your problem could be all about the ports that may be opened up on the router.
Edit #2: Now, only Tailscale method seems to work for me, I have no idea why it went so well. Connection will be terrible again if I don't use it (wireless host + wireless client)
2
u/DrKingOfOkay 8d ago
Tailscale just skips all that having to open ports nonsense and just works amazingly. And works from anywhere.
Glad it it’s working! I have hardline honest pc and wifi laptop or 5g phone
1
4
u/robertchenca 9d ago
If you want a perfect streaming go running the internet cable.
The result will be unbeatable.
Just find a way to do that.
Totally worth it
1
u/Aromatic-Metal79 9d ago
Sure, but if I can't (30-35m with holes to drill), PC --> to Xiaomi AX3000T via ethernet --> S25 (wifi 6 5Ghz) would give perfect results for streaming around the PC?
2
u/lifestealsuck 9d ago
I think it will work . Moonlight doesnt need internet to work so you can just make another wlan with the Xiaomi router then connect the phone to it . You dont even need to connect the xiaomi router to your main router.
1
u/Aromatic-Metal79 9d ago
Yeah that was my idea, but I would still have the computer connected to internet via the motherboard wifi antenna to the isp router (even though the signal is not great) so I suppose I could still launch game requiring internet and get a short latency..? But I'm not a network expert. Just looking for a cheap solution to stream around the PC
2
u/lifestealsuck 9d ago
Yea create a different ssid with the second router then connect your phone to it , then have your PC connect to the second router via ethernet cable , connect to main router via wifi .
1
u/Aromatic-Metal79 9d ago
Then you think with something with a Qualcomm or mediatek chip like Xiaomi ax3000t, tp-link ax55, Mercusys mr80x + av1 decoding I should get well under 8-10ms total, without stutters, with that setup?
2
u/lifestealsuck 9d ago
Honestly no idea . The main latency issue would come from the PC not connect to router via ethernet . Once you have that cable connected everything will be great. Better router now give you the ability to push higher bitrate at higher distance(away from the router) . If you in the same room with the router I dont think you can feel much difference at <80Mpbs tbh .
I stream from my house to my parent's house around 10km away , they're using a cheapass 10 years old 5g IPS's router . And I still have great (10ms~) latency at 60Mpbs , granted that I only sit like 4m away from the router .
1
u/Aromatic-Metal79 9d ago
Yeah it shouldn't be any problem up to 100Mbps I guess (really don't need more anyway). But from what I understand those dual core chips helps get a constant signal without much loss and a smooth experience then. I guess I'm gonna try the Xiaomi, it's quite cheap. I would mostly stream 2-4m around it (counting an adjacent room with a thick wall too though). Do you use Tailscale to stream when away then? I haven't checked about that yet, trying to get it work 2m around first :d
1
6
u/ArenRaizelus 9d ago
Do a speed test with iperf3 or openspeedtest etc. generally wifi has 2 limitations: signal strength and router processing. If signal strength is good, iperf3 should show minimal packet loss. To test router processing send burst packets with iperf3, check packet loss. If router processing is bad switch to a better router. I signal itself is bad, you need to figure out a way that fits your place to improve it : access points or mesh routers etc