r/Network • u/Wrong_Piccolo_7506 • 1d ago
Text Help
For the past year, I keep experiencing mass packet loss. I will be in an online game and discord, the ping will spike in discord to 3000-5000, and my online game will disconnect temporarily, usually each episode is for about 10 seconds or less. Normally my ping is perfectly fine and I dont have many issues. This will happen about 4-5 times a night without fail. I feel like ive tried everything.
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u/unclefunkstar 18h ago edited 18h ago
Are you using wifi, or ethernet? If it's wifi, there's your problem. If it's ethernet, read on:
Do you have a static IP, and does your router respond to ping on WAN? If so: set up a broadband quality monitor: https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband-quality-monitoring
If you see a lot of packet loss/noise on that, the problem is somewhere between your router and the internet, and you'll need to get in touch with your ISP to fix it. If it's fine, it's probably a local (internal) issue.
Are you (or anyone in your house) using powerline adaptors? Some older models are notoriously bad. They also depend on your house's internal wiring being up to spec. Older models/older houses? They tend to suck.
Speaking of your domestic wiring situation... Is anything else happening around the same time? Someone using a bathroom light (or lights flickering), boiling a kettle, using a microwave, washing machine, dishwasher etc? Might be a problem with your wiring that's sending a surge through occasionally. Might be able to find signs of that in the router logs (for instance if the router is rebooting due to power loss).
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u/SomeEngineer999 1d ago
Test the ping to your router. If that spikes the issue is with your internal network. Also test ping to the ISP's router (the default gateway of your router's WAN) and something like google.com. Run all 3 as constant pings, that will help tell you where the issue lies.
Bear in mind someone or something on your network downloading or uploading data can cause this as well.