Broadband Spikes

EagerBeaverton

I'm with Vodafone broadband and have been having this problem pre-Covid-19 so it isn't because everyone is at home streaming.

Basically when playing the occasional online computer game I'm finding that my ping shoots up to the point I can't play online for more than about a minute uninterrupted by the game freezing and my ping goes above 1000. The games I'm playing are ones I've played for years and on the same PC and have never had an issue.

Attached are two ping tests I did. I could paste many more as I've run loads of them and they keep looking the same.

I get the same ping test results when using a PC I have plugged directly into the modem and through WiFi.

I've run Malwarebytes, Avast, McAfee Stinger, etc. on my PCs and nothing shows up so don't believe it's a virus in the background.

I was in touch with Vodafone about 3 months ago and they said they could see some issue with the phone cable from the modem to the wall socket, and advised I change it out. They said they'd reset things on their end also and to reset the modem after changing out the phone cable. I did as advised and noticed zero change.

I've just been well busy the last while to really chase this up again but things have settled again and I'm trying to nail down the route of the issue. It doesn't effect streaming but we do notice our phones can pause for a while when trying to load websites, download emails, etc. when connected to the WiFi.

Any ideas where I should start troubleshooting? TIA

sheepsh4gger

Firstly get off DSL if you can, Vodafone is using Eircom lines which are inherently intermittent because of poor quality. Switch to Virgin Media if you can afford it. DSL is a can of worms.

Secondly if you're gaming never use wireless, only connect with an Ethernet cable even if you need to make a hole in the wall. Wireless nearly as much cancer as DSL, it's enough that someone walks through the room or uses a microwave oven for it to drop. It's a collision-based network so everything else operating on 2.4 GHz like baby monitors share the same spectrum. Make sure to disable the network card in the corner of the screen just to be 100% sure.

When you get that ping drop it's likely that your broadband cuts out for whatever reason. The one inherent problem with DSL (broadband over phone lines) that keeps coming up again and again is intermittency. It's often also the customer's fault because they can't be bothered to connect their stuff properly.

Open the command line in Winblows:
Win+R
Run: cmd
type: ping 8.8.8.8 -t

Does it say sometimes 'request timed out'? What if you connect with an Ethernet cable and disable wireless?

If it's still dropping then you want to make sure it's not an internal problem in the house itself. To do that you want to test the modem in ISOLATION so that the ONLY device connected to the phone line is the DSL modem - no filters, splitters, handsets, sky boxes etc.

Are you still losing ping after the modem being the only device connected to the phone line?

You want to make sure the modem connects to the original phone socket where the line comes into the house, with the original cable that came with the modem - not through an extension socket in another room, not through a 2€ shop phone cable. I often found that the cable going to the wall is often trash.

If this solves the problem then its your internal setup. The modem connects directly onto the phone line coming in from the street. Everything else on the line needs to CONNECT THROUGH A FILTER. Every handset you have needs to be filtered. Otherwise you will find that when you pick up the phone you have your broadband drop.

If it's still not working then log onto the Vodafone modem and post attenuation readings. The lower the number the better. If the values get worse when you plug in your handsets then it's an internal problem.

If your'e still having trouble call Vodafone up and ask them to lower your speed by 1 MB/s. See if that makes it stop dropping. If the line can push 21.2 Mb/s then the speed needs to be capped at 20 by them, there needs to be a bit of margin left otherwise you will get intermittency. It's called 'overprovisioning'.

If you don't want to stab yourself in the eyes with an icepick every time you go online then ditch DSL for cable broadband from Virgin.

sheepsh4gger

Also make sure that the only device connected to the modem is the computer when you test in isolation. There can be only one DHCP server on the network. Often people connect different modems together/misconfigure their networks and end up causing a broadcast storm. Do you have a separate device you use as an AP for example?

Also test with another device not just your computer to see if it's specific to the PC or to the connection in general.

corks finest

EagerBeaverton wrote: »

I'm with Vodafone broadband and have been having this problem pre-Covid-19 so it isn't because everyone is at home streaming.

Basically when playing the occasional online computer game I'm finding that my ping shoots up to the point I can't play online for more than about a minute uninterrupted by the game freezing and my ping goes above 1000. The games I'm playing are ones I've played for years and on the same PC and have never had an issue.

Attached are two ping tests I did. I could paste many more as I've run loads of them and they keep looking the same.

I get the same ping test results when using a PC I have plugged directly into the modem and through WiFi.

I've run Malwarebytes, Avast, McAfee Stinger, etc. on my PCs and nothing shows up so don't believe it's a virus in the background.

I was in touch with Vodafone about 3 months ago and they said they could see some issue with the phone cable from the modem to the wall socket, and advised I change it out. They said they'd reset things on their end also and to reset the modem after changing out the phone cable. I did as advised and noticed zero change.

I've just been well busy the last while to really chase this up again but things have settled again and I'm trying to nail down the route of the issue. It doesn't effect streaming but we do notice our phones can pause for a while when trying to load websites, download emails, etc. when connected to the WiFi.

Any ideas where I should start troubleshooting? TIA

That cable change crap is a plamas,as in they'll change things from their end, went through 4/5 modems, engineers at the house, etc, it's a network issue, are u in Cork by any chance?
Known network in Cork for a while, VF didn't acknowledge it until I contacted Siro directly, screenshots of same, then they admitted network problems

sheepsh4gger

corks finest wrote: »

That cable change crap is a plamas,as in they'll change things from their end, went through 4/5 modems, engineers at the house, etc, it's a network issue, are u in Cork by any chance?
Known network in Cork for a while, VF didn't acknowledge it until I contacted Siro directly, screenshots of same, then they admitted network problems

Yes, it's also possible it's something on the ISP networking side. They should have advised their customers.


As long as it's the original cable that came with the modem it's OK.