[SOLVED] ISP routing

[Aravind92]

Hi Guys,

I need some advice on if and how I can resolve an issue I have with Apex legends and its ping.

i started playing the game about a month ago, it was fine until a week back when my ping started varying between matches, I play on singapore servers. on other online games like r6s my ping is stable at aroun 35 -40, it was the same on apex too until it wasn't.

Now in what seems like every other game my ping is stuck at over 200, I also do get 40 ping, it is random, I might get 30 to 40 for 3 - 4 games continuously and next game it will be 200, it goes the other way around as well. One thing for certain is that the ping will not fluctuate mid game. whatever I start the game with stays, btw there is no packet loss.

I 've spoken to the ISP and they tell me there is pretty much nothing the can do about, honestly I am not sure I blame them since it only happens in this game.

People I play with who are from the same city as me seem unaffected, but they use another ISP. I should mention I also tried USB tethering with my 4g mobile data, same issue persists. Multiple reinstalls on both origin and Steam also did not help.

Anyway, I am told this could have something to do with bad routing by the ISP, could it be the case, if so, why does it happen only on Apex and how do I go about having the ISP rectify this.

 

[bill001g]

You better hope it is not actually a routing issue in the ISP. The path data takes is a lot of time determined by contractual obligations between ISP. It might not even be in your ISP it could be in a ISP they connect to. Generally this does not suddenly change but if for example a fiber got cut and they are on a backup it can. Something like a undersea fiber is going to take months to get fixed. The only way to get past a issue like this is to change ISP. You might get lucky and some vpn provider has a different path.

It could be the game telling lies. Test the actual ping with a ping command to the game servers...if they respond.

If you can actually detect the problem with a ping command boot a linux USB image and try the same ping. This will show you if it is something with your windows install.

 

[Aravind92]

You better hope it is not actually a routing issue in the ISP. The path data takes is a lot of time determined by contractual obligations between ISP. It might not even be in your ISP it could be in a ISP they connect to. Generally this does not suddenly change but if for example a fiber got cut and they are on a backup it can. Something like a undersea fiber is going to take months to get fixed. The only way to get past a issue like this is to change ISP. You might get lucky and some vpn provider has a different path.

It could be the game telling lies. Test the actual ping with a ping command to the game servers...if they respond.

If you can actually detect the problem with a ping command boot a linux USB image and try the same ping. This will show you if it is something with your windows install.

Well, I was wrong earlier, my mobile data tethered to the pc actually does fine, when I tethered earlier I seem to have forgotten to turn off wifi on the phone. looks like an ISP issue.

 

[Aravind92]

Now, I wonder why only this game is affected.

 

[bill001g]

It could be the game code itself. Check the ping times to the servers with a actual ping command. Many times games blame delays on the network when they are actually busy doing other stuff and then blame that extra time on the network when they data was sitting waiting to be read all the while.

Now it could be there is some issue between your ISP and the game company ISP but again that you are not going to be able to do anything about.

 

[Aravind92]

It could be the game code itself. Check the ping times to the servers with a actual ping command. Many times games blame delays on the network when they are actually busy doing other stuff and then blame that extra time on the network when they data was sitting waiting to be read all the while.

Now it could be there is some issue between your ISP and the game company ISP but again that you are not going to be able to do anything about.

Thank you for the response, another update now, only singapore server seems to be affected, hong kong keeps 60 70 in every game. does this solidify the ISP suspision?

 

[bill001g]

But how can you possibly fix that. You going to call the ISP and offer to buy access on a direct undersea fiber for them. It may not even be in your ISP it is more likely it is in some ISP they pay to connect to. What makes this even more complex is the path you take to the server and the ISP they pass though may be different than the data coming back from the server to you. Still even if you were to somehow dig around and find these paths you can do nothing at all to change them.

The only thing you can do is try different vpn services and hope one of those has a better path. It is purely trial and error since you have to the path from your house to one or more vpn data centers and then the path from that data center to the game servers.

 

[Aravind92]

But how can you possibly fix that. You going to call the ISP and offer to buy access on a direct undersea fiber for them. It may not even be in your ISP it is more likely it is in some ISP they pay to connect to. What makes this even more complex is the path you take to the server and the ISP they pass though may be different than the data coming back from the server to you. Still even if you were to somehow dig around and find these paths you can do nothing at all to change them.

The only thing you can do is try different vpn services and hope one of those has a better path. It is purely trial and error since you have to the path from your house to one or more vpn data centers and then the path from that data center to the game servers.

It is not about getting the ISp to fix it at this point, My subscription is coming up for renewal in a week and this happens, wondering if I should just plain switch or continue with this ISP, I am only contemplating because the other ISP is what I had earlier and switched coz of terrible customer service and there are other conveniences with the current ISP.

 

[bill001g]

That would be a good option. Maybe install the second one quickly before the other expires so you could be sure it was not actually worse. This will not be a option if both use the same physcial cables to get to your house it only works if say one is cable and the other is on fiber or telephone lines