[SOLVED] Lag spike that constantly happens?

[Meliodas999]

Hello,

A few days ago, you guys helped get through my router setting and getting it to work. Now its mostly stable, but there is another problem: there is a constant 1800-2500 lag spike that happens once every 1-2h for no reason, even after factory setting, the use of one device and new drivers. Something that doesn't happen while plugged in ethernet

I'm currently using Wifi N, but Wifi AC is similar (and worse because of my wifi card).

From left to right:


TPLink Router wired through ISP router (results are the same if i use the ISP wifi or ping it)
Game server in America, high ping since i'm in Europe
Google.fr to check how is my connectivity



We can see that its a local problem rather an internet one as the game don't consume much ressource on task/ressource manager. My chipset is an Reatlek RTL8821CE


Is it due to the wifi card? My sibling laptop has the same chipset and same problem and my old laptop one is busted from time.


Is there any way to replace the wifi card considering its under warranty or are there good efficient dongle? Noticed i don't detect well Wifi AC on laptops but on my Galaxy S21 i don't have any problem.

Thanks

 

[Ralston18]

Which router is the "main router" with that being the router responsible for providing DHCP IP addresses to network devices and perhaps managing any applied Static IP addresses?

Connectivity being (line diagram where ----> represents an Ethernet cable):

ISP ===(DSL, Coax, Fiber)===> ISP "router" ----->[WAN Port] TPLink Router [LAN Ports] ----> Wired network devices and ~~~> wireless to wireless network devices.

ISP "router" could be a modem or combined modem/router. Make and model?

Edit and correct my line diagram as necessary.

Only one router, should have DHCP IP enabled.

I would expect that the ISP's router would have DHCP would be disabled making it strictly a modem. The TPLink Router thus becoming the DHCP Server for your network.

Run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt. Post the results.

You should be able to Copy and Past the results without needing to retype everything.

 

[bill001g]

What is the IP 192.168.0.40......your router I suspect ? Are you saying you get this same ping spike when you use a ethernet cable or do you mean this router is wired to the ISP router.

You will want to turn off IPv6, not likely your problem but it makes troubleshooting harder and seems to cause other issue while providing very little benefit.

This is very hard to say it could be the fairly standard wifi interference issue. Could be some device in your house is doing some update at that time or much more likely it is one of your neighbors using their wifi. You are not going to fix this if the interference is from outside your house.

A older problem was a feature called WLAN autoconfig. It would search for networks even when you had one connected causing these lag spikes. You can attempt to disable the process in the services screen but you will have to turn it on any time you make a change to wifi stuff. Microsoft seems to have patched window 10 and 11 to turn this back on even if you turn it off and you have to do some tricky registry hacks to prevent it from being reactivated. I am not so sure it is still the problem it was. You see much less discussion about this in the newer windows releases.

Your best option is going to be to try to find a way to not use wireless. The design used by wifi is fundamentally incompatible with the data transfer method used by games. Games hate random latency and wifi unlikely any other data transfer method attempt to do data retransmission which takes time and causes latency spikes. Games unlike other traffic would just prefer the data to be discarded....well until it gets to be a lot. This is why you see everyone say that you should not play online games on wifi.

Consider ethernet cables, MoCA if you have coax cables, and powerline networks. All these will be much more stable for playing online games.

 

[Meliodas999]

Which router is the "main router" with that being the router responsible for providing DHCP IP addresses to network devices and perhaps managing any applied Static IP addresses?

Connectivity being (line diagram where ----> represents an Ethernet cable):

ISP ===(DSL, Coax, Fiber)===> ISP "router" ----->[WAN Port] TPLink Router [LAN Ports] ----> Wired network devices and ~~~> wireless to wireless network devices.

ISP "router" could be a modem or combined modem/router. Make and model?

Edit and correct my line diagram as necessary.

Only one router, should have DHCP IP enabled.

I would expect that the ISP's router would have DHCP would be disabled making it strictly a modem. The TPLink Router thus becoming the DHCP Server for your network.

Run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt. Post the results.

You should be able to Copy and Past the results without needing to retype everything.

the diagram is correct


TPLink Router used as AP. DHCP disabled. Lan setting is Dynamic IP and its adresss 192.168.0.40
Freebox Revolution V6 Router (ISP) used as Router. DHCP enabled and its address 192.168.0.254

Spoiler: Config

Configuration IP de Windows

Nom de l’hôte . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP-DCK03LH
Suffixe DNS principal . . . . . . :
Type de noeud. . . . . . . . . . : Hybride
Routage IP activé . . . . . . . . : Non
Proxy WINS activé . . . . . . . . : Non

Carte Ethernet Ethernet :

Statut du média. . . . . . . . . . . . : Média déconnecté
Suffixe DNS propre à la connexion. . . :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek Gaming GbE Family Controller
Adresse physique . . . . . . . . . . . : 30-24-A9-85-6B-21
DHCP activé. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Oui
Configuration automatique activée. . . : Oui

Carte réseau sans fil Connexion au réseau local* 1 :

Statut du média. . . . . . . . . . . . : Média déconnecté
Suffixe DNS propre à la connexion. . . :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter
Adresse physique . . . . . . . . . . . : A6-97-B1-28-1A-5F
DHCP activé. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Oui
Configuration automatique activée. . . : Oui

Carte réseau sans fil Connexion au réseau local* 10 :

Statut du média. . . . . . . . . . . . : Média déconnecté
Suffixe DNS propre à la connexion. . . :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #2
Adresse physique . . . . . . . . . . . : E6-97-B1-28-1A-5F
DHCP activé. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Oui
Configuration automatique activée. . . : Oui

Carte réseau sans fil Wi-Fi :

Suffixe DNS propre à la connexion. . . :
Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8822CE 802.11ac PCIe Adapter
Adresse physique . . . . . . . . . . . : A4-97-B1-28-1A-5F
DHCP activé. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Oui
Configuration automatique activée. . . : Oui
Adresse IPv6. . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 2a01:e0a:98d:7470:5c6f:a604:eb21:41e0(préféré)
Adresse IPv6 temporaire . . . . . . . .: 2a01:e0a:98d:7470:4082:5188:60c2:e616(préféré)
Adresse IPv6 de liaison locale. . . . .: fe80::5c6f:a604:eb21:41e0%12(préféré)
Adresse IPv4. . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 192.168.0.45(préféré)
Masque de sous-réseau. . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Bail obtenu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : lundi 31 octobre 2022 08:13:59
Bail expirant. . . . . . . . . . . . . : mardi 1 novembre 2022 02:15:40
Passerelle par défaut. . . . . . . . . : fe80::160c:76ff:fe32:af4f%12
192.168.0.254
Serveur DHCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.254
IAID DHCPv6 . . . . . . . . . . . : 128227249
DUID de client DHCPv6. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-2A-D7-3F-70-30-24-A9-85-6B-21
Serveurs DNS. . . . . . . . . . . . . : 8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4
NetBIOS sur Tcpip. . . . . . . . . . . : Activé

C:\Users\

What is the IP 192.168.0.40......your router I suspect ? Are you saying you get this same ping spike when you use a ethernet cable or do you mean this router is wired to the ISP router.

You will want to turn off IPv6, not likely your problem but it makes troubleshooting harder and seems to cause other issue while providing very little benefit.

This is very hard to say it could be the fairly standard wifi interference issue. Could be some device in your house is doing some update at that time or much more likely it is one of your neighbors using their wifi. You are not going to fix this if the interference is from outside your house.

A older problem was a feature called WLAN autoconfig. It would search for networks even when you had one connected causing these lag spikes. You can attempt to disable the process in the services screen but you will have to turn it on any time you make a change to wifi stuff. Microsoft seems to have patched window 10 and 11 to turn this back on even if you turn it off and you have to do some tricky registry hacks to prevent it from being reactivated. I am not so sure it is still the problem it was. You see much less discussion about this in the newer windows releases.

Your best option is going to be to try to find a way to not use wireless. The design used by wifi is fundamentally incompatible with the data transfer method used by games. Games hate random latency and wifi unlikely any other data transfer method attempt to do data retransmission which takes time and causes latency spikes. Games unlike other traffic would just prefer the data to be discarded....well until it gets to be a lot. This is why you see everyone say that you should not play online games on wifi.

Consider ethernet cables, MoCA if you have coax cables, and powerline networks. All these will be much more stable for playing online games.

Yes, its my TPLink Router used as AP. Disabled my main ISP Wifi functions. And no, i'm not getting the 2000 ping spike (which is unique, only 1 each 1-2h, not multiple at same time) if its wired, whatever to the TPLink or the ISP Router

Wlan search is already disabled. It only bumps 5-6 times the ping to 200-300, not only once at 2000

Tried powerline but the electric network is pretty meh : same ping and speed as Wifi N (even less sometime), but i don't get the 2000 ping spike



Don't you guys believe it might be due to the Reatlek chipset? If it was a tower, i would just buy an intel wifi card but since its a laptop that still has months of warranty, i'm doubtful. I don't know how to ping on my Android otherwise i would give it a try, considering the wifi card seems to be waaaaay better

 

[bill001g]

It is not likely the chipset but you can get the drivers directly from realtek web site,maybe windows loaded some generic ones. I doubt it will have much impact but you could try it.

You are not likely to get a RMA for a problem like this. It is much more likely it is interference. Wifi card failures tend to be low signal levels and constant disconnects from the router. Some random latency spike that has no impact on any other applications than games they are not going to be real receptive to RMA for.

Then again most times it is pretty easy to change these cards. All depends on the model of your laptop. Most use standard m.2 a/e cards if you are unlucky it is used a soldered chip. If you were to consider replacing it I would buy a wifi6e card based on intel ax210. Even though you likely can't use wifi6e now the cost of all the different wifi cards is about $25 so you might as well get the most current ones for the same price.

Not so sure even that will make a difference.

Note if the powerline is more stable that still might be your solution. Online games need extremely small amounts of bandwidth, you only need fast speed when you download them. Since this is a laptop you could carry it over and plug directly into the router for very large game downloads.

 

[Ralston18]

From Post #4:

"TPLink Router used as AP. DHCP disabled. Lan setting is Dynamic IP and its adresss 192.168.0.40"

I recommend that the TPLink router being as an AP be assigned a Static IP address on the ISP Freebox Router using the TPLink's router MAC.

Ensure that the assigned TPLink Router's Static IP is outside of the DHCP IP address range allowed to the ISP Freebox Router.

You do not want to have the Access Point continually or potentially changing its' IP address via DHCP.

(Personally, I also limit my router's DHCP IP address range to just enough DHCP IP addresses for my network devices and a few guest devices. Occasionally increased for family gatherings.)

 

[Meliodas999]

It is not likely the chipset but you can get the drivers directly from realtek web site,maybe windows loaded some generic ones. I doubt it will have much impact but you could try it.

You are not likely to get a RMA for a problem like this. It is much more likely it is interference. Wifi card failures tend to be low signal levels and constant disconnects from the router. Some random latency spike that has no impact on any other applications than games they are not going to be real receptive to RMA for.

Then again most times it is pretty easy to change these cards. All depends on the model of your laptop. Most use standard m.2 a/e cards if you are unlucky it is used a soldered chip. If you were to consider replacing it I would buy a wifi6e card based on intel ax210. Even though you likely can't use wifi6e now the cost of all the different wifi cards is about $25 so you might as well get the most current ones for the same price.

Not so sure even that will make a difference.

Note if the powerline is more stable that still might be your solution. Online games need extremely small amounts of bandwidth, you only need fast speed when you download them. Since this is a laptop you could carry it over and plug directly into the router for very large game downloads.

From Post #4:

"TPLink Router used as AP. DHCP disabled. Lan setting is Dynamic IP and its adresss 192.168.0.40"

I recommend that the TPLink router being as an AP be assigned a Static IP address on the ISP Freebox Router using the TPLink's router MAC.

Ensure that the assigned TPLink Router's Static IP is outside of the DHCP IP address range allowed to the ISP Freebox Router.

You do not want to have the Access Point continually or potentially changing its' IP address via DHCP.

(Personally, I also limit my router's DHCP IP address range to just enough DHCP IP addresses for my network devices and a few guest devices. Occasionally increased for family gatherings.)

Alright i have done that and it still there. I guess its from my wifi card as my smartphone and my relatives one don't have this. And AC 5GHZ is out of question as the Reatlek can't handle it unless its very close (while the smartphones detect it from very far and are quite stable)


Guess its solved

 

[bill001g]

Having a weak signal level is a sign of a failing card.

Although you might try to RMA it do you really want to not have your laptop for a month or so while they replace the wifi card.

What brand and model laptop do you have. It is highly likely you can easily replace the wifi card yourself. Some are as easy as unscrew 1 small plate on the bottom and swap the card. More complex ones there are likely youtube video showing how to do it in detail.

 

[Meliodas999]

Having a weak signal level is a sign of a failing card.

Although you might try to RMA it do you really want to not have your laptop for a month or so while they replace the wifi card.

What brand and model laptop do you have. It is highly likely you can easily replace the wifi card yourself. Some are as easy as unscrew 1 small plate on the bottom and swap the card. More complex ones there are likely youtube video showing how to do it in detail.

Its a hp pavillon gaming. There is another hp laptop i have bought for a relative with the same exact wifi card model and it had the same problem. I think its just the wifi card that is bad, as my phones are detecting it perfectly (you can look up on google, a lot of people complain about disconnections/bad 5ghz)

 

[bill001g]

I doubt there is some fundamental problem with that chipset, realtek is one of the 2 or 3 key providers of wifi chipsets and that is a older chipset so they have gotten most the bugs out. Now I guess there could be a problem with some group that were manufactured under the HP brand name. It is unlikely.

But it is a pretty easy fix. HP itself actually has support videos that show how to fix many of their laptops on youtube. There are of course many other people who have video like this on youtube. There are actually many models of what is called pavillon gaming but the basic process for replacing the card should be the same.

The card you currently have is only 1x1 but it is highly likely the laptop still has 2 antenna because of bluetooth. The newer cards will function with just 1 antenna even though they work better with 2.
Since the pricing is all the same I would get the newest wifi6e card even if you don't need it. The only reason to not do this is if you are running some version of windows older than 10.
What you would want to search for is ax210. Realtek I think make wifi6e chipsets but almost everything you find is intel because they were first to market and seem to work very well for people.

 

[Meliodas999]

I doubt there is some fundamental problem with that chipset, realtek is one of the 2 or 3 key providers of wifi chipsets and that is a older chipset so they have gotten most the bugs out. Now I guess there could be a problem with some group that were manufactured under the HP brand name. It is unlikely.

But it is a pretty easy fix. HP itself actually has support videos that show how to fix many of their laptops on youtube. There are of course many other people who have video like this on youtube. There are actually many models of what is called pavillon gaming but the basic process for replacing the card should be the same.

The card you currently have is only 1x1 but it is highly likely the laptop still has 2 antenna because of bluetooth. The newer cards will function with just 1 antenna even though they work better with 2.
Since the pricing is all the same I would get the newest wifi6e card even if you don't need it. The only reason to not do this is if you are running some version of windows older than 10.
What you would want to search for is ax210. Realtek I think make wifi6e chipsets but almost everything you find is intel because they were first to market and seem to work very well for people.

Thing is i don't think it has a problem, as my relative laptop which is new and have the same laptop got the same problem

This whole wifi "lag spike" thing (2000 spike once in a while) is very weird. As on my older appartement, i had a https://www.dlink.com/en/products/dsl-2750u-wireless-n-300-adsl2-modem-router and never had this kind of problem. Then again only detecting 8-10 wifi max around. Right now i'm detecting 15-18 wifi

My older laptop wifi card more-or-less dying, so i only have 2 laptop left with the same wifi card. I don't know if its possible to ping/tracert on an android device, if i could it would be possible to rule out wifi chipset problem

 

[bill001g]

If you think it is interference from neighbors you are not going to fix that no matter what card you get.

Wifi nic cards seem to hide any troubleshooting and error information from the end users. I guess it was because years ago many people used to do stupid stuff like change the country to transmit at illegal power levels.

Wifi you are pretty much stuck blindly changing stuff. At some point you just get frustrated enough to spend $30 to get a new wifi nic card.