Need help diagnosing ping issues on network!

[Guest]

Short and sweet version:
When my PC is connected to the router to the modem I get high ping no matter what website I go to, even games. Even wireless devices like laptops and phones are affected by high ping. When my PC is connected directly to the modem I have no ping issues. This lead me to believe our router is faulty so I bought a new one, but the issue is still there even after upgrading to a new router.

My PC is wired to my router which is connected to my modem. A few weeks ago my internet started experiencing really high, unstable, ping. I noticed online games like CS:GO, Team Fortress 2, and Rocket League were all having ping above 100ms and jumping randomly between 100-500ms. After troubleshooting a bit I discovered that it wasn't just my PC but also phones and laptops were experiencing the high ping. The ping stayed no matter what website/game I went to no matter what device. This lead me to believe the issue is either on my network or with my ISP, Cox. After contacting cox I was told to find the IP address of a game server (rocket league for this example) and do a trace route to it in command prompt. And then connect my PC directly to the modem and do the trace route again. Here are the results: http://oi61.tinypic.com/1z2j2g8.jpg

The answer to my problem seems very simple right? My router is dying/faulty! Well after buying a new router for $90 I can say that... my issue is still not fixed. I get the exact same results connecting my PC to the router and from connecting my PC to the modem. Strange huh? How could my router be causing an issue but not BE the issue? Or is there a setting I need to change? Could it be my modem?

I should note that trace routing to ANY website or ANY IP address yields the same results. PC connected to router = high ping. PC connected to modem = low ping. Also it doesn't matter what computer I do the trace route command from I get the same results. Wired or wireless. Which means this is effecting every device on my network!

My modem: Motorola SURFboard SB6121
My old router: Asus RT-N53
My new router: TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750

 

[ronintexas]

Try powering down everything - remove power from the modem for 30 seconds. Then power up the modem only....Let it completely boot up. Then connect only the router (no devices connected to the router) and power it up. Give it 30-60 seconds to fully negotiate with the modem. Then connect one device to the router, and boot up that device. Run the speed test then.

Sometimes the modem will issue an IP address based on a MAC address, and when you switch devices (new device has a new MAC address), it won't give out the IP Address to the new device.

Make sure that the router has WAN DHCP enabled (it should by default).

Then try pinging the router, and then pinging websites. Cox should give you between 8ms and 30ms for most websites. 100ms+ indicates there is an issue. Cox may need to reprovision the modem at that time.....

 

[smorizio]

also check that the modem is using both ip4 and ip6 in the settings 102.168.100.1
also chjeck that it using the newest firmware from the isp.

 

[Guest]

Try powering down everything - remove power from the modem for 30 seconds. Then power up the modem only....Let it completely boot up. Then connect only the router (no devices connected to the router) and power it up. Give it 30-60 seconds to fully negotiate with the modem. Then connect one device to the router, and boot up that device. Run the speed test then.

Sometimes the modem will issue an IP address based on a MAC address, and when you switch devices (new device has a new MAC address), it won't give out the IP Address to the new device.

Make sure that the router has WAN DHCP enabled (it should by default).

Then try pinging the router, and then pinging websites. Cox should give you between 8ms and 30ms for most websites. 100ms+ indicates there is an issue. Cox may need to reprovision the modem at that time.....

IT WORKED!
All I had to do to remove all the wireless devices was change the password. And I unplugged all the wired devices, except my PC. Fired up a few games a no ping issues! Also did a few trace routes and everything was good! So I'm guessing that means I need to connect one device at a time until I find the one that's causing the issue?

 

[ronintexas]

Usually when the "multiple devices" cause a problem it is because you are using the same IP address on multiple devices - are all devices using automatic settings? If even one has a static IP, you have to reserve it specifically for that MAC address on the router.

 

[ronintexas]

Also - you might have "wi-fi hotspots" enabled on your phone(s)....this could cause a problem as well....you have to assign different IP address ranges for them (i.e. 192.168.0.1 - 192.168.0.255 is the router, 192.168.1.1 - 192.168.1.255 for the wi-fi hotspot).

 

[Guest]

I've never had a reason to use a static IP when connecting a device. Everything should have an automatic IP.

Our phones do have hots pots, but we never have a reason to enable them at home since we have WI-FI.

 

[Guest]

Usually when the "multiple devices" cause a problem it is because you are using the same IP address on multiple devices - are all devices using automatic settings? If even one has a static IP, you have to reserve it specifically for that MAC address on the router.

After messing around with my router and devices I've figured out that having 2 or more devices connected to my router causes high ping. It is fine when I only have 1 device connected to the router; I get the same result's as I would connected directly to the modem. But if I add another device (wired or wireless) my ping will go high. I checked the IP addresses through the router and they are all different.

 

[ronintexas]

I would check a couple of things:
1) Make sure firmware on the router is up to date (I have purchased them with 2-3 year old firmware versions - some were 5-6 versions behind).
2) Do a factory reset of the router.

With only two wired devices connected, both using DHCP for IP configuration shouldn't be an issue. I have 6 computers, 2 phones, 1 tablet, 2 TiVo devices, a bluray player and an XBox 360 all connected without any drop in ping times.

 

[Guest]

I forgot to post an update. I figured it out! It was Google Photos my mom's PC constantly backing up photos. It was hogging the network. Thanks for the help anyways. I never thought about testing each device at a time!