Ping gets high when connected to router by Ethernet cable

[auron77]

I've been having loads of internet issues since moving to my new place. I have a router and modem that are 5+ years old and no longer receive firmware updates but the att guy said on the phone that's usually not an issue.

I've tried lots of random different things without much success. Started seeing people say in places "try connecting directly to modem" and decided to give it a go. My ping was averaging out at 500 just before trying this, now it's averaging 45 ms. Connected to a game server that's about 1200 miles away, I'm getting 100-110 which is really nice and what I used to get at old house.

So what now? Is my router the problem? Does it need to be replaced? I can't use the internet on any other device while taking the lone ethernet port into my computer. Is there any tests I can do with my router?

Thanks in advance for your help guys. I've spent a few hours looking through this forum previously for answers to my latency/ping issues.

 

[TheKingHK]

You're getting 45ms ping when pinging your router (At 192.168.0.1)? If so, that's kind of high. If not, then that's not a problem as latency varies based on the destination.

If you need additional ports, you could just buy a cheap Ethernet switch from Amazon and connect it to your router. That'll allow you to connect multiple devices.

And I'm assuming that you were getting 500+ ping when using wireless. There are a bunch of variables that could be the culprit. If you're fine with wired connection then you'll be fine, if not, let me know and I'll try to help you out.

Keep me posted.

 

[auron77]

500 ping is wired. That's based on pingtest. pingtest for modem connection was 45 ms. These numbers feel better related to actual pings while playing games. When i test it in cmd directly connected to modem it's constantly less than 1ms. It's much shakier and spikes up to 40-200 occasionally wired to my router.

I'm personally not concerned about how wifi is at all since I'm always plugged in. However, since there's two other devices in my house using it, I can't just hook up to modem and let no one else use the internet.

I already have a router but I'm leaning towards it as my problem.

My router still has free ports. I think my router is damaged in some way but not really sure how to check outside of the fact that wired connection is way better directly plugged to modem. Don't want to get a new router without knowing if my current one is trash. ISP said everything is good on their end as well.

Can the ethernet switch connect to the modem and give me an extended ports for my modem?

 

[TheKingHK]

500 ping is wired. That's based on pingtest. pingtest for modem connection was 45 ms. These numbers feel better related to actual pings while playing games. When i test it in cmd directly connected to modem it's constantly less than 1ms. It's much shakier and spikes up to 40-200 occasionally wired to my router.

I'm personally not concerned about how wifi is at all since I'm always plugged in. However, since there's two other devices in my house using it, I can't just hook up to modem and let no one else use the internet.

I already have a router but I'm leaning towards it as my problem.

My router still has free ports. I think my router is damaged in some way but not really sure how to check outside of the fact that wired connection is way better directly plugged to modem. Don't want to get a new router without knowing if my current one is trash. ISP said everything is good on their end as well.

Can the ethernet switch connect to the modem and give me an extended ports for my modem?

Okay, well I assumed that you had a router/modem hybrid, looks like I was wrong. If that's the case then I don't think a switch can be directly connected to your modem. This is the case because the modem manages your public IP, while your router manages your private ones (usually, 192.168.x.x).

*Keep in mind that ISPs configure things differently, so connecting a switch directly to your modem might work (it varies based on the configuration of DHCP if you wanted to know)*


Anyway, the simplest way to determine if your router is the problem is to do a test:

Cases

1. Computer -> modem
2. Computer -> router -> modem
*Everything should be wired!*

So, do a speed test a few times (fast.com is pretty good) and get the average speed.

Then ping a popular website (like Facebook.com) a few times and get the average latency (in ms). Record the info and do the same for case #2

Lastly, compare the numbers, if they're similar, the router isn't the issue. If Case #2 has significantly worse numbers, the router is the issue.

P.S. a switch is relatively cheap (like 10$) so you could buy one, see if it works and just return it if it doesn't.

Keep me posted.