[SOLVED] Wi-Fi on PC only works when playing games.

[cheesler]

I recently moved a couple months ago, along with getting a new ISP and router/modem. During the first few days of having the internet, my PC wasn't able to connect for some reason. It ended up semi-resolving itself, but I'd keep getting a "No internet, secured" message in the taskbar, and had to reconnect to the Wi-Fi just to get webpages or videos to load.

Since last week, however, I can hardly use the internet at all, even though it says "Connected, secured". It also tends to disconnect itself from the router after waking up from sleep mode. Trying to reconnect usually takes around 15-20 seconds, during which, it will momentarily lose any nearby signals before "connecting". My PC seems to be the only device that has any issues, as I have an Xbox in the same room that works flawlessly, and no one else in the house has any complaints. I should also mention that this happens even if I'm the only one using the internet.

I discovered by accident that I can connect significantly better by having certain games running in the background. Before I started having these issues, I'd be lucky to get a Youtube video to play in 480p without downgrading, but when a game is launched, I'm able to get 1080p 60fps to load without buffering. Without that boost, my browser will either be very slow, or give a "Server not found" message.

I'd rather not have to launch a game just to open up a webpage, as it'll use up more power in the long run. I've already tried reinstalling the drivers for the network card and made sure power saving is turned off. I also restarted the router and ran antivirus software, but nothing has improved. Using an ethernet cable isn't possible, since the router is on a different floor and there are no outlets for it in the house.

Specs

CPU: I7 4790S 3.2GHz
GPU: GeForce GTX 960
Motherboard: Asus H81M-E
Power Supply: EVGA Supernova 750 B2
Network Card: Realtek 8821ae with Asus 2T2R antenna
OS: Windows 10

This is the exact model I bought four years ago, but I swapped out the GPU and power supply.
https://www.cnet.com/products/asus-m-series-m51ad-tower-core-i7-4790s-3-2-ghz-12-gb-2-tb/

Modem/Router: BGW210-700 from AT&T

 

[wsx1661]

Try to ping any website while gaming and while not gaming and send results here.

win key+R > cmd > ping www.youtube.com -n 10>network.txt&network.txt and copy the results, looks like when you have your game running it keeps the connection alive between your PC and the router as the game requires constant internet connection .

 

[cheesler]

Pinging Youtube with a game running
bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=50
Packets: Sent=4, Received=4, Lost=0

No game
bytes=32 time=204ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=38ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=85ms TTL=50
Request timed out.
Packets: Sent=4, Received=3, Lost=1

I haven't been able to replicate what happens during the slower speeds, since the majority of the time it just doesn't connect. I managed to record the latter set of data as it started to act up though. During the down times, I can't get pings back from any site, despite my PC telling me I'm connected. I did manage to get my connection to last a while after closing a game, during which the results were roughly the same as if it was still running. It only stopped after I tested reconnecting to the Wi-Fi, which didn't work.

I'll post the data for the slower speeds if I can catch it.

 

[wsx1661]

i need more lines of pinging at least 10, just copy my command line, and from what you have posted looks like you have poor connection when no game is running, request time out means you have lost the internet connection, can you assure me that you have an excellent WiFi signal ?

 

[cheesler]

With game (still Youtube)
bytes=32 time=37ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=50

Without
bytes=32 time=3291ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=3742ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=48ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=1793ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=783ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=38ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=1186ms TTL=50
bytes=32 time=116ms TTL=50

So far only a few games will maintain a stable connection after being launched. The others are either somewhat stable, or just don't help at all. As for the strength of the connection, I know it's capable of giving me good speeds on it's own, but it just doesn't stay that way for some reason. Even without a game running, it can give me decent results when it feels like it.

Out of curiosity, I took the Ookla speed test as well. I used the desktop version dozens of times to get more accurate results. The latter test doesn't take any connection failures into account, just overall speed.

With Game
Ping - range: 9-15ms | average: 11ms
Download Speed - range: 75-115mbps | average: 101mbps
Upload Speed - range: 78-103mbps | average: 92mbps

Without
Ping - range: 9-22ms | average: 12ms
Download Speed - range: <1-109mbps | average: 54mbps
Upload Speed - range: 1-104mbps | average: 41mbps

 

[bill001g]

I have no clue but I intend to watch this thread and hope there is some resolution. I have never seen this issue. It makes no sense at all that it does this. You would think it would be worse because the game is using up bandwidth.

You might want to ping the router ip instead. It should do the same thing...at least I hope. Since no other device is affected it is not likely your router or internet so it almost has to be just the wifi.

 

[wsx1661]

The shown spikes is definitely refers to unhealthy connection, to make it easier for you whenever your wifi connection goes into idle mode the spike will occur and possibly you will lose internet connection, for me to proceed with solution, you have either to test an Ethernet cable connection or a Laptop, other PC if the first option cant be done, and as for the xbox i cant take that as a point for healthy network so dont mention that .

 

[cheesler]

You might want to ping the router ip instead. It should do the same thing...at least I hope. Since no other device is affected it is not likely your router or internet so it almost has to be just the wifi.

I tried this and I'm getting the same spikes and disconnects, which means it must be on my end.

After thinking about it some more, I wonder if this is a power related issue as well. For example, the games that have worked so far tend to suck up more resources in order to run. I wonder if the increase in power would cause the network card or antenna to get a boost from that as well? I could be completely wrong, but I figured I'd share my thoughts.

The shown spikes is definitely refers to unhealthy connection, to make it easier for you whenever your wifi connection goes into idle mode the spike will occur and possibly you will lose internet connection, for me to proceed with solution, you have either to test an Ethernet cable connection or a Laptop, other PC if the first option cant be done, and as for the xbox i cant take that as a point for healthy network so dont mention that .

I'll try moving my PC closer to the router tomorrow. That way I can see if the distance really is the issue and test the ethernet at the same time.

 

[cheesler]

Well this is interesting. I have my PC set up right next to the router. The antenna is literally pointed right at it, four feet away, NO obstructions at all, but I'm getting the exact same results as before. It seems as though the ethernet cable is doing it's job though. With it I'm consistently getting less than 1ms of response time from the router. When sent to my ISP, Ookla shows a ping of 8ms, download speed at 124mbps, and upload speed is roughly the same.

I'm really not sure what to make of this.

 

[wsx1661]

Internal WiFi card or is it a USB adapter ? if its a USB adapter can you change it and test the connection again ? assuming you have other one that laying around.
I highly suspect that the problem is within the WiFi card/adapter that is installed in your PC .
you can always use a WiFi range extender/AP that supports LAN output ex : NETGEAR WiFi Range Extender thus it will do the wireless connection and your PC will have an Ethernet connection out of it . the prices of these kind devices starts from 19 USD and goes up .

 

[cheesler]

It's an internal one. I'm not really sure what the life expectancy is on these things, but I figured aging hardware could be the case. I'll try looking for one of these extenders and report back with the results.

 

[cheesler]

So I managed to grab a Netgear AC750 for $50. It seems to be doing it's job so far, both with and without an ethernet cable. I debated replacing the network card, but since this seems to be working flawlessly, I'd rather not have to dig around in my computer only to find that that isn't the problem.

 

[wsx1661]

you can mark this as solved then.