Question XFINITY High Upload Latency Impossible to Game! Please help!

[BKX90]

Hey everyone,

I'm reaching out because I'm at my wit's end and could really use some help.

I'm stuck with XFINITY residential internet because Fiber isn't an option where I live in my apartment building. And as an FPS gamer, having a reliable connection is crucial for me. But for the past two years, I've been dealing with a nightmare: crazy high upload latency that's causing major packet loss in-game. It's so bad that even though I'm only getting an 8 ping to a nearby server in Denver, I can't play without warping all over the place.

I've tried everything I can think of to fix it on my end. Initially thinking it was my PC, I now have 3 high end gaming PCs, I've tried updating/tweaking drivers, adjusting network settings, you name it. But no luck. Everything is pointing back to the fault of my ISP.

I've had six XFINITY techs come out over the two year period, and none of them have been able to sort it. They've blamed everything from high signal levels (they keep replacing splitters) to network congestion, but nothing's helped. It's definitely not network congestion because it is happening during off peak hours as well.

I even gave Comcast Business a shot, thinking it might be better. But nope, it was even worse than residential. And the tech who set it up didn't seem confident it would fix anything either. He asked why I am going with a business line at lower speeds. When I told him the rep said it was a more stable, reliable connection, he rolled his eyes at me..

He checked the wiring leading up to my apartment and told me that I am only sharing it with one other person, and capacity is only at 40% between the two of us.. He installed a -7db splitter to reduce the "hot" signal coming in but that didn't resolve anything on the upload side. Having learned that Comcast Business literally uses the same tap as residential makes it seems like the biggest marketing scam out there. My latency was even worse than residential! That was a no-brainer cancel of service.

Now I'm back to square one, dealing with crazy latency issues that just won't quit. I've tried tinkering with things myself, like installing attenuators on the cable modem which didn't help and now I am running out of ideas. It feels like there's gotta be some wiring problem outside causing all this, but I can't figure it out. And clearly XFINITY doesn't know or care to either.

I'm desperate for a solution. If anyone out there has any advice or knows what might be going on, I'd be forever grateful.

Thanks for listening.

Here's the speed test results I often get: (Xfinity Plan: 1Gbps download / 90Mbps upload):
520ms upload latency

Upstream/Downstream direct connection, no attenuators or splitters in between:

Upstream/Downstream with only a 6DB attenuator on the modem no splitters. (Attenuator only dropped the DS power levels by about 9db was (+15.5 ish).

 

[bill001g]

Seems the attenuator help since your errors are gone. I forget the details on how you actually calculate the optimum values. It varies based on the docsis version.
I know the first one the levels are a bit too high for receive and well below the minimum for transmit.

Your upload is now near 40 which is I think is the lowest value but again the details of the type of docsis and the number of channels affect the actual optimum value so I don't know what the actual lowest that works is.

What happens if you put in a second 6db attenuator. Generally the download you want very close to zero and the upload you want around 45. I know you see web sites that say upload strength needs to be 40-50 but I also know it is not that simple.

If you have already tried this it might be something more complex. Your case is a bit strange most people have too low a signal.
The ISP should have a display very similar to the one in your modem for their equipment that will show the number of codewords that have errors they received from you. This would show if the problem is in the actual cabling to your house or it is something past the cable termination equipment where it gets converted to fiber.

You can try the basic tracert 8.8.8.8 and then run ping to the first ISP router most times hop 2. You might need to put a very small load on the line since the errors increase based on load. Even just running the game is enough traffic and you can run the ping in the background. This should also show if the problem is in the connection to your house but the end termination equipment does not respond to ping and the first ISP router might be farther away so it does not prove it is the cabling just that it is a issue in your ISP network.

 

[BKX90]

Thank you for your detailed reply.

I did try using different combinations with three different attenuators one 2x 6db, one 10db, and the 7db splitter they installed.. While the levels appears to be where they are supposed to, the packet loss ensues. One of the attenuators is specifically for upstream since I didn't want to affect the downstream, yeah that still didn't work. It definitely brought the levels down but the speed tests latency prove my connection is all over the place on the upstream.

I also noticed there's a very small window where it actually works fine, between about 3am-5am. I get a consistent 9-13ms latency on the upload, it's beautiful, for the very short period that it lasts. This tells me that it is in-fact a resource restraint or potential bad wiring outside. Yesterday I ran multiple speed tests all of which the download remained constant on the latency (about 10-30ms) while the upload once again peaked to 1300 - 500, 1100, 300, 200, it was all over the place.

I'm certain that the issue lies with XFINITY as so one else is getting these issues in-game. I've tested on different servers too, Dallas, Denver, Chicago all are experiencing the same thing, 10-15% constant packet loss. At times, it will go away then reappear in the upper right and I begin warping around..

At this point I am patiently awaiting my install date with Centurylink. While I know DSL isn't optimal I have a feeling these issues will go away seeing as I am "sharing" the copper connection with multiple MDUs here.. Just a frustrating experience with XFINITY and to add to that, six techs coming out here to troubleshoot it with no resolution is even more frustrating.

UGH! Keep you posted on the DSL install!

Really appreciate your assistance.

 

[thestryker]

It's absolutely outside somewhere and with complex wiring unfortunately can be almost anything. I highly doubt this would be an issue you'd have now, but in apartments they used to install filters to limit access and those were notoriously messy for internet connections. I'm kind of surprised the techs haven't been able to pinpoint better as the only time I had issues the tech tested in my apartment and at the tap which is how he figured out where the problem was.

 

[BKX90]

Update: 7th technician/supervisor came out today to tell me that it is indeed an issue from the tap. High signal from the amplifier causing upload speeds to fluctuate. Put a ticket in for construction team to come out and redo both taps... 30 days out.. Keep you posted!

 

[thestryker]

Update: 7th technician/supervisor came out today to tell me that it is indeed an issue from the tap. High signal from the amplifier causing upload speeds to fluctuate. Put a ticket in for construction team to come out and redo both taps... 30 days out.. Keep you posted!

Good luck! This is exactly what I thought it would be.