Large ping spikes are occurring to the cable modem at times of 58 seconds and 28 seconds each hour.
Large ping spikes are occurring to the cable modem at times of 58 seconds and 28 seconds each hour.
I have a Deco mesh where the main node is connected via my Spectrum cable modem.
My computer and laptop are also connected to the main node, meaning no Wi-Fi is used for this test.
I noticed a significant increase in dropped packets after changing the DNS from 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 to 8.8.8.8 and 1.1.1.1. That should have resolved the issue, but it hasn't.
The only remaining spikes—using Pingplotter Pro to target the router directly at 192.168.1.1 and a general ping to www.google.com, plus some intermediate hops—I consistently see them around 28 minutes and 58 minutes after every hour. Occasionally, there are spikes at other times like 13 minutes past the hour or 43 minutes past the hour. It’s always at these precise moments.
I’m curious about what could explain this regularity.
It’s odd that these spikes always occur at exactly two minutes before the hour, two minutes before the half-hour (with consistent timing), and two minutes before the 15-minute mark, though the timing varies slightly. This happens repeatedly throughout the day despite otherwise stable network performance.
Edit: The highly precise timing is likely due to the second—every hour it lands at HH:58:15 and HH:28:15.
Edit2: This pattern persists even when network traffic is minimal, but during gaming sessions it becomes noticeable enough to cause interruptions and lag, typically every 15 minutes.
Edit 3: I suspect an old Netgear switch might be involved, allowing more wired connections into the main node, though I’m not sure if that’s relevant.
The 30 minute cycle indicates background processes likely trying to refresh, save data, or simply reconnect. Review Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and Process Explorer (Microsoft, free). Check Task Manager under Startup for any unexpected applications launching at startup. Also examine the Task Scheduler, as it might run scheduled tasks every half hour. Utilize all three tools simultaneously but focus on one at a time. Observe a few minutes before the 28 and 58 seconds marks. Additionally, inspect Reliability History/Monitor and Event Viewer for any error messages, warnings, or logs recorded during those intervals. Stay consistent and attentive.
Because it is common to remove the router and connect directly to the modem, you may need to restart the modem each time you change the connection. You might also need to ping the gateway IP address that your ISP uses as the first router. If problems persist, it could indicate an issue with the modem or your ISP network. If everything works without the router, try connecting only your main PC and turning off other devices and Wi-Fi radios. This should help determine if the problem lies with the router.
I hadn't considered this... but I overlooked mentioning that my wife bothers about receiving dropped calls from her laptop. I thought the issue was with the router, not the computer running pingplotter. Still, it might help to test on different devices to confirm.