Ping spiking
Ping spiking
So I play Valorant and my ping in the game gets way too high right away. It started 4 days ago and it's still happening now. In the game, my ping jumps up to 200 every one or three seconds, which makes the game feel really bad at times. I'm connected using a router extender via ethernet wire. When I tried just connecting directly to wifi, the speed was actually worse than with the ethernet line. I tested my internet on speedtest.net and got good numbers: 230-250 for down and 250-260 for up. Nothing is dropping at all. I am on an AT&T plan and using one of their smart extenders over ethernet. Can anyone tell me how to fix this?
Basically, what you are doing is just swapping out the WiFi card. It doesn't really matter how you connect it, whether through USB or a built-in port or even Ethernet because the signal still goes straight to your router. Maybe you're right next door with a new WiFi unit that's using the exact same frequency channels as yours. You could try changing the channel or band, but the internet is packed full of signals and trying will likely do nothing. Just like another neighbor might be doing this too and causing interference. The first step is to connect directly via Ethernet to your router. If you still have trouble then maybe check other things on the computer or see if someone else in your house is hogging all the data speed. But it's just a guess until you can plug it in directly. Your main issue with WiFi is common, which is why people say never play online games while connected via Wi-Fi. There isn't much you can do about it except try to avoid playing online games on that connection. Most applications other than games can handle big lags pretty well.
Do you want to plug your PC right into the router instead of using cables? I don't see an electrical outlet or a cable TV socket here. Maybe I can cut some wire from the room with the router and run it over to my desk where the computer is?
You might try powerline adapters, but they can sometimes act slower than wifi. Games only really need high speed when downloading files. When you are actually playing, the connection needs very little bandwidth—maybe just 1mbps. Powerline connections keep that ping time very consistent. If your wifi is much slower to download and play with a powerline adapter, you could switch to the powerline for downloads then use wifi while playing. Many people get about 130mbps on newer ones, so it usually works well. It really depends on how your house wiring is set up and where your power wires are running. For gaming, this will make a huge difference. Even if you have to run an ethernet cable yourself, that's the best option. Once that is installed, you probably won't need to do anything else with it anymore.