Problem with connecting devices that is worsening rapidly (Urgent assistance needed)
Problem with connecting devices that is worsening rapidly (Urgent assistance needed)
The issue began when my family started improving our internet connection. The main office, located across the house from my room, houses the router that links several laptops and computers via Ethernet. Since the router is distant, we use an Ethernet cable to connect to a Wi-Fi extender, which in turn connects to another extender in my room. This setup significantly improves our Wi-Fi performance. After switching to a new Wi-Fi plan, the situation worsened. We changed routers and providers multiple times, but the problem persisted. Trying different network adapters for my computer only made things worse. My brother, who stays next to me, seems unaffected by Wi-Fi issues, but his devices—including a computer, Xbox, phone, and laptop—are all connected through it. I often have to disable Wi-Fi for my laptop and phone to get a better connection. As mentioned before, we upgraded only enough to prevent further degradation. During gaming sessions, I frequently experience ping rates of 100+ or even 200+, which makes the games unplayable. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
There are several gadgets connected to your Wi-Fi network. Because it uses a round robin system, each device receives a turn in turn for access, which can increase latency. As the number of devices grows, the strain on your router rises, potentially reducing speed and performance. Your router likely has limited wireless capacity that all devices share; heavy usage from many users can further degrade performance. Consider upgrading to a MIMO or MUMIMO router, especially if you have more than ten high-bandwidth devices connected. A tri-band model is ideal for maintaining strong ping speeds.
what kind of router are you using? You mentioned eight devices, with two Xboxes and a desktop, all likely for gaming. It seems the connection is quite sensitive to latency. The remaining ones might be phones, laptops, or Chromecasts. Streaming video could affect performance since it uses more bandwidth, potentially increasing ping for everyone else. Streaming doesn’t care about high ping, so you probably won’t notice it, but it will show up if you’re playing something like Rainbow 6.
Sure, I'd say we have two desktops, an Xbox, one laptop, and two to four phones based on whether I keep my Wi-Fi active for them.
Consider focusing on a single Xbox or one desktop at a time to evaluate performance. You might identify a specific scenario or device causing issues.
The issue involves all the "extenders" drawing power from the router into your PC or requiring a small replacement switch, after which you must connect another cable. These are the only solutions available. Your internet connection remains unchanged.
Unless you're using a MIMO Wi-Fi setup, your connection operates in half-duplex mode and follows a round-robin distribution. This means each device you link to reduces your speed by half. For example, if your router normally offers 150 Mbps but includes an extender, it drops to 75 Mbps. Adding another device brings it down to 37.5 Mbps, then 18.75 Mbps once more. Your main concern is that this configuration struggles with many devices. You'd be better served by upgrading your router and repeaters to support MIMO and beamforming, or by investing in a mesh network. If you must rely on wireless, running Ethernet cables is the best alternative, though powerline could also work if feasible.