Problem with Ping connections
Problem with Ping connections
Hi everyone, I’ve moved to Wi-Fi because running cables everywhere would be too cumbersome. We switched internet providers and the router is now in a new spot. Online gaming works fine, but sometimes I experience sudden ping spikes—high numbers that make me panic and almost drop my controller. Would it help to get a WiFi extender connected to a power outlet, or should I upgrade the router itself to fix the issue? My TP-Link TX20E card is already installed. Thanks for any advice; feel free to share more details if needed.
Moving a cable around the house seems like a practical fix unless the problem lies elsewhere. Just remember that cables can suffer from signal loss due to air, which might affect performance. My suggestion is based on general experience, but I’m not sure if WiFi routers have improved enough to eliminate this concern.
Your card’s antennas appear adequate, but they’re essentially omnidirectional. This allows connections from any angle, which isn’t ideal for a fixed wireless access point. A focused directional antenna with strong gain would be better. The greater the gain, the more concentrated the signal becomes during both sending and receiving. A range of 12-15 dBi works well, roughly corresponding to a 30° spread or about one-third of a right angle at 90°. You can find charts that map these distances to gain levels. Think of it like switching from a standard light bulb that lights the whole room to a focused flashlight aimed precisely where you need it. This concentrates the wireless energy into the intended path, minimizing loss to unused angles or reflections off surfaces. A cable extension can help position antennas away from obstacles like metal cases and walls, allowing them to point more accurately without being blocked. If you have permission, adjusting your router’s settings can make a big difference. For 5 GHz networks, switching to 2.4 GHz often improves performance, especially if online games rely on UDP for low latency. On 2.4 GHz, the beacon interval is typically around 100ms, which is slightly shorter than on 5 GHz. Ensure your router’s DTIM matches this interval for optimal operation. If you can’t change settings, connect to the 2.4 GHz network if both bands are available, or configure your card to use that frequency instead. On Windows, navigate to Settings → Network → Change adapter options. Right-click your wireless adapter, select properties, and look for the “wireless mode.” Set it to 802.11n for better performance. If your driver shows a specific frequency, adjust it accordingly. You can also verify the current settings by opening Windows Settings, clicking Network, and inspecting the adapter details. For advanced tweaks like IP address or DNS, open the adapter properties, uncheck IPv6, highlight IPv4, and click Properties. This is generally safe for checking frequencies only. If you’re allowed to modify your router, consider enabling both bands as separate networks to see if it improves stability.
Thanks a lot for the comprehensive guidance. I first tested 5GHz which delivered the advertised speed (270mbps), but the latency was extremely poor—I couldn’t stream for more than five minutes before dropping off. I moved to 2.4GHz, where latency is still present but less often, typically appearing once or twice during CS2 matches. I’m considering using an antenna extender since my office space has a stronger signal above the router. You mentioned changing DNS to Cloudflare; it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. I can adjust the router settings and split the channels for better control. My smart home devices require a 2.4GHz connection, so I’ll implement those changes. I’ll try the other suggestions tomorrow and keep you posted. Thanks again for your support.
Right, this isn't to help in any way with ping / performance, but rather not send all your devices network requests directly to your ISP on port 53. They use that data to sell to data brokers and advertisers. I guess other dns companies could do the same, but at least your ISP can't profit from collecting your dns data. Great, I didn't explain yet what to set the beacon interval to. Now that I know you can change this stuff, I think you want the beacon interval to be right at, or just a smidge above a servers ping. And maybe I don't have my understanding about this correct, but I've never gotten feedback on it before, and I haven't been able to test this myself. I was at one point given free reign with one of the wifi routers, and still have it. At the time though, I didn't test network ping with this setting. I will also mention that it may be that beacon interval doesn't affect ping at all. If I ping to the local wireless gateway, it's around 5-15 ms, and far below 100. So, in reality, I am not sure how this ties into ping time, and I really do want to understand it better. Maybe it makes no difference but here is what I would like you to try: Connect to a game server, and watch your ping. Let's say 60ms. Beacon interval is not measured in milliseconds, but rather microseconds, 1/ 1000 of a millisecond. Not only that, but it is measured in some multiple of 1024. The IEEE 802.11 standard has it all written out, but how you can calculate it is: Ping time 60ms. Convert that to microseconds. 60,000. Then divide by 1024 to get that oddball measurement. So when you do that, you'll see 60 becomes a lower number. Because ping definitely fluctuates, it's probably best to go at least a little bit above 60. Again, maybe it doesn't work this way at all, but if it did, and you set it to 55, and your ping is 60, it's actually a worse setting than 100. As in my supposed guess of how DTIM may or may not work at all, you'd wait another 55 time units and be out of sync with server ping timing. As I understand DTIM, it let's a client know whether to wake up, or go into sleep mode. Fat chance it will ever go into sleep mode with an active server connection. So maybe none of this matters. If you have some free time, please experiment with setting the beacon interval to 1000, which is one second. Keep DTIM at 1. Test that and let me know if there are any differences. Then, set DTIM to 10, and then 255. That will determine if any of this makes a difference. It could be that performance could marginally improve, with the network having to send out far less beacons, and the client not being interrupted to react to them.
Thank you for the ideas. I’ll give them a chance later to compare the results. I’ll also set up a temporary cable from my PC into the house as suggested, just to confirm there’s no interference with my actual network.
On the network side, consider alternative ways to lower ping such as verifying and adjusting your MTU on the router nearest to the internet. This reduces packet fragmentation. Look up guides using specific ping commands for more details. If your ISP reaches its maximum upload speed, bufferbloat occurs and pings worsen. Again on the closest router, set the smart QoS upload speed to about 90% of your typical rate, which helps minimize bufferbloat during high throughput.