What causes my internet connection to suddenly stop?
What causes my internet connection to suddenly stop?
Hi! I've been facing some connectivity problems with an old Alienware Aurora R6 Destop PC.
It was using Windows 11 for about a month before I switched to Windows 10, yet the issues persist. I'm planning to reinstall Windows 11 again, but the same problems are occurring, so it might be related to this specific Alienware model or possibly an ISP problem. Since they experienced similar issues a few weeks back but they seem resolved now, I'm considering other explanations.
The main symptoms are intermittent internet drops lasting roughly 5 to 30 seconds anywhere. It becomes obvious during Discord chats or streaming; at first I thought it was rate limiting, but I'm not spamming. When I opened Chrome and tried loading homepages like Google.com, everything would freeze for about 30 seconds before returning to normal (messages sent, stream unfrozen, pages loaded).
These occurrences happen randomly—sometimes after sending 5 messages or during a streaming session lasting an hour. Additionally, I keep seeing alerts like "Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network." whenever I run a search in incognito mode. I'm not sure if this is connected to Killer WiFi services, as there were four of them installed via a Windows Update. I disabled all services before switching to fresh Windows 10, but the problem still exists.
I'm a bit confused but think enabling both Ethernet and Wi-Fi adapters at once might be causing the issue. I've never had a PC with a built-in WiFi adapter before. Disabling Wi-Fi without restarting paused my stream and delayed messages. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
If the issue persists long enough to diagnose, attempt this: send a ping to 192.168.0.1 and check for a reply (that's your router's IP). If it replies correctly, then proceed to ping 8.8.8.8. A successful response indicates your internet connection is functional.
I'm guessing I switch that out with my router IP? cause that one you provided times out. Do you mean try pinging it while it's loading chrome/frozen on discord etc? Not sure if it'll be long enough but I can try but it happens so randomly by the time I react to it, it'll be fixed 😂 I provided the ping below though during normal use:
Pinging 192.168.100.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.100.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.100.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.100.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.100.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Ping statistics for 192.168.100.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=51ms TTL=113
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=113
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=113
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=113
Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 50ms, Maximum = 51ms, Average = 50ms
I think all the laptops I've used have settings set to turn off WiFi automatically when an Ethernet connection is active, though you can still allow both if you prefer.
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Noteb...ab...-p/7561624
I turned off the built-in WiFi on my X670E AM5 motherboard and added a 10G Ethernet card (Asus XG-C100C). I also disabled the internal 2.5G Ethernet on the same slot.
In 2018, the drivers for the XG-C100C were somewhat unreliable, causing occasional internet interruptions—though not as severe as what you're facing. Over time I updated the drivers and performance has improved, but I still have doubts about the older Aquantia AQC107 chipset on my previous models.
Aquantia was acquired by Marvell, and the current XG-C100C uses the AQC113 chipset, which I believe offers better stability compared to my old AQC107 cards.
https://www.techpowerup.com/326670/asus-...e-pcie-nic
Both Intel and Realtek 2.5G Ethernet chipsets built into consumer motherboards are prone to issues. Searching online shows a range of problems.
https://www.reddit.com/r/opnsense/c...op..._25g_i225/
For reliability, I sometimes replace the standard 2.5G Ethernet chips in consumer boards with higher-end Intel server cards, or opt for 10G fiber optic NICs from SolarFlare and Intel. On forums like Serve-The-Home, experts recommend premium Intel (server) cards rather than budget 2.5G chips or unstable drivers.
Corporate environments need strong stability, while home users often face issues stemming from cheap network components and unreliable drivers.
https://forum.level1techs.com/t/end-of-2...gbe/204006
Another concern is the potential for outdated firmware or hardware in your broadband router or switch. My Netgear 10G Ethernet/Fiber switch from around 2017 has had firmware issues, but it's no longer supported. A newer Mikrotik switch hasn't caused problems for me.
I use pfSense and rely on a stable Ethernet card to prevent interruptions. Since pfSense requires two Ethernet connections (WAN and LAN), dual-port cards are necessary.
https://www.servethehome.com/buyers...li...ards-nics/
I recommend checking Serve-The-Home for trusted Intel PCIe cards, and explore second-hand options on eBay or Craigslist for refurbished ex-server models. You'll also find affordable Chinese clones of these Intel cards, but I prefer genuine Intel ex-server parts from reputable suppliers who disassemble old hardware.
TLDR: Turn off the built-in motherboard Ethernet/WiFi and install a professional Intel card.
The issue with using ping to check is that you must perform it at the precise moment of failure, and by the time you realize the problem has resolved itself, it may already be fixed.
It’s more reliable to use the -t option in the ping command, which keeps it running continuously until you stop it.
I would open two windows and ping the router's IP address in one, and 8.8.8.8 in the other.
Let them run quietly until you spot the issue, then quickly switch to see if any errors appear.
The "unusual traffic" warning probably isn’t significant unless you detect nothing with the ping test; then it might indicate something worth investigating.
Often this message appears when using a VPN, which can also lead to unexpected network interruptions that are difficult to diagnose.
Another time I encountered this warning was while operating a tethered connection to a mobile device.
Cellular networks and many ISPs employ CNAT technology, meaning you share the same public IP with numerous other users.
Google’s persistent tracking attempts can become confused if their cookies don’t align with the IP addresses.
Perhaps consider disabling IPv6 temporarily. You can run ping tests using only IPv4 addresses, and everything should work smoothly.
However, some websites rely on IPv6, which may take a different route through the internet.
Generally, turning IPv6 off doesn’t restrict your access, though a few servers in certain countries only support IPv6.
If needed, you can reactivate IPv6 or use alternative methods with a proxy to reach those sites.
I ran the ping test with
-t
for a few hours while streaming on discord and the stream only froze once...but there was no error on the pings that i could see. here are the results:
Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 19097, Received = 19097, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 57ms, Maximum = 60ms, Average = 58ms
Ping statistics for 192.168.100.1:
Packets: Sent = 19069, Received = 19069, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 2ms, Average = 0ms
When it does fail though, the taskbar ethernet icon doesn't change to "no internet" or anything, it stays the same if that helps
Edit: I would also like to add that I'm not using a VPN, it's a fresh install of Windows 11. I did try disabling IPV6 on a previous install of Windows but that didn't fix the issue. but on this one it's still enabled. I also noticed that Windows update installed an older Rivet Networks driver from 2018 after it installed a 2019 one, which was what the previous versions of Windows were using too...so maybe that one is less..buggy? idk haha
Edit 2: Would it also be possible hardware damage to the network card built into the mobo? Cause the PC was damaged during transit to me, and one of the USB ports isn't working either.
Turn off all power-saving settings for the Ethernet and Wi-Fi adapters.
Proceed with troubleshooting one adapter at a time, disabling only the unused one and each app individually.
Check if ping tracer or WinMTR provides assistance.
Refer to the resources: https://github.com/bp2008/pingtracer and https://winmtr.net/
Remember to locate the server IP address first.
Use NirSoft CurrPorts or SysInternals TCPView to identify the adapter status.
You might have encountered some bad luck, but it didn't stop you during testing.
There was no ping loss and very stable latency to google 8.8.8.8. This usually indicates there are no real network issues—everything from your device through the server to the final response is functioning properly.
You could switch your DNS to 8.8.8.8, but it would likely only notice slower web page loads. Once a session or stream starts, DNS won't be used again until you begin something new.
It doesn’t look like the best moment to try anything...last month my ISP faced problems, they had more issues last night...and then there was another outage globally...😭
Edit: And once again today 21/10...slow loading. The ISP keeps pushing "upgrades" and the service just deteriorates further. It’s frustrating because they have a monopoly here, other providers aren’t much better, and ending my account is a lengthy process of returning devices and waiting in line to be considered. But they’re fast at sending bills 😂 No refunds or rebates either, shudders.