Slow internet speeds

[Sympt]

I dont know if this is the right place for this but i dont know what else to do/google to try to get help for this issue

The issue im having started around march this year, basically my internet speeds will randomly just drop by 70-100%. This happens on all my devices. When im playing games or watching streams, the game will do 2 things, either i would rubber band or my game would just disconnect me, same with watching stuff online, it will buffer, go into lower quality and then just stop, even when im just browsing the net, pages will load slow.

I have 1 pc connected wired to the router, the rest of the devices are wireless on 5ghz connection.

Things ive done,
- Reset modem/router
- ive been giving 3 new modems and routers from my isp since the issue has been happening.
- i had 5 techs come out to try to fix it, nothing happened.
- had the wires replaced
- got a new amp for my wires

I believe this issue started to happen after i got a new router due to my old one having a faulty power cord. but ive gotten 2 new modems and routers since so idk.

I did have a tech say it could be due to me only having 1 tv connected to a box, the rest are just connected to cable. but i doubt this is the issue

Can someone please give me anymore ideas or things to try to fix this issue please.

my dad tested the coax line thats being used to connect to the modem, this is what we got http://imgur.com/a/al01L i also ran a ping test to google for 100 pings. this is what i got https://pastebin.com/UtzzPRGm

heres some more info on my modem/router

modem: Aris
model: tm1602a

Router: sagemcom F@st 5260CV

 

[degrub]

What do the logs in the ISP modem and router say ?

 

[Sympt]

What do the logs in the ISP modem and router say ?

ur gonna have to explain this to me further lol.

 

[Klueless]

Were the "pings" smack dab in the middle of an actual failure?

Failures are happening throughout day? Last for minutes? Hours? Then everything is good (especially when the tech arrives)?

 

[Sympt]

Were the "pings" smack dab in the middle of an actual failure?

Failures are happening throughout day? Last for minutes / hours? Then everything is good, especially when the tech arrives?

yes, i did the ping test during the time in which my internet was being slow, and whenever techs come, my net seems to be fine so they cant really find anything. ive only had 1 instance in which a tech saw my slow speeds. they then decided to monitor my internet and found "no issues" blaming it on me.

 

[Sympt]

so doing some research on my router, it seems that my router is being used as an optimum hotspot. i did notice ever since my isp gave us these new routers, my net has been having the issues. i dont have another router thats some what new so i cant really test this.

 

[MichaelCG]

You are having issues via the wired PC as well? Can you log into the ISP modem and see any logs or stats? Can you log into the router and see any logs or stats? Disable the WiFi on the router as a test and see if your speeds stabilize.

 

[Sympt]

You are having issues via the wired PC as well? Can you log into the ISP modem and see any logs or stats? Can you log into the router and see any logs or stats? Disable the WiFi on the router as a test and see if your speeds stabilize.

all my devices r having the issues and i cant check logs via modem or router since i cant log into em, it sends me to my isp page which gives nothing but basic access to my stuff. ive tested it with all the wireless devices off and still the same thing. Im started to think its the router, since the issue appeared as soon as they gave me a new router which turns out also makes my house and router a hotspot for other ppl.

 

[MichaelCG]

If you don't have access to the modem nor router...you are pretty much SoL and at the mercy of the ISP to do your troubleshooting.

If your ISP allows, I would start with replacing the router with a unit you control. Next if the ISP allows, I would also replace their modem.

 

[Sympt]

If you don't have access to the modem nor router...you are pretty much SoL and at the mercy of the ISP to do your troubleshooting.

If your ISP allows, I would start with replacing the router with a unit you control. Next if the ISP allows, I would also replace their modem.

yea, im trying to find any old router i used to have to test, but i think ima have to buy a new one. any routers/modems u rec for 100down internet?

 

[MichaelCG]

I am the last person to provide any recommendations for consumer grade router/wifi devices. Just about any modern router can handle 100Mbps Internet connections. I personally do not use combo devices. My router is a pfSense box and my WiFi is handled via Ubiquiti APs.

I have been a fan of ASUS devices in the past. My ASUS RT-N66U devices were pretty darn stable and solid compared to previous devices I have used in the past. There are plenty of other threads on here already that cover recommendations for basic home needs. Lots of ASUS, TP-Link, and Netgear fans on these forums that have shared their thoughts and opinions.

 

[Klueless]

yes, i did the ping test during the time in which my internet was being slow, and whenever techs come, my net seems to be fine so they cant really find anything. ive only had 1 instance in which a tech saw my slow speeds. they then decided to monitor my internet and found "no issues" blaming it on me ...

Funny thing, when they don't find anything then it must be us.

Intriguing that they use you as a hot spot for other people. Their traffic should be isolated from you. I assume you have access to the hot spot? How does that run when you are having trouble?

Ping stats look good but perhaps the sample time wasn't long enough such that it could still be an intermittent problem with their service?

Try running something called "PingPlotter" from a wired PC (that you can later connect to WiFi for additional testing) to some remote service. It will run tracerts and a series of pings to all the devices (routers) between you and the remote service. It will also graph the results so you can run it all day and review everything over a beer later. It just might isolate a problem with one of your ISP's routers.

I'm down with the Asus suggestion. They seem price/performance competitive along with a better than average user interface. My favorite feature is the real time traffic monitor. If you're showing low local traffic and still getting sucky internet performance it's another finger pointing towards the ISP.

 

[Sympt]

Funny thing if they don't find anything then it must be us.

Intriguing that they use you as a hot spot for other people. Their traffic should be isolated from you. I assume you have access to the hot spot? How does it run when you are having trouble?

Still could be an intermittent problem with their service.

Try running something called "PingPlotter" from a wired PC (that you can later connect to WiFi for additional testing) to some remote service. It will run tracerts and a series of pings to all the devices (routers) between you and the remote service. It will also graph the results so you can run it all day and review everything over a beer later. It just might isolate a problem with one of your ISP's routers.

I'm down with the Asus suggestion. They seem price/performance competitive with a better than average user interface. My favorite feature is the real time traffic monitor. If you're showing low local traffic and still getting sucky internet performance it's another finger pointing towards the ISP.

ill do some test with pingplotter, i went ahead and bought a new router and modem which are coming in tomorrow. this is what i got http://prntscr.com/g3odyd

 

[Klueless]

Tomorrow? Fast turnaround. Keep us posted, you've piqued my curiosity. BTW pingplotter can even point out a problem with the house router.

 

[Sympt]

Tomorrow? Fast turnaround. Keep us posted, you've piqued my curiosity. BTW pingplotter can even point out a problem with the house router.

i dont know how to use pingplotter but ill post the result after 1hour of pinging to a site i use all day

 

[Sympt]

test

 

[Klueless]

Uh wow, you learn and work incredibly fast! Your chart looked all good (albeit i couldn't read the messages at the bottom). Were things going well during this sample time? Or bad?

Here's a pingplot of a bad time for me. (We had many many bad times over a two month period.) Lower left was all good. Lower right (it's red) is where it went bad for about ten minutes and cleared up. (That 10 minute window also corresponded with everyone shouting, "the damn network is down again!") I moved my stat window (dark blue bar) to the middle of the problem area thus displaying the stats at the top which showed a 70% packet loss.

It showed my two routers as ok-ish (hops 1 & 2) with the problem starting with the ISP router (hop 3) and carrying through. Between charts like that and my Asus traffic monitor (my avatar shows the two charts overlayed) showing low utilization I was able to convince my ISP to take a closer look at that router. They never shared with me what they found but I've been problem free ever since.

And that 5% packet loss at hop 1. We re-engineered our wireless range extender and that too went away.

 

[Sympt]

Uh wow, you learn and work incredibly fast! Your chart looked all good (albeit i couldn't read the messages at the bottom). Were things going well during this sample time? Or bad?

Here's a pingplot of a bad time for me. (We had many many bad times over a two month period.) Lower left was all good. Lower right (it's red) is where it went bad for about ten minutes and cleared up. (That 10 minute window also corresponded with everyone shouting, "the damn network is down again!") I moved my stat window (dark blue bar) to the middle of the problem area thus displaying the stats at the top which showed a 70% packet loss.

It showed my two routers as ok-ish (hops 1 & 2) with the problem starting with the ISP router (hop 3) and carrying through. Between charts like that and my Asus traffic monitor (my avatar shows the two charts overlayed) showing low utilization I was able to convince my ISP to take a closer look at that router. They never shared with me what they found but I've been problem free ever since.

View attachment 10002

And that 5% packet loss at hop 1. We re-engineered our wireless range extender and that too went away.

ran another test today with my new router/modem. this is when my speeds drop. things ive noticed tho is my internet became a little bit better with the new gear but drops still happen. less than b4 tho so thats good

 

[Klueless]

ran another test today with my new router/modem. this is when my speeds drop. things ive noticed tho is my internet became a little bit better with the new gear but drops still happen. less than b4 tho so thats good

OK. Looks like you've a newer version of pingplotter than me so I had to squint at it a couple of times. You've certainly captured a few minutes of excessive packet loss.

• Your router (hop 1) looks good.
• Hop 2 is ignoring pings which is why you don't see its identity.
• Hop 3 shows packet loss of 12% which carries through to the end point
• If you slide the analysis window over the heavier red block you will see even greater packet loss.
• The problem device is likely hop 2 or 3. In either case they both belong to your ISP.
• But don't take my guess to the bank. Read through the pingplotter docs, they will help you better understand what you're looking at. For that matter you can even send your plot to their help forum and they will help you interpret it.

I think you just might be making some progress here!

 

[Sympt]

hm alright. ill look more into the info and send it to my isp, thanks again for the info about the program and the help.