Forum Discussion

salisburym's avatar
salisburym
Joining in
4 days ago

Persistent packet loss on Virgin Media network

I have noticed that I get quite laggy remote desktop streaming when using my Virgin broadband, compared to my much slower BT FTTC line and 4G tethering which have zero packet loss or latency issues.
I have performed two separate WinMTR tests today (1,500+ packets each) to Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 DNS service. Both tests show consistent 3–4% packet loss starting at the first hop after my router (10.112.33.41) and continuing through to the destination. My home network/router shows 0% packet loss, which indicates the issue lies within Virgin Media’s network.

This appears to be a daily issue.

Test Details:

Run 1
Hop 1  192.168.68.1                           Loss 0%   Avg 0 ms   Notes: local router OK
Hop 2  10.112.33.41                           Loss 2%   Avg 11 ms  Notes: first VM hop – loss begins
Hop 3  80.255.196.76                          Loss 2%   Avg 12 ms  Notes: loss continues
Hop 4  No response from host                  Loss 100%  Notes: ICMP filtered (normal)
Hop 5  No response from host                  Loss 100%  Notes: ICMP filtered (normal)
Hop 6  eislou2-ic-3-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net  Loss 3%   Avg 23 ms
Hop 7  141.101.71.40                          Loss 3%   Avg 26 ms
Hop 8  141.101.71.93                          Loss 2%   Avg 22 ms
Hop 9  one.one.one.one (Cloudflare)           Loss 3%   Avg 25 ms

Run 2
Hop 1  192.168.68.1                           Loss 0%   Avg 0 ms
Hop 2  10.112.33.41                           Loss 3%   Avg 11 ms
Hop 3  80.255.196.76                          Loss 3%   Avg 11 ms
Hop 4  No response from host                  Loss 100%  Notes: ICMP filtered (normal)
Hop 5  No response from host                  Loss 100%  Notes: ICMP filtered (normal)
Hop 6  eislou2-ic-3-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net  Loss 3%   Avg 23 ms
Hop 7  141.101.71.40                          Loss 4%   Avg 26 ms
Hop 8  141.101.71.93                          Loss 4%   Avg 21 ms
Hop 9  one.one.one.one (Cloudflare)           Loss 3%   Avg 24 ms

Conclusion:
The data shows consistent packet loss originating within Virgin Media’s network (first hop after my router) and not my local setup. This is likely impacting latency-sensitive services such as gaming and VoIP.

Request:
Please investigate for possible node congestion, routing issues, or line quality problems. I can provide full WinMTR logs if required.

I rely on this line for working from home so it would be great if someone could help. I have tried rebooting my router, I have disconnected and reconnected all coax cables and ensure they are tight and as mentioned above, I don't get this issue on BT FTTC or 4G tethering.

17 Replies

  • Steven_L's avatar
    Steven_L
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    2 days ago

    Hello Salisburym,

    Welcome back to the Community, and thanks for taking the time to post here on the forums. I’m sorry to hear of the issues that you’re having with your connection at the moment. 

    I'm not able to locate your account from the details you've used to sign up for the Forum. How have things been running since you posted? Have you had any further issues or seen any improvements?

    Kind Regards,

    Steven_L

    • salisburym's avatar
      salisburym
      Joining in
      2 days ago

      My partner is the account holder now but he doesnt have an account on here or an understanding of these things. I can share details over PM?

      The problem occurs daily at all times of the day, sometimes worse but its always present and interfering with my remote streaming.

      • legacy1's avatar
        legacy1
        Alessandro Volta
        2 days ago

        yes that one is a good test does it show which your Packet Loss is upload or download?

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta
    2 days ago

    Hops 4 & 5 are probably high-capacity core routers that handle massive amounts of traffic and are critical to the stability of the entire network, so disabling ICMP probes is the proper thing to do and timeouts here are almost certainly of no relevance to dropped packets (far more likely to be caused by problems on the coaxial side of optical nodes caused by congestion or RF noise).  

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    2 days ago

    I have noticed that I get quite laggy remote desktop ... to the dark side of the moon ? 

    What you omit to mention sends folks into spirals of risky assumptions !

  • salisburym's avatar
    salisburym
    Joining in
    10 hours ago

    Not sure what you mean? but the persistent packet loss appears to effect the performance of my remote desktop access to my work machines. I work from home, I have to access my machine via a PCOIP application. When I use my Virgin connection I get lag/delayed response to cursor movements. I also experience issues with online gaming. I do not get these issues using my FTTC line with BT nor do I get if I tether to my phone and use its much slower 4G connection.

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    5 hours ago

    What would be more informative would be the effect of a stream of nslookups <host> 1.1.1.1

    How many lookups fail via say "DNS Bench" or a similar DNS lookup test.

    • salisburym's avatar
      salisburym
      Joining in
      5 hours ago

      I get a similar failure rate if I run a DNS lookup every second with a powershell script too.

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    4 hours ago

    On the same test I am seeing a 100% success rate with 1.1.1.1 & both of the VM DNS.
    We have: Hub 3 RFoG connection out skirts of Colchester.

    • salisburym's avatar
      salisburym
      Joining in
      4 hours ago

      Hopefully an Engineer can fix the issue then if its not just endemic to Virgin.