Gaming High latency

[Coaster700]

I have 200meg download, using a Xbox Series X and PS5, both wired with cat 6 cables, I bought and Asus RTax88u router and am running that with HUB 3 in modem mode and I have both systems set to open Nat connections and I am typically getting 50-90ms in games, sometimes with packet loss and rubberbanding.  I ran trace route and it is showing latency in the Virgin infrastructure.  Not sure what I can do about it?  I only recently signed up to a new package for the TV and it appears that it has renewed the Internet part too, for 18 months.  

• Am I just stuck with rubbish latency in my gaming?  Would a hub 4 put in modem mode do anything at all for me?  Is there anything Virgin are likely to be able to do for me?  Worst come to the worst, how much would it cost to buy out of an 18 month contract?  Any help is appreciated.

[Coaster700]

Thx for letting me know re the fault, at least an active fault offers some hope of an improvement in the situation.

This is today:

[Coaster700]

What happened to this fault being fixed on the 9th?  Does this look like acceptable service?

[Coaster700]

Virgin Media Service fix?

[Andrew-G]

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@Coaster700 wrote:

I had no idea the latency was due to Virgin until I bought my own new router for £300. Also I never asked to renew the internet, but found to my cost that when I took out TV with them, they auto renewed the internet as part of that package. I already had internet with virgin, but was out of contract, and I added tv. It looks like they have me trapped, not to say conned as nothing was ever mentioned about the internet when I added the TV and got that last month.

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If it was not brought to your attention, then you have a very good case to cancel the new contract if you wish, but you need to act now.  During a contract discussion, it is the responsibility of the supplier to draw your attention to all material clauses.  So that's not all the guff that they include in the T&Cs, but the important high level stuff, like price, bundle content (speed, TV channels, other services), duration and the concept of exit penalties.  If there was no mention that you'd be in a new contract for internet services, then that probably isn't enforceable IF YOU OBJECT PROMPTLY.  Don't suspend payments, but the general principal that VM operate to is the idea of a "deemed contract", which is where customers discuss a contract over the phone, VM implement something, and then for better or worse the contract becomes binding if the customer pays for it for a reasonable period without complaint.

Bear in mind this could cancel TV, internet and anything else, or they MIGHT revert to the previous 30 day contract, I can't say.  If you still want to cancel, raise a formal complaint asking for the new contract to be cancelled because you were not informed of important facts material to the decision to enter a new contract, AND make sure that you specify that if VM won't agree to that, they issue an immediate "deadlock letter" so that you can escalate to the arbitration scheme CISAS without any delay - otherwise you have to wait 8 weeks.

Having said all that, your BQM doesn't look like the footprint of over-utilisation, looks more like a noise issue, so there is hope that it will be fixed, even if the estimated fix date has been missed. 

[Coaster700]

Andruser, thx for the considered/thoughtful reply, appreciated!

I'm not sure if Virgin are claiming to have fixed the problem or not?  They haven't got back to me on here, the last I heard was from the kind lady from customer services who spoke about a fix on the 9th of April (obviously been and gone). 

I am not sure, do I wait for a possible fix?  Do I try to have it out with Virgin Media on the phone now re the renewal, which was slight of hand?  Not sure what to do really.  

[Andrew-G]

You've got me there, because there's no "right" or even obvious choice, so its down to what you think - let me ask questions that you don't need to give me answers to, but might help your thinking:

• If the latency issues were fixed would you be happy with the new contract duration, bundle and price?  
• What's the alternative options open to you in terms of content and bundles?
• Based on your experience of customer service from VM and other ISPs, does that have any relevance?
• If you don't dispute the new contract promptly, it will become legal binding, you can't pay a couple of months of instalments without challenge and then say "don't agree with this".  I'm not a lawyer, I'm not offering legal advice, but I can assure you that "deemed contracts" are recognised by the courts as binding.
• Opening a complaint is not for the faint hearted - sometimes complaints are very poorly handled, rejected, lost or even ignored, and you might need to escalate to the industry arbitration scheme - would you do that if needed?
• On reflection, getting VM to revoke the new contract SHOULD put you back on the previous no TV, internet 30 day contract, because at no time have you served notice under that contract.  Does rejecting the new contract seem like a safety play?

I'm sorry I can't offer specific recommendations, but it's your connection and your contract.  I'm guessing from only a one-off view of your BQM that there's a fair chance it will get solved in the next week or two without you doing anything, and that hopefully this is just an over-shoot of the estimated fix date, but some area faults do rumble on for months even years.  Post up a link to a shared, live BQM chart, I'll take a look tomorrow and see if that additional data changes anything in my thinking.  Another 24-48 hours delay won't matter, but as I say, you do have to reject a disputed contract promptly, so perhaps by the middle of this week.

[Darkagedoc]

Spoiler

Don’t get the hub 4 it’s just the same the problem is not you it’s docsis it translates from fiber at the cabinet then runs along a coaxial cable (TV wire) then translates again in the hub this adds around 0.90 seconds to your game while the game is running uploading data screen movement etc.

Virgin media (Liberty global) get away with this by showing you a standard ping of 7-15 milliseconds the ping is just one ping no movement or anything going onscreen. [REMOVED] knows how if I’m has not caught them out on this.

get fttp if you can BT.

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