Gaming Ping/Latency Spikes at night

[JoshK]

Hello,

I recently had Virgin installed 2 days ago 26/05/2022. The speeds are great and it works like a charm during the day for all my gaming needs. However I have already noticed that in the evening around 6pm - 11pm i experience terrible ping spikes during online gaming. My ping will go from 25-30 and jump to 100-200+ for a couple seconds throughout my session. It is incredibly frustrating and I am not sure what steps I can take to resolve this. Could this be a congestion issue? Should i look into port forwarding? Can my firewall be effecting my ping, i have both virgin firewall and also norton installed on my desktop PC. PC is connected via a TP Link adapter. 

Any advice would be amazing as gaming is the main use of the internet in my house. 

[Andrew-G]

Bear in mind that if you are not happy, you've got a 14 day cooling off period that started when your connection went live.  After that ends you're locked in for a further seventeen and a half months.

In terms of the problem, most can be resolved, a few can't.  As a start set, let's see how latency and packet loss are on your connection: Setup a BQM as that'll show what's going on with your VM connection.  Post a LINK to a LIVE, SHARED graph here and we'll see what's happening (no screenshots, and not a link to your logged in view as those won't work).  Usually needs to run for 24 hours before we can draw reasonable conclusions, but the live graph will continuously update so you can post the link immediately.

It can also be worth posting the hub status data, because if it's a noise or power level issue those are usually an easy fix.  Pull up the log in page for the hub.  But don't log in, just click on the link "Check router status"  That'll bring up a window with five tabs.  Open the Downstream tab.  Select all the text (Ctrl-A if using a keyboard), copy it (Ctrl-C), then paste it (Ctrl-V) into a reply here as TEXT not screenshots.  Post that, do the same for the Upstream and Network log.  You'll get an error message when you post the Network log, just click on "post" a second time.  Then we can check for any obvious problems with power, noise or error counts.

[Steven_L]

Hey @JoshK,

Welcome to the community and thanks for taking the time to post your issue on the forums.

I'm sorry to hear of the issues that you're having with your connection in the evenings. I have looked into this and cannot see any issues with congestion in your area.

How has your connection been running since you last posted over the last few evenings?

Regards,

Steven_L

[JoshK]

Hello and thank you for your response.

I will try this over the next couple days and see what results I get. Frustrating to say the least as gaming is the main use of the service. If it doesn't resolve 14 days notice will be used and I will try FTTP with BT as that has just become available in my area which I hear is meant to be really reliable.

[JoshK]

I have been busy so not had time to really try it, very concerning to have these issues within first couple days of a new service though. Will try it over the next couple days and if the same issues I will be looking to use my 14 days cooling off.

Thank you for the response 

[Andrew-G]

Probably well worth taking the time to try and look at this in the next day or two - a resolvable teething problem is a nuisance, but they can happen with any ISP.  On the other hand, last thing you want is to find that it is a non-resolvable problem (like network congestion) and you're then either stuck with a poor service for 18 months or 2-3 months of formal process to get out of the contract without paying early termination charges.

Why not phone up, see what the customer services people say - if that gets a prompt and effective fix inside your remaining 12 (?) days, then job done and every body will be happy.  If it doesn't (or the experience is unsatisfactory) then you know where you stand.

If you have any engagement with VM, bear in mind that anything that takes you outside your cooling off period means you're locked in - so any promises that "it'll settle down in the next few days", or technician visits that don't occur until after the 14 days is up, or if the staff don't even understand what latency is, and start prattling on about wifi, that'd be a clear signal that it might not be easy to get the matter resolved.

[JoshK]

Thank you again for your response.

I definitely agree with the trying it asap as it means I am not risking being locked in. Teething problems I understand can happen but from experience sometimes it's a sign of things to come and best to get out while you can rather than try wait it out. I will try over the next couple days and if no improvement I will call up and see what CS says. 

Thanks again for your advice on this topic 

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @JoshK

Thank you so much for your updates, I just wanted to check back in and see how things were looking now its been a few days? 

Thank you

[JoshK]

Issues with lag spikes have gone, however from working from home internet has dropped out multiple times. Overall not a great start to using VM

[Ayisha_B]

Hi @JoshK,

We'd recommend using an Ethernet Cable for the best gaming experience. 

In terms of the drop outs, I was going to run through some checks however I can see you have contacted our team and have booked in a disconnection. 

It is a shame to hear you are leaving us and I do apologise if our service fell short of expected standards!

Wishing you the best with your new provider.