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Question

Random Huge Ping spikes and drops, plus FPS drops.

Apr 23, 2017 8:45AM PDT

So, starting about a week ago I started experiencing random ping spikes that usually brought along FPS drops while playing Overwatch and TERA.
Sometimes it'll be fine, then randomly my ping will go from like 60ms to 100 to 300 and keep climbing super high and then suddenly drop, and then my FPS will go from 30 to 12, 13, 14. And it's a seesaw of random dips and spikes - makes no sense to me! The two usually happen together, but sometimes my FPS will drop to mid-to-low teens while my Ping will stay around 60-80ms.

Once it kept climbing and climbing until it hit 816ms and Overwatch lost connection and booted me off.

I use my phone's mobile hotspot to game since there are no ISP's that come out here other than satellite, which is bad for gaming and requires a three year contract(and I won't be living here for three years). Before any of you automatically assume this is my issue, I've had NO ISSUES LIKE THIS AT ALL for nearly a year and a half.

I've tried everything, I've reset network settings on my phone, restarted phone, restarted laptop, updated phone software, updated drivers, closed everything in the background while gaming, closed everything on my phone, updated apps, deleted temp files, got rid of Avast, disabled SSPDV(something i saw on a HOtS reddit thread - didn't work for me), and reset network card. NOTHING is working. I even contacted Verizon to see if they were throttling me too early (I haven't reached my monthly cap) and they said they weren't and that my speeds were set to full strength 4G.
I also did a ping test with the "ping -n 30 -l 1000" method in CP and all my pings were super low except for the very last one on my first scan, which randomly spiked to 318ms. But every other one, in all my scans, were like 10-14ms, if not lower.

The only thing left I can think of is that perhaps my network/wirless card is dying?
And I was thinking if that was the case this could solve the problem:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-N150-Wireless-Adapter-TL-WN725N
or
https://www.amazon.com/Edimax-EW-7811Un-150Mbps-Raspberry-Supports/dp/B01KVZB3A4/

What do you guys think?
Is there anything else that you think could be the issue? And what do you think about getting a USB wifi adapter to help the issue?

Also, I read that a symptom of a failing wireless/network card is that you don't see it in your Device Manager. Well I do see it, and it claims to be working properly. Could it say that but still be malfunctioning in some way??

Thank you so much for any help!!!! <3

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Wrong Link
Apr 23, 2017 8:52AM PDT
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Answer
There, right there.
Apr 23, 2017 8:57AM PDT

You're on WiFi so you have that going against you. Gamers eventually learn to get wired when they want less troubles. They also don't share their internet connection.

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-sigh-
Apr 23, 2017 9:16AM PDT

I don't share my internet connection. No one uses my mobile hotspot but me
And saying I'm on WiFi doesn't explain why this issue popped up after nearly two years of ZERO problems.
And I don't need to "learn" to use wired internet, I'd use it if I could. Would you like to come force TWICE to dig wires into my ground and force them to get my area service? That would be lovely if you had that power.

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RE
Apr 23, 2017 9:22AM PDT

TWC*, not TWICE Laugh

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Cellular. I need to comment more about.
Apr 23, 2017 9:23AM PDT

Now that more and more folk use cellular for data it's getting congested.

I think you need to try other carriers now. Sorry that you don't have cable or other options.

-> There is a recent change where I live (US) where the old 2G networks were shutdown over the past months. This means more and more of those old connections are now using what we used. So without you changing a thing, there are more users of the data network YOU are on.

There are many reasons I know this.
1. I am an designer on a team for a GPS cellular tracker. Not something you buy off the shelf but a full up custom engineering effort.
2. My Nissan Leaf was on 2G and had to get a new Telematics module.
3. More reasons since I'm an electronics designer and have been consulting on this change a little this year.

I'd try another carrier and try again to get wires or optical to your abode.

Post was last edited on April 23, 2017 9:29 AM PDT

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PS. I forgot this.
Apr 23, 2017 9:24AM PDT

Try tethering instead of WiFi.

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RE:
Apr 23, 2017 9:45AM PDT

Thanks for that explanation ^_^

I tried tethering the other day hoping that would change it but it didn't. The random ping spikes still happen, then there are times that i can game for 2+ hours without a single spike.
At first I thought it was a problem i was only having in the late afternoon or evening when the towers are perhaps more busy......but the issue would happen early in the morning, early afternoon, and basically randomly throughout the entire day.

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Think about the 2G shutdown and what it was used for.
Apr 23, 2017 9:52AM PDT

We used it to send in the GPS location and more on a set schedule. So there are thousands in our system on 2G that suddenly (well since the beginning of the year) had to move off 2G. This is one small system out of thousands and now ADT and more are going with cellular data connections.

When all this was on 2G it was not going to impact what you did so as the millions of these systems move off 2G, cellular data response times have gone higher.

It's like overbooking on airlines today. Getting to 100% capacity lowers the costs as you have a full network but folk that need low lag get slammed.

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Answer
Send tracert
Apr 24, 2017 5:28AM PDT

i guess ping is totally depends upon stable connection from ISP so either send tracert of your isp regarding to this Happy