Share via

Random high ping / lag spikes / packet loss rate in games/from games

Anonymous
2021-02-17T18:08:48+00:00

For the past 2 weeks+ since I updated to Windows 10 I have been experiencing absurd lag spikes whenever i play an online game, for example my connection is 6.66mbps down and 7.47 up when on a slump at the moment. Today I was playing Valorant and Rainbow Six Siege and the connection was fine up until around 3 hours into the session of Valorant my internet dies completely, i can't move, can't communicate in discord at all...Until I tab out of Valorant and my connection goes from 3000+ms and packet loss of 70~ to 20ms and 0 packet loss. I have tried to figure out whether this is just my network adapter by switching adapters and it's not the adapter. I first experienced this in Escape from tarkov however I believe it's to do with some sort of setting due to the fact that it's only when tabbed into games does my internet connection die(I can hear people in Discord but not speak back to them).

CPU:Intel i-4790

GPU:Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Internet and connectivity

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

3 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2021-04-28T06:35:26+00:00

    I am also having this issue. not exclusive to gaming either. Happens fairly routinely within chat meeting applications such as zoom, discord, etc. Random increases in latency/packet drops for random lengths of time.

    For those who are interested, I'm using Windows 10 Pro 20H2 (OS Build 19042.928)

    Some things I've tried that have been ineffective:

    Updating wireless NIC drivers (Windows refused to update the drivers even when I downloaded my exact card's drivers from the manufacturer's website)

    Disabling antivirus (I use Malwarebytes)

    The following DISM commands, in order from an elevated command prompt:

       1) Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /checkhealth

       2) Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /scanhealth

       3) Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth

       4) sfc /scannow

       5) Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

       6) Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

    Disabling IPv6 on the wireless adapter

    Using the "Reset my PC" option in windows repair and re-installing Windows 10

    I'd be inclined to believe this is a hardware issue but all of my diagnostic test/temperature and voltage readings seem normal. The only thing that appears to resolve the issue temporarily is disabling the wireless adapter and re-enabling it, but I'm doing this 10+ times a day while working remotely. If anyone has a permanent fix I'm all ears.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Lester Bernard Reyes 78,515 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2021-02-17T18:40:21+00:00

    Hi and thanks for reaching out. My name is Bernard. I'm an Independent Advisor and a Windows fan like you. I'll be happy to help you out today.

    I actually experience the same issue as before and by following the steps provided below fixed my issue and I hope this works for you as well.

    Method 1. Do clean boot:

    A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs, so that you can determine whether a background program is interfering with your game or program.

    • In the search box on the taskbar, type msconfig and select System Configuration from the results.
    • On the Services tab of System Configuration, select Hide all Microsoft services, and then select Disable all.
    • On the Startup tab of System Configuration, select Open Task Manager.
    • Under Startup in Task Manager, for each startup item, select the item and then select Disable.
    • Close Task Manager.
    • On the Startup tab of System Configuration, select OK. When you restart the computer, it's in a clean boot environment.

    troubleshooting reference: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135...

    Method 2. Run memory diagnostic tool: Memory diagnostic tool is a RAM test to check if there is any issues with RAM.

    • Press Windows key + R then type in mdsched.exe hit OK then restart the device.

    Method 3. Set the PC to best performance:

    Press windows key + Pause/Break (or go to file explorer and right click This PC and click properties)

    click on Advanced system settings> Under Performance click settings> Click Adjust for best performance and click OK

    Note: this will reduce all appearance settings you have but will optimize the performance of the PC.

    Let me know how does it goes and I hope that helps.

    Bernard

    Independent Advisor

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2021-02-21T15:01:47+00:00

    I have tried these and they seemed to work only for a small amount of time, I used to experience small amounts of lag and I would flush my DNS cache which somewhat helped but only for a few minutes and at most an hour. It seems to be whenever I tab into an online game. I did these fixes and played 4 games of Valorant and assumed they worked and then I came back on later to play with friends and it had reverted to what it was doing previously, where my ping and packet loss would spike when tabbed in and immediately after I tabbed out then it would return to 20ms ping and 0% packet loss. I would have task manager open and it would show no difference in network usage other than the number of available TCP connections dropping drastically as the packet loss and ping spiked..

    0 comments