Network Packet Loss and Ping Spikes Until I Play a Game

Thanks for your reply. The win10 network reset didn't work. I don't know what information to give you that would help. Other than when I run ping tests in command prompt ("ping 8.8.8.8 -t" and "ping bbc.co.uk -t" running side-by-side), I get random request timeout errors in sync with both ping tests and packet loss until I open and play Valorant in a online game, the ping test automatically fixes and the whole network is better until the Valorant game ends then it goes back to being unstable and having request timeout errors in the test. Which is strange to me because I don't understand how a game is not only not being affected by the bad network, it seems to actually fix it too.

Please can anyone help?

Things I've done to try fix it:

1. I have done a clean install of windows,
2. Reset int ip, winsock and flushed DNS,
3. Installed a new gigabit ethernet network card (TP-Link TG-3468),
4. Bought a new ethernet cable (CAT6),
5. Reinstalled the newest network drivers and rolled back my network drivers for both the motherboard ethernet and the new network adapter,
6. Using a new router from my ISP,
7. My ISP has checked my broadband line multiple times over 2 months and said there is no fault on the line,
8. Tried different DNS servers.
9. Booted into Linux Ubuntu
10. Updated the motherboard bios
11. Disabled IPv6 on my router
12. Disconnected every other wired and wireless device on my network

I've found 2 temporary fixes, they work most of the time but not all the time. The first temp fix is switching from my motherboard's network adapter to the new TPlink network card- or switch to the motherboard from the TPlink network card depending on which adapter I'm currently using. And the second temp fix is just restarting the PC. Strangely enough, some online games are still fixing the issue 90% of the time.

Thank you.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I've tried different ethernet cables

Tried WiFi

Now using a new router

Had ISP do multiple checks on the broadband line connection

The only thing I've had success with is playing online games- the ping tests always turn into a stable connection during this time

I'm just wondering if maybe there's some kind of setting that has been turned on that downgrades my connection when I'm not using it properly like an eco mode. I don't know.

Thank you

Hi AndyH510,

Welcome post in Microsoft Community.

I'm Mosken, I do apologize for the inconvenience that you're experiencing right now, let me help you sort things out.

According to your description, I knew that you have network lag when you play some games, and this happens when you're not playing, but not for others. And these same things happen to your other devices under the same network. If my understanding is wrong, please correct me in the reply.

First of all, it is very common for some games with high network quality requirements to have network delays, and most of them can be alleviated by using dedicated game accelerators. Or using a wired network (Ethernet) will be relatively stable.

However, if the same situation exists on multiple devices on the same network, it may be due to a problem with the network itself. So please check the settings in your network devices (modem, router, etc).

Also, you can try to reset win10 network. Please run Command Prompt as an administrator ("Win" logo key + "Q", enter "cmd", select "Run as administrator"), and enter the following commands one by one.

netsh int ip reset 

netsh winsock reset 

ipconfig /flushdns

The above steps are provided based on the information I have learned so far, I wish that will be helpful to you. If your problem still cannot be solved by these steps, please tell me more specific situation in the next reply. I will continue to assist you in solving the problem.

Best Regards,

Mosken - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist