lag spikes constantly :( help!

[Deleted]

hello, i posted this same thread about a week ago, but it got taken off the front page pretty quick and none replied, so i am asking again.

anyway, for about 2 weeks now i have had this annoying internet problem, every 10-15mins i get insane lag spikes, games completely freeze up for a few seconds and downloads slow to a few kb/s for a few seconds then it shoots to normal. i know its only lasting a few seconds but every 10mins its very annoying, its happening on all the computers in my house at the same time, and it happens with just one on. the interenet isnt disconnecting just random lag spike every 10-15mins generally. although sometimes it wont happen for an hour or it will happen several times in 5mins, but mostly its every 10-15mins.

now i have phones BT (isp) about this, and basically they said they dont care in short, was about 45min frustrating phone call and it ended with them basically saying they dont care.

anyone got ideas on what is causing this or how i can fix it?

thanks!

[Maharishi]

I'd play directly hooked up to a freshly power cycled modem just to make sure there's no issue on your side. Other than that, it's almost certainly an ISP issue, and I don't know of anyway around such an issue.

[Deleted]

I'd play directly hooked up to a freshly power cycled modem just to make sure there's no issue on your side. Other than that, it's almost certainly an ISP issue, and I don't know of anyway around such an issue.

sorry but what do you mean by freshly power cycled modem? is that just turning it off for 10 mins then back on? :P because i have done that. and i dont want to have to phone my ISP again so frustrating talking to BT

[Maharishi]

If there's a reset button on the modem, hold it in for ~10 seconds, and unplug and replug it in while the buttons held down. Do you use a router? If so bypass it and play directly from the modem to make sure it's not a router issue.

[Deleted]

If there's a reset button on the modem, hold it in for ~10 seconds, and unplug and replug it in while the buttons held down. Do you use a router? If so bypass it and play directly from the modem to make sure it's not a router issue.

ah done the reset thing, and the other one, how? my pc goes cable to router, then router plugs into phone socket on the wall? so i dont get what you want me to plug it into and try. sorry for being difficult :P

---------- Post added 2011-08-21 at 10:28 PM ----------

looks like i will have to phone BT again :\ blegh

[Maharishi]

ah done the reset thing, and the other one, how? my pc goes cable to router, then router plugs into phone socket on the wall? so i dont get what you want me to plug it into and try. sorry for being difficult :P

Sorry is this cable or DSL? I'm less familiar with DSL, normally its wall -> modem-> router -> computer. Modem to router should be an Ethernet cord you can plug right into the comp.

[Deleted]

Sorry is this cable or DSL? I'm less familiar with DSL, normally its wall -> modem-> router -> computer. Modem to router should be an Ethernet cord you can plug right into the comp.

DSL, mine goes wall ->splitter for phone / internet -> bt home hub (router)-> pc

---------- Post added 2011-08-21 at 10:38 PM ----------

just looked it up, my router is a router/modem combined, so i cannot plug it directly to modem im afraid

[Maharishi]

DSL, mine goes wall ->splitter for phone / internet -> bt home hub (router)-> pc

Looks like the modem and router are cooked together with that model. Which means if it's an issue with the router, it's still on your ISP. Maybe someone else can make other suggestions, but if it's happening on all your comps at once, it's an issue with the ISP, and I can't think of any solution that would not involve them either coming out to check their equipment/fixing something further down the network lines.

I'd look into a cable provider if it's possible, DSL has issues with being reliable enough for a great gaming experience.

[Ominouscloud]

Not long ago I was having similar problems with my cable internet provider. Luckily for me they have better customer service though as they sent a tech out any time I called about the recurring problem and they started replacing equipment one piece at a time until the issue was solved. Turned out there was a short in one of the cable set top boxes that was giving static feedback to the whole system, even though it was only interrupting my internet and never affecting cable programming. But either way, you should call them back and if you get someone that wants to give you a hard time about taking care of your problem then demand to speak to their supervisor and make sure you tell the supervisor what sort of experience you're having with their so-called customer service.

[Deleted]

cant get cable where i live and only 2 dsl providers, and BT owns the lines for both :\.
but basiaclly they wont send an engineer out because they think the problem is nothing to do with them.
when i phoned i explained the problem, and the woman on the phone kept saying "well we ran a speedtest and your speeds look fine " and kept mentioning how our internet hasnt disconnected in 14days, no matter how many times i explained thats not the problem, she kept mentioning them. and then went on to say "BT does not support gaming" although i tried to explain that it wasnt just an issue with gaming, she just kept bringing up speedtests and how bt doesnt support gaming (although they do, they sent out engineer before because of slow speeds while gaming).

so i dont know what to do

thanks for your help

---------- Post added 2011-08-21 at 10:50 PM ----------

Not long ago I was having similar problems with my cable internet provider. Luckily for me they have better customer service though as they sent a tech out any time I called about the recurring problem and they started replacing equipment one piece at a time until the issue was solved. Turned out there was a short in one of the cable set top boxes that was giving static feedback to the whole system, even though it was only interrupting my internet and never affecting cable programming. But either way, you should call them back and if you get someone that wants to give you a hard time about taking care of your problem then demand to speak to their supervisor and make sure you tell the supervisor what sort of experience you're having with their so-called customer service.

bt are really hard to talk to, on hold for 20mins, and their call center is in India, and i dont mean to be horrible, but they dont understand what i am saying, and i dont really understand them, they interupt you when you're talking and just completely blank you when you do talk.

---------- Post added 2011-08-21 at 10:51 PM ----------

guess i can try again tomorow and hope i get someone slightly more helpful.

[Deleted]

I don't think it's an ISP problem exactly, simply because I use the exact same service provider and exact same set up as you (wired right into the BT hub router thing)
My internet is rock solid and has been since I moved into this house (6 months ago)
Not sure what else to suggest, you've rebooted etc etc. However on the Home Hub there is a tiny reset button you can press with like a pen tip, right above where the power input goes. Have you tried this, restoring to factory settings?

[Deleted]

I don't think it's an ISP problem exactly, simply because I use the exact same service provider and exact same set up as you (wired right into the BT hub router thing)
My internet is rock solid and has been since I moved into this house (6 months ago)
Not sure what else to suggest, you've rebooted etc etc. However on the Home Hub there is a tiny reset button you can press with like a pen tip, right above where the power input goes. Have you tried this, restoring to factory settings?

yes done all that, but it could be line into my house? just because its BT problem it wouldnt affect their whole network?

[Maharishi]

yes done all that, but it could be line into my house? just because its BT problem it wouldnt affect their whole network?

With your setup, unless it's your computer, it's their fault. And as it's happening on multiple comps at once, it's not that.

[Deleted]

With your setup, unless it's your computer, it's their fault. And as it's happening on multiple comps at once, it's not that.

ok, i will try phoning again tomorow, its just so stressful talking to them :|

edit: could it be a faulty router?

[Ominouscloud]

Very well could be, and BT wouldn't notice a disconnect if the modem was still making connection to them. Honestly in my opinion, unless it's some freak problem like I had, the router is the most likely culprit in your situation since they've stated you've not been offline in 14 days.

[Deleted]

Very well could be, and BT wouldn't notice a disconnect if the modem was still making connection to them. Honestly in my opinion, unless it's some freak problem like I had, the router is the most likely culprit in your situation since they've stated you've not been offline in 14 days.

the internet isnt actually disconnecting though it seems, like when you get massive lag spike in wow, where everything freezes a few seconds and you cant cast, then it unfreezes and everything jumps around.

[Maharishi]

edit: could it be a faulty router?

Definitely, and that's why i was suggesting hooking it right into the modem, but in your case they're the same thing, which makes it a little less likely it's the router. It still would be the first thing I'd check if i were them, though.

[Deleted]

i have an older router/modem from last year before i switched to BT, would it worth trying that one out for a day, see if it still happens?

[Maharishi]

i have an older router/modem from last year before i switched to BT, would it worth trying that one out for a day, see if it still happens?

Hmm, again i'm only vaguely aware of DSL stuff, but I'm pretty there are some extra things as far as verification that prevent unauthorized modems and routers from being used. That being said, give them a try, and if they work at all use them to check if it still happens.

[Kingz0r]

Is the lag spike long enough for you to try and perform a trace route or a path ping?
I had this problem with Sky Broadband last year, and they were denying it was their problem, untill i had evidence that the spikes were being caused by packet loss at their end.

Maybe you could try getting the IP address of your Warcraft server, and performing a tracert / pathping at the exact moment you lag out, it might help you distinguish where the lag is coming from and where on BT's network it is. It's also proof that the problem (if it is) is on BT's network and they need to fix it.

Load up command prompt and type the either of the following;

tracert (wow server ip here) > C:\tracert1.txt

pathing (wow server ip here) > C:\pathping1.txt

this will save the trace to your C:\ driver, ofc dont put in the "(" ")" on either side of the IP, so it would look something like;

tracert 87.87.123.23 > C:\tracert.txt

pathping 87.87.123.23 > C:\pathping.txt

try and do it as many times as you can to try and catch the spike when it happens, its the only way i was able to prove to sky it was a problem with their network.

Note: they do take abit of time to complete so you'll just need to keep checking the file untill its complete.

Duno if this will help, but its worth a shot.