NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Having large lag spikes on WiFi every 10-15 seconds
Good day forums, I finally made the jump to a mesh network last month with the RBK50, one additional satellite, and one plug in satellite. So far it has been great- I have a large old home with thi...
When the PC is wired directly to the Orbi router, gaming operates as you expect, but when using WiFi, there are regular interruptions about every 15 seconds. And, both the PC and a Mac have the same problem on WiFi. How did you arrive at the measurements of 22ms vs. 2500ms?
The obvious conclusion is that something is affecting your WiFi signal every 15 seconds. Many WiFi analyzer apps are set to sweep once per second. When you watch the "moving graph" of the signal levels of access points (yours and others nearby), does your router signal drop every 15 seconds. (The analyzer on my Android phone app calls it "Time Graph".) It is normal for WiFi signals to "appear and disappear", but a regular pattern may indicate that some neighbor's system is affecting yours.
With a house full of devices, there is a chance that you have inadverdantly created a network loop that is allowing broadcast packets to create a "storm" that overwhelms the WiFi signal. Some networked sound systems have been reported to have issues when connected to the home WiFi network and their own private WiFi network at the same time.
When you connect to the Orbi "debug page" (usually 192.168.1.1/debug.htm), what does it show for CPU load? (i.e. every time the screen pops up, immediately refresh the screen. For example, my Orbi reports values from 6% to 45%, but is typically between 10% and 20%.
I refreshed the debug screen a number of times in a row, and here are my values:
17
25
17
14
43
12
48
19
47
14
14
43
28
19
37
15
This was done after I confirmed the spikes were actively happeneing.
When the spikes occur, what network are you on? 5G or 2.4?
If you can test to see if the spikes are on only one band that would be useful. If it is on both bands, it would indicate either the backhaul is having issues or the Orbi itself is problematic.
There is a new version of firmware in beta testing that has resolved some backhaul issues as well as some others... perhaps it would be faster for you to join the beta, update your firmware and see if that resolves the issue.
The beta test link is here if you want to try that approach
Destructormode wrote:
I refreshed the debug screen a number of times in a row, and here are my values:
17
25
17
14
43
12
48
19
47
14
14
43
28
19
37
15
This was done after I confirmed the spikes were actively happeneing.
These results seem to confirm that your Orbi is not significantly different than mine as far as CPU load is concerned.
I read through this topic again and cannot find how you are measuring the lag that is usually 22ms but jumps to 2500ms every 15 seconds and is only present when the PC is connected using WiFi (and not when using Ethernet cable).
I am not aware of a (consumer, free) tool that can be used to measure WiFi radio congestion. It almost sounds like there is some appliance that is wiping out WiFi every 15 seconds. I also did not see a response to the question: "Is your PC connected at 2.4G or 5G?" (Sorry if I missed it.)
After many random samples taken under normal network conditions:
My RBR50 CPU load varies from 6-60%. Average was about 21
My RBS50 #1 ethernet backhaul CPU load varies from 8-49% Average was about 23
My RBS50 #2 ethernet backhaul CPU load varies from 10-45% Average was about 22
My RBS50 #3 wireless backhaul CPU load varies from 14-62% Average was about 33
Destructormode CrimpOn both have normal loads compared to mine. Note the wireless backhaul always seemed higher -- even with about the same number of devices.
I am puzzled by two aspects of this problem:
- The things that are affected include video streaming, web browsing, and internet gaming. All things where a 2,500ms pause would be noticable. It is not a case of "dropped packets". i.e. Unlike a recent problem, this is not setting up two computers to send 1,000's of pings and counting how many disappear. (Unlike TCP, UDP (ping) does not guarantee delivery.) Most likely, because these are TCP activities, they simply wait for a response and then pick up again.
- Only WiFi connection is affected. When the PC is wired to the Orbi, it works fine. That rules out ISP problems, modem problems, and even many Orbi problems. It's also not likely to be a packet storm (as I earlier proposed), because it doesn't "leak over" into the LAN side.
What is it that can make WiFi connections pause for 2,500ms but not drop?
If this happens only on 2.4G connections, I would lean toward "something" causing massive interference every 15 seconds. There are SO many things that affect 2.4G (microwaves, cordless phones, etc. etc.) On the other hand, if it affects 5G, I am not aware of appliances that use the 5G bands. (Wouldn't it be a hoot if there is a rogue radar antenna on unauthorized frequency that sweeps around every 15 seconds?) I don't even see how nearby WiFi's on the same 5G could cause this.
