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Forum Discussion

xaviera's avatar
xaviera
Follower
Dec 12, 2019

PC Games Stuttering with Ethernet Connection to Extender

Lately, I have been having issues with multiplayer games stuttering whenever I play online. It feels like latency is jumping to 1000ms for 1 second and then goes back to normal (around 40ms). I have my PC connected through ethernet to my extender 2 floors above the router. I recently moved my desk and setup (including the extender) to a different room on the same floor, which is when these issues started, which is interesting considering I am now slightly closer to the router. The old room had no connectivity problems (keep in mind that I would like to stay in the current room I am in). When I'm not gaming, everything streams fine, like videos and voice chat through Discord. As soon as I launch a multiplayer game, Discord starts to cut out making it hard to talk to friends. I've tried playing the game with Discord (and every other app) closed, and it did not solve my game stuttering. I've updated the firmware on my N300 WiFi range extender, but it did not solve the problem. Is there a problem with my extender? Is there an ideal setup for the antennae? Something else I haven't conisdered? Please help as I really can't play games with this annoying stuttering.

1 Reply

  • plemans's avatar
    plemans
    Guru - Experienced User
    Dec 12, 2019

    The N300 is a pretty basic 2.4ghz wireless extender. And gaming live is different than streaming as streaming can use a buffer to get ahead when it has a chance. Live game play can't do that so it needs a high speed AND consistent connection. Usually more bandwidth is the key. 2.4ghz has better penetration and distance than a 5ghz device but it has much lower throughput (speed). I usually recommend that gaming machings be hardwired in if possible, maybe an upgrade to a 5ghz device might be in order. Or even an upgrade to a powerline device. 

     

    Something else you can try is moving the extender a bit. sometimes there's hvac in floor/ceilings that block wifi signals. Sometimes switching to a different outlet can help.

    Or if its suddenly picking up interference, a wireless channel change can help.