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I'm not savvy enough to know what "bufferbloat" is
I'm not savvy enough to know what "bufferbloat" is, but I have been having a HORRIBLE time gaming with this router. I have Frontier Fiber FiOS at 2 gigabit speed, and have to literally reboot the router mid-sessions almost EVERY time I play an online game like ARC Raiders, Fortnite, Helldivers 2 or other multiplayer online game.
I'm using a PS5 Pro plugged directly into an ethernet port on the router (no wireless ever) using a top-end 3ft cable from Infinite Cable, have set up on the PS5 Pro to use the CloudFlare DNS on the PS5's advanced network settings, assigned the PS5 a pre-set IP address and put that IP address in for the DMZ, turned off QoS, IPv6, and still am having network-wide crashes where every device - including things like family iOS devices - losing access to things like Facebook and YouTube which - again - requires a full router restart.
I have the latest publicly available version of the firmware as well and it has not helped any.
This is insane that a $600 router is this unreliable.
14 Replies
Also, I forgot to mention I have a 5-port 10GB TP-Link un-managed switch set up for my >1Gb ethernet port devices like my main desktop PC (and an 8 port 1Gb unmanaged switch for the wired devices throughout the rest of my house, including my Synology NAS), but again - the PS5 Pro is plugged directly in to the router itself.
I'm not savvy enough to know what "bufferbloat" is,
If the link speed goes down along the network path, then the switch or router feeding that slower link has to buffer the packets. If there is too much buffering, you get unnecessary lag. If not enough, then packets get dropped. Too much buffering is bufferbloat.
In your case, the gigabit connection between the PS5 and the router is a downlink choke point (bottleneck), since the feed into the router is 2 gbps, but the feed into the PS5 is on only 1 gigabit. So the router has to buffer (hold) packets until the link can accept them. There's nothing you can do about that choke point, since both the PS5 and the router LAN port only support gigabit. Cables, IP settings, etc won't eliminate it. That said, it's only a problem if the gaming servers try to send you data faster than the PS5 can receive it.
The uplink from the PS5 isn't a bottleneck, since the link from the router to the ONT (and your FiOS service) are faster than the PS5 ethernet.
I have been having a HORRIBLE time gaming with this router.
... and still am having network-wide crashes where every device
Not clear that you are experiencing buffer bloat, since that normally doesn't lead to network crashes, only lag.
Can you reach the router's web page after the network crashes? Are you still seeing the WiFi network names in your phone after it crashes?
Is the router still under warranty?
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6A STP is recommended.
Is IPv6 enabled on the router?
Is Protection engine enabled on the router?
I have my RS700 online since early this month. Game on xbox and have not seen any of these issues to date. Though I'm on cable with a NG CM3000 cable modem. 1Gb ISP service. IPv6 disabled on my router. PE enabled on the router.
Current firmware version on my RS700 :
V1.0.10.8_2.0.109
Mfr / model # of ONT :
XGS-PON ONT Model FRX523
The cable is from Infinite Cable - a quality manufacturer of all things cable :https://us.infinitecables.com/products/cat8-s-ftp-40g-shielded-patch-cable-24awg-riser-cmr?variant=43920869556537
No IPv6 is Disabled...
...and Protection Engine is Disabled as well.
I haven't checked the Netgear admin webpage for my router when the network crashes. It usually happens at a VERY in-opportune time where I want it back online as soon as possible, so I use the iOS Nighthawk app to reboot the router. Up until the point I do the reboot step, I am still seeing the network name. During the reboot process the network temporarily disappears until it finishes the reboot at which point everything resumes functioning when reboot is complete.
I bought the router through B&H Photo in mid-June of 2025Do you have the same issues with the PS5 plugged directly into the Nokia?
...the PS5 plugged directly into the Nokia?
The "Nokia?"
What are you talking about?
As I said before... the PS5 Pro is plugged directly into one of the ethernet ports on the back of the Netgear RS700 using the 3ft long version of this cable.
Your gateway is a nokia.
I just mean to try it directly connected to the gateway.
Oh I didn't realize that - all it says on the XGS-PON ONT Model FRX523 is that it's a Frontier Communications branded device. I never saw "Nokia" on it anywhere. It's in my garage. I'm not really able to easily connect my PS5 Pro to it directly along with a test display of some kind out there and then play a few rounds of ARC Raiders to see if the connection stays stable for a day or 2 after a reboot of the router.
Surely there's some other way to figure out what's causing this, right? Or should I call Frontier and tell them to swap out my PON for another? I'm reading threads about how that causes issues, too...If there are others seeing issues ith your particular ONT or services, I would get with the ISP and have them check all up to there ONT.
One test would be to connect the PS to the ONT directly and see if you noticed same thing with a direct connection, if you do, then it would the on the ISP side where this issue is.
Oh I didn't realize that - all it says on the XGS-PON ONT Model FRX523 is that it's a Frontier Communications branded device. I never saw "Nokia" on it anywhere. It's in my garage. I'm not really able to easily connect my PS5 Pro to it directly along with a test display of some kind out there and then play a few rounds of ARC Raiders to see if the connection stays stable for a day or 2 after a reboot of the router.
Surely there's some other way to figure out what's causing this, right? Or should I call Frontier and tell them to swap out my PON for another? I'm reading threads about how that causes issues, too...
I guess I could try to disconnect the ethernet cable going into the router and hook that into it, since it goes through the attic down in to the wall... and back out at a similar space... That just means my entire network goes down then since that's the one cable going to the garage.
I still don't understand though - why would this only start happening when I upgraded the router and the service to 2Gbit from Frontier? I had zero issues before. I just wanted faster service that didn't slow down gaming when someone was streaming a movie in another room.
So it didn't happen before you changed your frontier speeds and gateway? Before, everything worked fine (using the RS700)?
