Re: AC19000 USB Adapter constantly getting high ping spikes

Highriser · ‎2023-11-21

I have a AC1900 USB adapter for 2 months now and it has been acting up for the last two weeks. Started out by dropping connection at random times, but I fix that with CMD. Now it shows I getting 200 mbps and it does not feel like that. I will be playing a MP match in video games and my ping will go from 40 to 300 then 90 and back to 40. It is pretty hard to play with a stutter in the WiFi. I tried using my old tp link adapter and it works fine. Is there any fix because it's very annoying paying $90 for a high speed adapter that is being outperformed by a $10 adapter.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-11-22

@Highriser wrote:

I have a AC1900 USB adapter for 2 months now and it has been acting up for the last two weeks.

Which adapter is that? The A7000?

A lot of the issues with USB devices track back to the drivers that Windows is using. Not just the adapter drivers but also the chipset drivers for your PC. Windows Update will not find those.

You can't even rely on the PC maker to keep up to date on that front.

Another factor, of course, is the router that provides the wifi.

Highriser · ‎2023-11-22

Yes it is the A7000. All my driver are up to date and it's not the router as I have tried two different adapter that have worked perfectly fine with my computer. I have tried using the Netgear adapter on another computer that is on a whole different internet service and it still gave the same problem.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-11-22

@Highriser wrote:

All my driver are up to date and it's not the router as I have tried two different adapter that have worked perfectly fine with my computer.

Not really a guarantee of anything. Your other adapters will use different drivers. And Windows will see them all as different devices.

Windows is very good at blocking Internet access when it sees something new on the network.

I have tried using the Netgear adapter on another computer that is on a whole different internet service and it still gave the same problem.

It is still in the warranty period so it might be worth an RMA,

Of course, the usual advice is that using wifi to play games is, as they put it, a mug's game.

Highriser · ‎2023-11-24

Since I have no other option when it comes to internet, I thought getting the top of the line adapter would help. I guess not if anything it made the problem worse.

michaelkenward · ‎2023-11-25

@Highriser wrote:

Since I have no other option when it comes to internet, I thought getting the top of the line adapter would help. I guess not if anything it made the problem worse.

If you want help, you will have to tell us a bit more about what is happening at your end.

We do not know what wifi source the adaptor connects to. We don't know if you installed Netgear's drivers or the Genie software that comes with the drivers. Some people leave Netgear out of it altogether and use the native drivers that come with Windows.

You say that other adapters work OK, but as you have discovered not all adapters are born equal. So one might work while the other needs some tweaking.

We know nothing about the device that you adapter is plugged into, merely that you think that the drivers are up to date. As anyone who has fought Windows will tell you, that can be a beast to tame.

While I use USB adapters, for serious wifi I have installed a WiFi 6 PCI-e card in my PC. Id delivers, 2.4 Ghz , 5 Ghz and 6 GHz wifi as well as bluetooth. It did not cost me $90.

I do not do any gaming. But if I did I would investigate the use of Powerline Ethernet. I find that it is more reliable than wifi, perhaps even faster. I use it to connect wireless access points to my main router