High Ping Spikes & Heavy Fluctuations in Speeds whilst others stream via Netflix/Prime.

[M3Pearson]

Good Evening,

I have a major problem with my BT Internet which has been ongoing now for a very, very long time.

Basically, whenever somebody else within the house streams via Netflix, Prime or similar, I experience aggressive ping spikes in online multiplayer games such as FIFA or Call of Duty etc.. This is with both a wired or wireless connection. 

My average speeds are typically, 55 - 60mbps Down & 13 upload. So there should be more than enough for one person to stream without causing significant issues like this.

I was actually with BT a couple of years back and ended up arguing my way out of the contract due to this very issue as it was being reported by many online, and people found success in switching to another ISP provider even though they all use Open-Reach:

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/08/customers-of-uk-isp-bt-see-multiplayer-lag-spikes-duri...

So, I decided to move also.. and went over to Sky for Broadband, and amazingly the issues stopped immediately. It's almost like their hub had better base QOS settings to manage bandwidth on connected devices.

In February of this year, I decided to return to BT for my broadband as I was able to get a cheaper deal and also have the option of using third-party routers/modems without any compatibility issues that I had with Sky. However, the issues I was experiencing years ago re-appeared almost immediately.

I'm just wondering if anybody else has experienced these issues, and is there a solution outside of using third-party routers which offer QoS settings to manage bandwidth to certain devices.

I'm also considering switching from BT Residential to BT Business as I now work from home permanently for my employer due to Covid, does anybody know if I will still have early termination charges for that switch? Also, with the Business Hub I believe there's QoS settings available?

Thanks in advance!

[Chromedome73]

I haven't got an answer for you but my son & I play Cod on Xbox & its lagging bad,everyone is frozen & i am still running around then booom ....I'm dead.

[JohnC2]

Hi @M3Pearson, welcome back and sorry you are experiencing ping spikes. 

Would you run a Pingplotter when wired to show the difference between when you are streaming and when you aren't and post the results? 

Customers who convert their Residential account to a Business account are entitled to have the ETC's refunded, providing they've had their Business service for more than 14 days.

You would need to check with the business section re the QoS settings on the business hub.

cheers
John

[M3Pearson]

Hi @JohnC2,

Thank you for the reply. How would I go about running a pingplotter? Is there any recommended software that you have to do this?

Cheers,

Mike.

[JohnC2]

Hi @M3Pearson, you would need to download pingplotter from their website. It should be simple to use but if you need help you will find some short tutorials on Youtube to help you.

Cheers

John

[M3Pearson]

Hi @JohnC2,

Thanks again for the reply! I figured that may be the one, just thought I'd double check.

I've ran some tests, and here are the results:


Image 01 - No Netflix | No FIFA Gameplay

Image 02 - Netflix Running | No FIFA Gameplay

Image 03 - Netflix Running | FIFA Gameplay Ongoing (Online Match)

Image 04 - No Netflix | FIFA Gameplay Ongoing (Online Match)

I tested during the online match, during the first half of the game I had Netflix on and my Ping would sit around 19 - 23ms but have constant spikes mainly up to 50's - 80's but sometimes would spike upwards of over 200. Then, for the second half I turned Netflix off, and my ping sat at a stable 13ms throughout with no spikes at all.

I did a similar sort of test with the BT Wholesale speed test, without Netflix I was getting relatively consistent results, roughly 51mbps download 11ping. Then, as soon as I put Netflix on and ran some speed tests it was fluctuating heavily, some would hit the 50+ mark but then a few seconds later the test would output mid 30's or 40's and some even went as low as low 20's.

[M3Pearson]

Hi, thanks for the reply! I have a similar experience in COD also, however as mentioned it's only an issue when somebody else starts watching Netflix or another streaming service. Is this the case for you also? or are your issues consistent every game you play?

[JohnC2]

Hi @M3Pearson, thanks for doing that and posting the results for us. I've sent you a Private Message so you can get in touch with the Mod team and we'll be happy to look at your connection in more detail.

cheers

John