Online gamers help please (sorry, long)

[sam_gordon]

We have an XBOX One S. We got DS a subscription to XBOX Live for Christmas. He's having intermittent issues with playing online (FIFA 17 and Star Wars Battlefront). He played one game of FIFA with absolutely no lag on Sunday afternoon. An hour later, the lag was terrible.

Yesterday, he played Battlefront while DW and I were out shopping. Once we returned, he couldn't get a reliable connection to the server.

We have Time Warner Internet and pay for 15mbps up/1mbps down. I ran a speedtest from my PC. 1+sec (NOT ms) ping, 15 down, >.5 up. Ran the test on the XBOX, 1+sec( Not ms) ping, 7 down, < .5 up.

We have the cable modem going to Linksys E2000 router/wifi, one feed from the Linksys to a Gigabit switch, then off to the devices. I took my laptop to the modem output and did speedtest. 12ms ping, 15down/1up. Hooked the Linksys back up and had the same. Went to the switch and was back to the long ping times. I hooked the XBOX straight to the Linksys. Run the XBOX test, and it's back to 1+sec ping and .5 up.

OK, maybe the problem is in my set up. Of course, by that point it was 7pm last night and I'm still not sure. So I check this morning.

From my PC, I'm now getting 12ms ping, 15down/1up. I check the XBOX. 99ms ping, 17down/1up.

So I still don't know... is the problem with the XBOX (connected via hardwire FWIW)?
Is the problem with my router?
Is the problem with Time Warner?
Is the problem with simply so many people on TW internet Christmas/yesterday late afternoon/evening?

I've rebooted the modem, the router, and the switch multiple times.
I've tried setting up port forwarding on the router for the XBOX suggested ports, but when I do an online port check, they still show closed.

Are we bogging down our network (four phones, 1 ipod, 1 PC, 1 ipad, although they weren't all active at the time of the problem)?

I haven't contacted TW because I am getting the bandwidth I'm paying for (according to my PC). The modem is a couple years old (Arris 602g).

Any suggestions?

 

[PollyannaMom]

My gamer DS is still asleep, but my best guess on lag time is just how many people are on right now. A lot of people got these things for Christmas, and haven't settled into the typical playing patterns they plan for yet.

But sometimes if DS's is spotty, it does help if I log off other things I'm not using right that minute, or if DH reboots our modem.

 

[CarolAnn856]

My gamer DS is still asleep, but my best guess on lag time is just how many people are on right now. A lot of people got these things for Christmas, and haven't settled into the typical playing patterns they plan for yet.

But sometimes if DS's is spotty, it does help if I log off other things I'm not using right that minute, or if DH reboots our modem.

Mom of a gamer here, too, and I agree completely. There are always complaints of lagging and sluggish play right after Christmas. All the kids are off from school, and lots of new players have joined in. Think of it like the gym right after New Year's.

 

[sksjasams]

I know how frustrating that can be when your kid is so excited about the new system and you can't get it to work right. We have definitely had that experience.

It's entirely possible the Xbox One server is overloaded. You could try contacting their helpline.

We have also had another hard to diagnose issue...when my DS got the PS4 a couple years ago, he couldn't get a good connection, had horrible lag and couldn't use the party chat. It turned out his PS3 headset was incompatible. Even Playstation customer service couldn't help. I found out by googling and finding the issue in an online gaming forum. You could try searching the internet for other people having the same issue.

Good luck!

 

[Nayan]

How long have you had your router? If more than 3 years I would consider replacing it as that's around the time they begin to fail. If it newer than that then it's most likely traffic on the servers (oohhh shiny! Must play all the things!!).

 

[Hikergirl]

Gamer mom here and I agree, its most likely too much traffic on the server. My ds complains alot about lagging, and one thing to note is that if there are enough other people playing with a slower wireless connection speed that will cause lag with the other players too.

 

[sam_gordon]

How long have you had your router? If more than 3 years I would consider replacing it as that's around the time they begin to fail. If it newer than that then it's most likely traffic on the servers (oohhh shiny! Must play all the things!!).

The router is probably 2-3, maybe 4 years old. That's what I was thinking the problem was, but I'd hate to spend money if it's not the problem.

Hopefully DS will try playing this morning/today and we'll see if there's an issue. I'm just not home to troubleshoot.

 

[BrianL]

It is most likely as others have said post-Christmas network traffic, but I have also had trouble using consoles on wifi and have found that using a hard connection works better, so you may try that too.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

The router is probably 2-3, maybe 4 years old. That's what I was thinking the problem was, but I'd hate to spend money if it's not the problem.

Hopefully DS will try playing this morning/today and we'll see if there's an issue. I'm just not home to troubleshoot.

When I play console games I like to be directly plugged into the internet. I would get a new router though.

Lag is probably as others said here, everyone is playing.

 

[sam_gordon]

It is most likely as others have said post-Christmas network traffic, but I have also had trouble using consoles on wifi and have found that using a hard connection works better, so you may try that too.

The console has been hardwired for years (we had an XBOX 360 before). This is just really the first time he's tried online gaming (he did minecraft on the 360 years ago, but I don't think that's as bandwidth specific).

 

[BrianL]

The console has been hardwired for years (we had an XBOX 360 before). This is just really the first time he's tried online gaming (he did minecraft on the 360 years ago, but I don't think that's as bandwidth specific).

Playing games online really doesn't use a ton of bandwidth, so if it is hardwired, then it is very likely just the traffic on Xbox Live at the moment. It will settle down.

 

[sam_gordon]

Playing games online really doesn't use a ton of bandwidth, so if it is hardwired, then it is very likely just the traffic on Xbox Live at the moment. It will settle down.

thanks!

 

[Kenny1113]

Yep! DS has been complaining of the same these last two days.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Is it possible to upgrade your internet? I can tell you from experience that 15/5 is slow for online gaming, especially when you've got a bunch of other devices actively using the wifi. We recently upgraded and you wouldn't believe the difference. But, as others have said, lag could be on their end and a problem with their servers being unable to handle the extra holiday traffic.

 

[BrianL]

Is it possible to upgrade your internet? I can tell you from experience that 15/5 is slow for online gaming, especially when you've got a bunch of other devices actively using the wifi. We recently upgraded and you wouldn't believe the difference. But, as others have said, lag could be on their end and a problem with their servers being unable to handle the extra holiday traffic.

15 Mbps should be plenty fast for online gaming, but if other devices are also connecting that that can drag available bandwidth down. Online gaming actually sends and receives a very small amount of data since all the assets are housed locally. It is only positional data that need be received, which amounts to strings of coordinates for your machine to place another player's avatar and actions. You are actually downloading very little information. Lag can occur for various reasons, usually problems with the host server (though I think XBL is all centralized).

 

[sam_gordon]

FWIW, I texted DS and he said it was working fine today. I knew it could be the remote end, but like to make sure there's nothing I can do.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

There were complaints in my house, as well. (We have Verizon Fios.)

 

[Boski]

We have an XBOX One S. We got DS a subscription to XBOX Live for Christmas. He's having intermittent issues with playing online (FIFA 17 and Star Wars Battlefront). He played one game of FIFA with absolutely no lag on Sunday afternoon. An hour later, the lag was terrible.

Yesterday, he played Battlefront while DW and I were out shopping. Once we returned, he couldn't get a reliable connection to the server.

We have Time Warner Internet and pay for 15mbps up/1mbps down. I ran a speedtest from my PC. 1+sec (NOT ms) ping, 15 down, >.5 up. Ran the test on the XBOX, 1+sec( Not ms) ping, 7 down, < .5 up.

We have the cable modem going to Linksys E2000 router/wifi, one feed from the Linksys to a Gigabit switch, then off to the devices. I took my laptop to the modem output and did speedtest. 12ms ping, 15down/1up. Hooked the Linksys back up and had the same. Went to the switch and was back to the long ping times. I hooked the XBOX straight to the Linksys. Run the XBOX test, and it's back to 1+sec ping and .5 up.

OK, maybe the problem is in my set up. Of course, by that point it was 7pm last night and I'm still not sure. So I check this morning.

From my PC, I'm now getting 12ms ping, 15down/1up. I check the XBOX. 99ms ping, 17down/1up.

So I still don't know... is the problem with the XBOX (connected via hardwire FWIW)?
Is the problem with my router?
Is the problem with Time Warner?
Is the problem with simply so many people on TW internet Christmas/yesterday late afternoon/evening?

I've rebooted the modem, the router, and the switch multiple times.
I've tried setting up port forwarding on the router for the XBOX suggested ports, but when I do an online port check, they still show closed.

Are we bogging down our network (four phones, 1 ipod, 1 PC, 1 ipad, although they weren't all active at the time of the problem)?

I haven't contacted TW because I am getting the bandwidth I'm paying for (according to my PC). The modem is a couple years old (Arris 602g).

Any suggestions?

Both Fifa and Star Wars Battlefront are made by EA. EA had major server issues yesterday that effected a lot of their games...rumors ranged from high traffic due to the after holiday rush to glitches in their system to a DDoS attack. I am a dedicated Battlefield (another EA game) player and read that a lot of people couldn't connect during the day. I was able to play last night and thought I read the majority of the issues were on the Playstation console but reports were coming in across all platforms. How did it go today?

 

[sam_gordon]

How did it go today?

DS texted me saying things were working fine. That was just before noon. He's going to spend the night at a friend's house so I won't get a feel for how it works tonight.