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Internet issues, need help.
a year ago
General
A few weeks back our internet provider offered us a deal to change from our old modem and upgrade to a fiber supported modem. So my parents took the deal as fiber is possible objectively better. Tech comes out, does what he needs to and connects the new modem. He was able to keep the network and password for us so once the modem was up and running all the devices in the house reconnected to the internet with no issues. My father's laptop, my mother's two small tablets, my Nintendo Switch and my desktop PC.
However after a few days I was noticing some issues in regards to the performance of my internet. Pages would take a while to load, it didn't matter if it was Furaffinity, YouTube, Discord, Twitch or a Google search. For watching Twitch streams on the old internet I would have only the occasional buffering but not enough to be a factor. However after getting the new modem and having this issue I would get very frequent buffering no matter the quality I was watching the stream at.
At this point I asked for help in a Discord server and someone mentioned moving the modem possibly. I did this and after a moment the internet in my room was MUCH better. So much so that I was watching a Twitch stream at 720p or 1080p with little to no buffering. So it seemed the problem was solved.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0teytqvzigp856ykjg81m/Router-Diagram.png?rlkey=t0ivoubvgxbl0j42o2vsezlss&st=08q8n08f&dl=0
However a few days ago this issue came up again with NO physical change being done to the router position. It has gotten arguably WORSE than it was before we had moved the modem. So the question here is does anyone know what the issue could be?
I will mention that for one my computer is old, 5-7 years I believe, so if that is an issue then okay.
Secondly, I did try a few things on my computer, namely disconnecting and reconnecting to the internet. As well as right clicking and clicking on "troubleshoot problems" and see if that helps.
One other thing worth mentioning is the signal icon on the taskbar shows a constant max signal, and never seems to dip down a bar even during these moments of lag.
Now if I do have to get an ethernet cable that isn't the most desired outcome, but I can do it. IF an ethernet cable is the best or only solution is there any recommendations on brand? As in avoid this brand, this brand is overpriced, this brand I have had no issues with etc..
So if anyone can help me I would appreciate it because this is driving me crazy, especially when I want to watch a Twitch stream and the constant buffering is making the stream unwatchable...
However after a few days I was noticing some issues in regards to the performance of my internet. Pages would take a while to load, it didn't matter if it was Furaffinity, YouTube, Discord, Twitch or a Google search. For watching Twitch streams on the old internet I would have only the occasional buffering but not enough to be a factor. However after getting the new modem and having this issue I would get very frequent buffering no matter the quality I was watching the stream at.
At this point I asked for help in a Discord server and someone mentioned moving the modem possibly. I did this and after a moment the internet in my room was MUCH better. So much so that I was watching a Twitch stream at 720p or 1080p with little to no buffering. So it seemed the problem was solved.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0teytqvzigp856ykjg81m/Router-Diagram.png?rlkey=t0ivoubvgxbl0j42o2vsezlss&st=08q8n08f&dl=0
However a few days ago this issue came up again with NO physical change being done to the router position. It has gotten arguably WORSE than it was before we had moved the modem. So the question here is does anyone know what the issue could be?
I will mention that for one my computer is old, 5-7 years I believe, so if that is an issue then okay.
Secondly, I did try a few things on my computer, namely disconnecting and reconnecting to the internet. As well as right clicking and clicking on "troubleshoot problems" and see if that helps.
One other thing worth mentioning is the signal icon on the taskbar shows a constant max signal, and never seems to dip down a bar even during these moments of lag.
Now if I do have to get an ethernet cable that isn't the most desired outcome, but I can do it. IF an ethernet cable is the best or only solution is there any recommendations on brand? As in avoid this brand, this brand is overpriced, this brand I have had no issues with etc..
So if anyone can help me I would appreciate it because this is driving me crazy, especially when I want to watch a Twitch stream and the constant buffering is making the stream unwatchable...
It was not buffering on the tablet but it was on my PC. So it may be my PC.
It worked great for a little while, but then there was a fault and it was none of the equipment in our house. It required the ISP engineers to come out and service the internet line on the telephone pole outside of our house, as part of the installation is actually on the front of our house.
In a set-up like this, I would expect that your house has a modem connected to an outside installation, which connects to a street network, whilst your router connects to that modem and all devices in the house connect to the router.
Which is why your devices can show that they're getting a great signal from the wireless router, but your actual internet service suffers when there's a fault anywhere between the modem and the street.
I set it right now to my PC and had the exact same Twitch stream playing on both.
The tablet ran fine, but my PC was experiencing the same lag spikes.
So because of this I am assuming my computer may be at fault.
So today I bought an ethernet cable and tested it before running it through my attic. For 45 minutes on a stream I had only 1 buffer that may have been on the streamer's side.
So now the cable is ran through the attic and hooked up. I am currently watching a stream and have had no buffers.
That could be down to the wireless hardware being used for the PC (internal wireless card, USB dongle, etc) or it could be down to the router's position in your house.
In my experience all wireless equipment (both broadcasters like routers, and receivers) degrade over time, and it can become necessary to replace them.
I recently did a wireless mesh router set-up in our house, where there's the one main node connected to our fiberoptic modem at the front, another node in the kitchen, and another node in my bedroom upstairs.
My PC is hooked up to the bedroom node via ethernet, so it ironically has a wireless connection despite being wired. :P
From what I remember, you got your PC from Bestbuy so I'd guess it probably has a built-in Wi-Fi card.
If you were to plug in a USB dongle for Wi-Fi, your Windows 10 OS would actually have two Wi-Fi adapters, and the network icon menu in the system tray will give you a choice of which adapter to use when connecting to Wi-Fi networks.
I'd have to deal with this with a mini-PC where we plugged in a USB Wi-Fi dongle, because the built-in Wi-Fi chip stopped working.
But as said the ethernet cable did the trick and only cost me $15 for 50 feet. I have had no issues since I hooked it up.
Where my bedroom is, an ethernet cable setup would have to run up the stairs and be installed under the flooring to hide it, so it's not possible.
That's why I had to go for the mesh network setup.
Alternatively it could have been run along the upper parameters of the walls, but that may have required a cable longer than 50 feet.
But it's hooked up and I have had no issues.
Plus if I happen to get a new computer, be it by choice or this one dies, I have the cable already set up and can just plug it into the new computer.
Speaking of new computer, official free support for Windows 10 ends October 2025, at which time you either have to upgrade to Windows 11 for continued security, or start paying Microsoft for Windows 10 security updates.
These days, Mini-PCs like Beelink or Miniforums are pretty good and should do everything you need with a more space and power efficient design.
Something to keep in mind for later next year.
Since this computer has been getting on in age I have considered an upgrade anyway.
Especially since I do legitimately want to make this game I have spoken of, and having a better computer will help with that.
I just want to make sure when/if I do I can be sure to turn OFF that stupid Recall thing that Microsoft is trying to cram down our throats.
I used to build little games in The Games Factory / Multimedia Fusion, now known as Clickteam Fusion it's the engine that's used for stuff like Freedom Planet, Iconoclasts, Five Nights at Freddy's.
The AI stuff Microsoft are pushing is really annoying, as well as the general direction of Windows 11, but it's a pill that I'll need to swallow eventually.
Recall is a feature that'll be exclusive to PCs running the necessary hardware though, and they've changed it to be opt-in, not opt-out.