This problem started about a week ago and causes brief bursts of packet loss while gaming. The connection sometimes sends me back a few seconds, freezes me in animations, and makes Discord calls difficult because the other person keeps cutting out. Livestreaming mostly works, although Twitch occasionally freezes, while services like YouTube and TikTok generally play normally.
My ISP has sent technicians twice. They reset the router once and checked the cable from the building to my apartment, but they said everything looked normal and suggested the problem could be somewhere outside their network. I tested two wired PCs: both connect reliably to the router, but ping tests to 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8 show occasional packet loss. The router is a TP-Link Archer C6. What would be the best way to identify whether the problem is inside my network, with the router, or somewhere in the ISP's connection?
3 Answers
Check the physical Ethernet cables and try bypassing the Archer C6 temporarily if your ISP equipment can provide a direct connection. Also test for bufferbloat by running a continuous ping while someone uploads or downloads heavily. If latency shoots up or packets disappear under load, router QoS or an ISP-side capacity issue could be responsible. The fact that streaming mostly works does not rule out short bursts of loss, since video buffers ahead while games and voice chat need packets immediately.
Packet loss to 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8 alone does not always prove that your connection is dropping. Some routers and servers deliberately deprioritize or ignore ping packets. What matters is whether the loss continues to later hops and whether it matches the moments when games and voice calls break up. Test several destinations and save results while the problem is happening.
Since both computers are wired directly to the router, Wi-Fi interference is unlikely. Start by running continuous pings at the same time to your router’s gateway address, your first ISP hop, and a public destination. If the router itself shows loss, suspect the local network, router, or cabling. If the router is clean but loss begins at the ISP hop, the ISP needs to investigate. A trace or WinMTR-style test during an actual lag spike can help show where the loss starts.
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