My sister and I both use wired Ethernet connections: I connect my gaming PC, while she connects her TV for streaming. Whenever my PC is online, her TV starts buffering and streaming quality drops. She says the TV works normally when I am away and my PC is turned off.
Our connection can reach around 933 Mbps when my adapter is set to automatic negotiation. However, changing the adapter speed to 100 Mbps only helped temporarily, and I eventually had to set it to 10 Mbps to keep the TV usable. There is no setting between 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps. Task Manager never showed my PC using more than a few percent of the network, and I have already checked for obvious downloads and enabled metered-network settings. I also disabled IPv6 to test it.
We currently cannot access the rented router because the provider requires an app account, and we have been unable to create or recover the account. Is there a way to get better than 10 Mbps on my PC without making the TV buffer?
3 Answers
Setting the adapter to 10 Mbps is only hiding the problem and is not a good long-term fix. At 100 Mbps or automatic negotiation, the PC may be exposing a router or ISP equipment problem, especially if the router has poor traffic management. The useful fix would be enabling QoS or bandwidth controls on the router and giving the TV or streaming traffic priority, but you will probably need the ISP to restore your router-app access or change the router settings for you.
Try isolating the cause before changing more adapter settings. Run a speed test with the PC disconnected, then repeat with the PC connected but idle, and again while downloading or uploading something. If the TV only suffers during active traffic, it is probably congestion. If it suffers as soon as the PC is connected, try another Ethernet cable and another router port, and check whether the adapter is negotiating at the expected speed. Disabling IPv6 is unlikely to solve this particular issue.
This sounds more like congestion or bufferbloat than your Ethernet link actually being too fast. A game itself usually uses very little bandwidth, but downloads, updates, cloud syncing, launchers, or uploads can fill the connection and cause the router to queue traffic badly. Check Steam, game launchers, Windows Update, OneDrive, and similar programs, and set download limits where possible. Also test the TV while running a speed test on the PC so you can see whether the problem happens under heavy traffic.
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