My main gaming PC has suddenly started experiencing severe Wi-Fi packet loss and ping spikes—sometimes over 3000 ms—making games completely unplayable. I don't have access to Ethernet, but every other device, including my laptop, works normally from the exact same location while running the same games.
The PC had Wi-Fi problems when I first built it about three months ago, including the Wi-Fi option disappearing entirely, although I eventually fixed that and it worked normally until now. Bluetooth also doesn't seem to function properly. The motherboard is an ASUS TUF B650-PLUS WiFi, and there are several unknown devices in Device Manager that I can't remove.
I tested by continuously pinging my router and confirmed that the spikes happen between the PC and the router, not just with the game or internet connection. I've also checked the motherboard's Wi-Fi antennas, but I'm unsure whether the unknown devices, missing Bluetooth functionality, or drivers are related. What should I troubleshoot next?
3 Answers
Since the spikes appear when pinging the router directly, the problem is definitely local to the PC’s wireless connection rather than the game server or your ISP. First, make sure both screw-on antennas included with the motherboard are firmly attached and positioned away from the back of the case. Also check Device Manager for warning icons under Network adapters and Bluetooth.
For that exact motherboard, download and reinstall the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers from the manufacturer’s support page rather than relying on Windows Update. The unknown devices and Bluetooth failure strongly suggest that one or more chipset, wireless, or Bluetooth drivers are missing or corrupted.
The pattern points to either a loose or poorly positioned antenna, a bad wireless module, or driver trouble. If reinstalling the drivers and chipset software doesn’t help, boot into a Linux live USB or test with a temporary USB Wi-Fi adapter. If the connection is stable with another adapter, the motherboard’s built-in Wi-Fi hardware may be defective.
The motherboard is relatively modern, so simply buying a newer Wi-Fi card probably shouldn’t be the first step. Install the AMD chipset drivers for the B650 platform, then install the exact wireless and Bluetooth packages for the board. Reboot between major driver installs if necessary, and remove the malfunctioning wireless device in Device Manager before reinstalling it.
Afterward, check the adapter’s Power Management settings and disable Windows’ option to turn it off to save power. You can also try switching between the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, since interference or a problematic band can cause huge latency spikes even when other devices seem fine.
I tested a continuous ping to the router and it spikes there too, but only from this PC. Device Manager also shows several unknown devices, so I’m going to reinstall the board-specific drivers and check the antennas again.