For about a month, my latency has repeatedly jumped from roughly 20 ms to as high as 3200 ms, usually about once every minute. It affects online games and voice chat. I'm using a TP-Link Deco mesh node connected to another node downstairs, with my computer connected to the nearby node by Ethernet. I've already tried several fixes. When I ping my router, latency stays around 16 ms, but pings to 1.1.1.1 spike, so I'm trying to figure out whether this is an ISP issue or something involving the mesh setup.
3 Answers
Run two continuous ping tests at the same time: one to your router’s local IP and one to 1.1.1.1. If both spike together, the problem is somewhere in your local network or the Deco wireless backhaul. If the router stays stable while only 1.1.1.1 spikes, the issue is more likely beyond your home network, such as the ISP connection or upstream routing. Since your router stays around 16 ms, the local Ethernet connection to that node may be fine, but the mesh link or internet connection can still be having trouble.
Run a traceroute or, preferably, a continuous path monitor while the latency is normal and again during a spike. Compare where the delay first appears. If the first hop after your router becomes slow, it points toward the provider or their network. Also check for cloud backups, large uploads, device updates, or other traffic, since upload saturation can cause extreme latency even when download speeds look normal. Mesh systems can make this worse if the nodes communicate wirelessly.
Try bypassing the mesh temporarily. Connect the computer directly to the main router or gateway with Ethernet and run the same tests for a while. If the spikes disappear, the Deco wireless backhaul is probably unstable or periodically changing channels. The Deco app may also show whether the node has a weak connection to the main unit. If the spikes continue while directly connected, contact the ISP and provide the ping results.
I tested them side by side, and only 1.1.1.1 climbed as high as 3200 ms. The router stayed low.