Mods, please don't delete this thread. I won't attack anyone, even if I feel comments are insulting towards me. ---- Hi everyone. Maybe some of you have seen my first thread (»Bell Fibe Congestion/Throttling?) but I'm experiencing severe/horrible/literally unplayable button lag in all online multiplayer games in FIFA, COD, Halo, Rainbow Six Vegas (basically in all games that I play in). It doesn't matter whether I'm host or not, or where the opponent is located (they could even be located in the GTA area, that's where I'm from) and still experience severe lag. This isn't normal lag, and I didn't even experience this type of lag even on Rogers. With Rogers, gaming would be very good after 10 or 11 PM, so basically I could only play at late night's (amazing service wow, right?) So that's why I switched to Bell Fibe. I should be able to play whenever I want without horrible lag.
I got the Bell 15/10 service since September 26th, 2013 and it was absolutely flawless/perfect for the first few days ONLY, with NO lag whatsoever... it was perfect (I literally mean it)... pretty much until September 30th and October 1st. I don't know why, and don't understand why my service turned from flawless into complete and utter trash.
The following things that I have tried:
- Had a Bell Tech come over, said everything was perfect, except for a phone line going from the basement to the garage - UPnP On/Off - DMZ On/Off - Port Forwarding - Bridging a router to the modem - Tried to play on interleaved (made it even worst) - Tried playing on a different Xbox - Tried different Ethernet cables - I will be getting a new modem sometime this week, so this is the only thing left I haven't tried (and my last option/hope).
I'm not sure what could of happened... at this point, I'm almost 100% sure something is wrong on Bell's side. I have done EVERYTHING possible from my end.
The only thing that I could think of is: - that a Bell bot (for whatever reason) changed settings on my Internet profile (just an idea) and for some reason now, it makes online gaming completely unplayable. - Bell deprioritized gaming traffic - Congestion issue in my area - Bell TV gets priority over Internet, effecting online gaming - Defective remote port, or some sort of issue at the OPI/remote. ----
I originally wanted to make this thread a few days ago, but it got deleted by a mod. Here's an update, and I believe I was right all along:
I ran a few test games around 3:00 AM and the lag was gone. My players felt fast, responsive, and could turn very quickly... the way it's suppose to be. I didn't feel any sluggishness at all, or the connection putting me at a disadvantage.
I just played a few games today between 1:00 PM-3:00 PM and the lag is back. Passing/turning/players feel like they weigh 500 pounds/sluggishness, etc.
Although I ran ping tests at 3:00 AM and now, the ping tests are still the same (so I think congestion doesn't always have to show up on Ping tests). It looks like a congestion (over utilisation) problem to me. Gaming is only possible at early mornings.
FIFA is P2P (you connect directly to the opponent) so you aren't playing on any servers.
Now... to get Bell to fix this issue and even admit that there's a problem is another story.
Although I ran ping tests at 3:00 AM and now, the ping tests are still the same (so I think congestion doesn't always have to show up on Ping tests). It looks like a congestion (over utilisation) problem to me. Gaming is only possible at early mornings.
That doesn't make sense. ICMP packets are typically deprioritized in routers, so if there truly was a congestion issue, latency tests should show it instantly.
Have you tried testing a VoIP solution, such as Skype?
I know it doesn't make sense (I heard pings were suppose to be higher when experiencing congestion, that's why I mentioned it) but the fact is, is that I'm experiencing horrible, unplayable lag during the day and night... only time that it's playable is early mornings.
It's a huge day and night difference.
As for Skype, I barely use Skype (once in a blue moon).
Bell will not fix this issue. Your line tests out perfectly, everything on your node tests perfectly. None of your tests point to congestion or anything else related to your connection.
Sorry to say it, and no, this isn't attacking you. This problem is not something that Bell is going to resolve. There may be a routing issue, but it's outside of your node and outside of their network, and it's not something they will correct, all of your tests are flawless.
Although I ran ping tests at 3:00 AM and now, the ping tests are still the same (so I think congestion doesn't always have to show up on Ping tests). It looks like a congestion (over utilisation) problem to me. Gaming is only possible at early mornings.
FIFA is P2P (you connect directly to the opponent) so you aren't playing on any servers.
This may indeed be the case, but you should also consider that lag compensation may be at play, all the games you play have some form of it.
As others have mentioned, Bell will NOT fix this, there's nothing wrong with your connection or node. Several of us have replied to your other posts, all with the same content, you won't accept our answers.
You've tried Rogers and Bell, both have the same issues, try something else. Take your system to a neighbors or a friends house, try it out there, if you can't do that, try another ISP altogether.
Continuing to ask questions isn't fixing anything, you have a couple of options, and Bell fixing this isn't one of them, most of the world would love to have the connection you have.
I repeat, this isn't a problem with your connection, this isn't a problem with congestion, this isn't a problem with the OPI/Remote/Port, this isn't a problem with throttling or traffic shaping, this isn't a problem with local Bell routing.
The issue is either; Defective console - however, you've tried another, same issue, so this can be ruled out Bad routing outside of Bells network - there's nothing you can do about this other then switch ISPs, this will get you new routing, Bell will not make changes, period full stop. Lag Compensation - it's very likely this is at play, or at least partly, you need to test out this on another internet connection. In all of the games you've listed in all of your posts, all of them have lag compensation. Lag compensation works such, that your game will only be as good as the slowest player connection (basically), even if you are the host, that's why you lag when you are hosting a game. This issue is exacerbated if you have a really good connection, basically, the faster/better your connection is, the worse lag compensation will feel. Line Errors - this can be ruled out, you tried interleaved
Through your testing you've eliminated many possibilities, there are few left, checking the console boards for the games that you play, other have/are experiencing the issues your having, reading through pages and pages of posts, there's no real definitive fix or solution. In fact, there was an issue with FIFA you posted a link to it »Does anyone play FIFA on PS3? Troubleshooting network issue They even took the console to 151 Front and plugged it into the backbone of the internet and still had the issue, the only explanation for this is lag compensation.
I understand you can't play, I'm giving you real possible solutions to the issue, try them.
It may be worth also, changing the MTU in your router to 1458, at least for a game or 2 and see if it makes a difference.
The first has nothing to do with Bell whatsoever, the second there is nothing they are going to do about it.
Lag compensation is a very likely cause and all you have to do is google each game you play and you will see pages and pages of people from all over complaining about it. The situation you are experiencing, from the way you describe it, is the exact same as everyone else that is complaining about it.
I know it sucks because there is nothing you can do about it, which makes it even worse and I feel for you, I really do. However as Nitra pointed out, you have tried absolutely everything from your end.
Lag compensation would also explain why when YOU are the host, you still lag. It sounds counter to what you might think, but that's the way it works, you will only be as good as the worst connected player, if they're lagging, so will you. As a side-note, it really does suck, they're actually selling "Lag-Switches" to give people an unfair advantage.
My one other question is, are you plugging your console directly into the Sagemcom? or is there a switch somewhere on your lan? It doesn't feel to me like a switching issue, but if the computer is direct, and the console is plugged into the switch, maybe there's a bad switch on your lan. If the console is plugged direct, this is a moot point, I'll assume it's direct.
Sorry guys, I'm about to head out and didn't get to read both your posts' (fully, I will once I get back)... but why is that I experience NO LAG during early mornings, but lag during the day or night? In the early morning, I played against Canadians, Americans and Mexicans and experienced absolutely no lag at all.
I contacted many FIFA players, and I asked them if they had the same issue as me (lag during day and night), they said NO, never. A lot of people have this problem, but the majority don't!
I've asked people from Spain, Italy, UK (some have issues, some don't) US and Canada. All of them said no (except for people from the UK).
If it was lag compensation, surely I would have experienced that in the early morning as well?
Sorry guys, I'm about to head out and didn't get to read both your posts' (fully, I will once I get back)... but why is that I experience NO LAG during early mornings, but lag during the day or night? In the early morning, I played against Canadians, Americans and Mexicans and experienced absolutely no lag at all.
I contacted many FIFA players, and I asked them if they had the same issue as me (lag during day and night), they said NO, never. A lot of people have this problem, but the majority don't!
I've asked people from Spain, Italy, UK (some have issues, some don't) US and Canada. All of them said no (except for people from the UK)
That's the nature of Lag Compensation. You may have better luck with another ISP. This is also why I suggested that you have your profile swapped to interleaved, not have them rework it completely, but turn it on, raising your ping may in fact stop you from being the fastest/best connected person, thus causing less of the effect. It's a crap shoot, but worth a try.
Also, as noted, if you read around, there are a lot of others with this issue, and there's no real resolution, I've been a network engineer for 15 years, I've seen all sorts of strange and weird issues, this really does seem that it's compensation. The button lag you've got when you're hosting a game would only happen if compensation was kicked in.
Alright, I'll try re-bridging the router to the modem and try MTU at 1458, and I'll let you know if it's any better or not. And yes, I always have it directly connected (wired connection only, always)
But WTF, if it's lag compensation, then why are people with good connections getting penalized for having a good connection? People with shit connections should be getting punished for having a bad connection... I don't get it, what in god's name are gaming developers thinking?
Can you if at all possible, play a game just you and your brother? I don't know if you have the ability to just play with each other, nobody else, but if you can, try, see how it is.
Alright, I'll try re-bridging the router to the modem and try MTU at 1458, and I'll let you know if it's any better or not.
But WTF, if it's lag compensation, then why are people with good connections getting penalized for having a good connection? People with shit connections should be getting punished for having a bad connection... I don't get it, what in god's name are gaming developers thinking?
Did you google lag compensation like we told you to? The reason I ask is that people everywhere say the exact same thing you just said, word for word.
Actually, I forgot to mention, I did that a few days ago, and even then, we were lagging! LOL. Our players felt like they weighed 500 pounds... it was ridiculous.
Then, he plays direct, discovers the same issue, low and behold we find out there's a baby monitor or something near him that's killing the Bluetooth controllers I've seen weirder things.
Nitra has offered you a couple of excellent possibilities. We have all tried to help you ...
The only thing that could potentially cause this kind of problem that could exist with Bell would be throttling, but the ISPs got their knuckles rapped quite hard over throttling by the CRTC that I would be surprised if they tried it again.
Nitra's comments about lag compensation does make sense.
The reason it improves at night is because if someone else has a bad connection due to congestion, then it will improve in the early hours. Remember that if you play with someone in California for example, they are 3 hours behind us ... so 2 am our time is still peak time 11pm there and would be subject to congestion.
Similarly this side of the Rockies is 2 hours, and the midwest is 1 hour.
It's a bummer but as mentioned there's nothing Bell can do, and certainly a new modem will be a waste of time.
Huh? What switch? I just use the Sagemcom modem. Anyways, I played for an hour, maybe an hour and a half, and the lag is simply gone.
I played games where I was host, and where I wasn't host (against Americans, Mexicans and even one French person) and even against the French person... very little lag... my players were VERY responsive, very agile, could turn on a dime... it was amazing. Not a single game of lag, no matter who my opponent was.
It's funny, when I lag, it doesn't matter WHO I play, I always lag terribly, and it doesn't matter whether if I'm host or not (and would lag in EVERY game)
So basically, I'm going through periods of lag-free gaming (in any game, works perfect) then all of a sudden, I experience horrible lag in all games, no matter who my opponent is.
I'm still thinking it's an ISP problem, and I know you guys are probably going to bash me for it, but I believe that it's Bell having some sort of issues (not sure what it is, that's what I'm trying to figure out and get them to fix it). Why else am I going through random periods of lag, and lag-free gaming? It really doesn't make sense.
I did absolutely nothing on my end yesterday or today, and it just keeps going back and forth.
As of RIGHT NOW, it's running flawless. Where as during the day (sometime between 1:00-3:00 PM) I was experiencing absolute horrible lag.
@sbrook - I tried everything possible, and tried everything everyone suggested (even if I think it wouldn't help). It's possible, good idea, you never know, but the majority of players I play against run around me in circles (like one-way latency) his players would be very fast, agile, can make passes without a problem, etc... where on my side, it's literally impossible to do anything (when I experience this horrible lag).
I think I've found my answer... online gaming only works when the whole neighbourhood isn't on the Internet/Fibe TV.
It's not congestion. Your connection is fine. You are experiencing lag compensation. Please, Google for one of your games and lag compensation, you will find tons of posts, and you are not alone.
Fibetv wouldn't cause issue, it's on a separate vlan.
Everyone that's responded is telling you it's lag compensation, why won't you go read about it? It is verbatim the issue you are having, complete with time-frame.
This isn't meant badly at you, it's the truth of what you're experiencing.
If your issue was other then mentioned above, you would have very clearcut symptoms, you do not. Your symptoms are specific to lag compensation, yet you don't want to accept that.
You don't understand lag compensation, I get that. Each of the games you're running have it, googling will net you tons of results, exactly the same issues you are having, exactly the same times of day. It's more likely to happen during peek times, that's the nature of the code.
Please, spend some time and look it up, you'll be surprised the number of others with the same problem.
»tsunamidream73.hubpages. ··· box-360: "my xbox keeps buffering before i go on the dashboard i dont think its my internet also in games on fifa it lags bad and on cod but at night gets better any1 know what this could be ?"
"yes i seem to have really bad connection on most games, but then at about 1:00am, onwards in the morning its great internet. i have talked to my internet provider and they said they couldn't find that problem. please help."
»forum.ea.com/uk/posts/li ··· 8543368: "got no fiber here...but its actually totally random when the lag appears/disapears but as i said mostly at nights i get less lag."
»forum.ea.com/uk/posts/li ··· 96.page: "Im having these issues at my appartment aswell, im not quite sure what to do, im thinking about changing my ISP and see if that works.
This weekend ive played some matches really late at night/early in the morning, and it was like a REVELATION! I mean, the connection was so smooth, it allmost felt like i was playing offline, it was amazing.
But whenever i play like, afternoons and 6-12pm, the lag is actually really bad, I mean, ive gotten used to it but after having played these games that ran so smooth, its allmost unplayable now.
Im pretty sure it has to be my ISP, considering im able to get good connection at some times of the day when people are mostly sleeping.
I've even sent them a mail about it but they said they didnt know why and that it wasn't their fault, but then again, they probably don't want to loose customers.
The other option is that its actually EA, not sure about that tho, because if everyone had it like this people wouldn't be buying their games
PS: Oh im on ps3 btw"
--- It's an ISP issue (congestion, too many people on at once). I was right, but it's not like they will fix it, so it doesn't matter.
You don't understand lag compensation, I get that. Each of the games you're running have it, googling will net you tons of results, exactly the same issues you are having, exactly the same times of day. It's more likely to happen during peek times, that's the nature of the code.
Please, spend some time and look it up, you'll be surprised the number of others with the same problem.
Forget it, he's got it in his head that it's an ISP issue and he won't bother doing any research otherwise to find out what the real cause is--lag compensation.
For some reason, he either doesn't want to or can't wrap his head around this concept, even though the issue is huge and players from across the globe are complaining about it.
It's an ISP issue (congestion, too many people on at once). I was right, but it's not like they will fix it, so it doesn't matter.
Sadly you came here for help, many have offered you help, and told you where the problem is. There are countless posts with people experiencing the same issue you're having. At the end of the day, you are experiencing Lag Compensation, regardless of what your opinion may be.
If you were to spend half the time you've spent in writing one response to me looking up lag compensation and the title of one of your games you'd see this isn't an isolated problem. In fact it's hugely widespread, and generally happens more so to those with great Internet connections. Those with the bigger/faster pipe will generally see compensation at play the most, this is exactly the behavior you're see. (You may not consider your pipe to be big/fast as it's only 15/10, but it's mainly the upload that's kicking in here)
Why are you so unwilling to look at this as the issue? You came here for help, solutions have been offered, if you're not going to consider them, why ask for help? No matter how many threads you create, the answer has been the same.