Post: PS4 - Lag Spikes with Good Internet?
07-31-2018, 10:33 AM #1
THFC_DaNieL_
Do a barrel roll!
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Hoping you can help please.

Just recently my PS4 has been acting a little strange. During Fornite I will get 'lag spikes' every 20-30 seconds, where the game freezes for 1-3 seconds, I thought this was just a game issue so I tried FIFA 18 online too and it happens on here too, sometimes even worse. The game will freeze for a couple seconds then speed up to catch up with play. Party chat has the same issue where it'll cut out for a second, which can be annoying when speaking with friends and missing some of what they say.

Now, I know its not my internet speed because I have 100mb download and around 10-20mb upload I believe. If I run a SpeedTest on my phone (5G), I get these results so all is fine, not being capped or anything by the provider. My PS4 is an old one (not a Pro one), so only has 2G capabilities. Has 100% signal strength etc and gets speeds of about 30-40mb download and 2-6mb upload, which should still be more than enough to play without issues.

I thought maybe it was a firewall issue or something similar so I created a static IP for my PS4 and put that into a DMZ to avoid any issues. It was still the same and even made more issues with signing me in but not loading friends list as timing out and not being able to sign into Fornite or EA Servers, so had to refer back to normal automatic IP config.

I then decided to take my PS4 static IP out of the DMZ and just follow port forwarding, which did help increase my download speed to around 80-90mb, but the problem still persists!

I have also done a "rebuild" on the PS4 through Safe Mode, which has sped things up on the menu screen and loading of games etc but nothing to help this issue. Its very strange and annoying indeed. I have 50gb of memory space left also which I've read can be another reason.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions please? I have (and still am) doing my own research but there's so many different problems out there on forums and help websites that its hard to find lots of suggestions with this one. I'm starting to give up as I'm now thinking its not the internet (speeds fine, NAT open, ports opened etc) so am considering, as a last resort, to just trading in my PS4 for a PS4 Pro and having to pay extra on top, which seems a bit of waste as I don't game nearly as much as I used to.

Any help appreciated.

Cheers
Dan
07-31-2018, 10:52 AM #2
Wosley
Discord: Wosley#6447
Originally posted by THFC
Morning all

Hoping you can help please.

Just recently my PS4 has been acting a little strange. During Fornite I will get 'lag spikes' every 20-30 seconds, where the game freezes for 1-3 seconds, I thought this was just a game issue so I tried FIFA 18 online too and it happens on here too, sometimes even worse. The game will freeze for a couple seconds then speed up to catch up with play. Party chat has the same issue where it'll cut out for a second, which can be annoying when speaking with friends and missing some of what they say.

Now, I know its not my internet speed because I have 100mb download and around 10-20mb upload I believe. If I run a SpeedTest on my phone (5G), I get these results so all is fine, not being capped or anything by the provider. My PS4 is an old one (not a Pro one), so only has 2G capabilities. Has 100% signal strength etc and gets speeds of about 30-40mb download and 2-6mb upload, which should still be more than enough to play without issues.

I thought maybe it was a firewall issue or something similar so I created a static IP for my PS4 and put that into a DMZ to avoid any issues. It was still the same and even made more issues with signing me in but not loading friends list as timing out and not being able to sign into Fornite or EA Servers, so had to refer back to normal automatic IP config.

I then decided to take my PS4 static IP out of the DMZ and just follow port forwarding, which did help increase my download speed to around 80-90mb, but the problem still persists!

I have also done a "rebuild" on the PS4 through Safe Mode, which has sped things up on the menu screen and loading of games etc but nothing to help this issue. Its very strange and annoying indeed. I have 50gb of memory space left also which I've read can be another reason.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions please? I have (and still am) doing my own research but there's so many different problems out there on forums and help websites that its hard to find lots of suggestions with this one. I'm starting to give up as I'm now thinking its not the internet (speeds fine, NAT open, ports opened etc) so am considering, as a last resort, to just trading in my PS4 for a PS4 Pro and having to pay extra on top, which seems a bit of waste as I don't game nearly as much as I used to.

Any help appreciated.

Cheers
Dan


If your running on wifi then thats the problem

you cant expect wifi to stay at 100%

i did quit using wifi since small things can interup it for example some houses use a diffrent material in their walls which cuases problems for wifi or if your microwave is on etc its sounds dumb but thats wifi for ya
07-31-2018, 01:11 PM #3
aeneax
Nothing To See Here
While I'd recommend a Pro anyday, I wouldn't expect a Pro by itself to solve this issue -- aside from bigger HDD given what you've said -- unless I'm missing something. I have a regular and a Pro running and I've never seen any difference in speed or consistency between the 2 consoles. Because of our setup, one is wired, other is wireless, and at times I've switched them back and forth. To be honest, the lag spikes seem just as bad to me while wired, it's just that there's less lag in general and download speed is very slightly improved. But more to the point, having run launch PS4 and launch PS4 pro both wireless and wired under the exact same conditions, aside from HDD space, I haven't noticed any difference at all. Wired is better, port forwarding is better, but the Pro hasn't shown me any advantages in internet speed.

The HDD space issue's interesting though. 50 gigs left isn't a lot of room. I haven't heard of that affecting lag, but I've seen HDD space affect my launch PS4 in other ways. My Pro hasn't come nearly that close to having only 50 free gigs, but I think the least room I've left myself on the vanilla PS4 is about 70, and I'll never do it again. Dramatic increase in crashes, including hard freezes to the whole console resulting in loss of game data. I certainly wouldn't want such a tight space when doing a firmware upgrade. Wouldn't surprise me at all for that to affect how the PS4 utilizes the internet, maybe diverting resources to other components. It doesn't make sense to me from my actual hardware knowledge, but it does square up with my realtime experience with the PS4. Not saying it's the cause, but if you've read up on it elsewhere, just saying it fits in with my own experience. And a Pro would give you more HDD space to mess around with.

Oh and yeah Wosley's right about the microwave. Just turning one on used to shut down my PS4's wifi all the time for the one on wifi. Now I just don't game online when my family's hungry. Something about the frequencies but I forget. Thought I was going crazy when everytime my wife wanted a burrito I was kicked out of Black Ops despite still not actually losing my wifi connection.
Last edited by aeneax ; 07-31-2018 at 01:14 PM.
07-31-2018, 02:00 PM #4
THFC_DaNieL_
Do a barrel roll!
Cheers, maybe ill delete a few other things and see if the added space helps matters.

@ Wosley, I've always used wifi when gaming and has always been 100% signal strength, its just the past few weeks its been playing up which is pretty strange
07-31-2018, 07:27 PM #5
aeneax
Nothing To See Here
Even with 100 percent strength, and strong upload download speeds, wifi still isn't terrifically stable. For my purposes it's more than enough unless I'm going for something tough in which case I'll use a wired connection, but the difference is noticeable especially if you live in a suburban or especially urban area. Like Wosley said various materials can affect the signal, not just walls but even whatever your router is on, but if you're getting 100 percent strength walls or material might not be the issue. But unless you live in a pretty rural area your router is still competing with your neighbors' signal and their neighbors and so on, even with zero drop in signal on your end. The effect isn't in upload and download speed all the time (except maybe when people are just coming home from work) as much as just this nasty inconsistency which could be producing the lag you're noticing. It happens so fast that your router and any monitoring programs your PC uses or your PS4 itself won't report an issue. But it stems from the fact that most people use the exact same type of routers broadcasting the exact same type of signals on the same bandwidths.

If you don't want an ugly-@$$ wire going through your home, especially if your PS4 and router are not close to each other, and don't want to pay to have to run a wire through the wall, you could look into getting a different type of router. Maybe look into "upgrading" to an AC router. I'm probably butchering the technical terms by the way, but it transmits at wider bandwidths than an N router or anything in that family (A, B, G). The reason I put "upgrade" into quotes is because technically, in pure laboratory conditions, a good N router should beat it speed-wise, at least where the AC routers were the last time I checked. But in the real world, AC routers transmit at bandwidths that are free of competition from anyone else living near you unless they also have AC routers. Your PS4 would only be competing for signal with whatever else is on your router -- and still the freaking microwave for some reason.

They also have a bit less range, which can be a bit of a problem if you live in a larger house, but we have an AC router and a pretty large space and even without a range extender the signal still reaches the wifi PS4 (on a different floor and the entire house away) just fine. With the N router it replaced, which was a pretty decent one and fairly new until somebody decided it should have juice spilled on it, we always had between 80 and 100 percent strength, and with this, about 50 to 60 percent strength where the PS4 is, because of that range dropoff. So it's a bit of a mixed bag, BUT it took my PS4 download speed readings from about 10 megs per second up to about 80 megs per second. Far less lag too when playing multiplayer, not just with the PS4 but with streaming. I haven't seen the word "buffering" since we put it in. For your purposes, I think the important bit is despite a weaker wifi signal it improved lag significantly although wired is still better. If I cared enough I could always get a range extender to make that range dropoff less of an issue and improve lag more. It's far cheaper than a Pro, too. Might be worth looking into, but I'd do your own homework on it first and consider your physical setup considering the range issues. And again, if you live in a more rural area then it probably won't make a difference unless they've improved dramatically. Also, one of the biggest benefits of an AC router, your PS4 won't use, which is a bummer. AC's transmit on both 2.4 and 5 gigahertz, and 5 is clear of pretty much everything, even cellphone signals, but neither vanilla PS4s nor Pros can use a 5 gig signal.

Oh, and the "past few weeks" thing is consisistent with it being your wifi competing with other wifi signals. Someone around you might have bought a new toy, or come home from some trip especially since it's summer, or maybe they changed their own internet setup or decided to go a bit more smart-home.
Last edited by aeneax ; 07-31-2018 at 07:36 PM.
07-31-2018, 07:32 PM #6
Wosley
Discord: Wosley#6447
Originally posted by THFC
Cheers, maybe ill delete a few other things and see if the added space helps matters.

@ Wosley, I've always used wifi when gaming and has always been 100% signal strength, its just the past few weeks its been playing up which is pretty strange


Since its the summer this might be the thing when you open you window and the wind gets inside and stuff it also messes up your wifi but im full cable anyways exept my phone
08-03-2018, 10:48 PM #7
Best Mate
Dark Knight
Originally posted by Wosley View Post
Since its the summer this might be the thing when you open you window and the wind gets inside and stuff it also messes up your wifi but im full cable anyways exept my phone


Wind affects wifi signal?
It would not affect it to the point where you would notice. Summer is not the windiest season.
08-03-2018, 10:49 PM #8
Wosley
Discord: Wosley#6447
Originally posted by Best
Wind affects wifi signal?


It wasnt the wind just dont remember what it was
08-09-2018, 11:46 PM #9
Originally posted by Wosley View Post
It wasnt the wind just dont remember what it was


Originally posted by aeneax View Post
Even with 100 percent strength, and strong upload download speeds, wifi still isn't terrifically stable. For my purposes it's more than enough unless I'm going for something tough in which case I'll use a wired connection, but the difference is noticeable especially if you live in a suburban or especially urban area. Like Wosley said various materials can affect the signal, not just walls but even whatever your router is on, but if you're getting 100 percent strength walls or material might not be the issue. But unless you live in a pretty rural area your router is still competing with your neighbors' signal and their neighbors and so on, even with zero drop in signal on your end. The effect isn't in upload and download speed all the time (except maybe when people are just coming home from work) as much as just this nasty inconsistency which could be producing the lag you're noticing. It happens so fast that your router and any monitoring programs your PC uses or your PS4 itself won't report an issue. But it stems from the fact that most people use the exact same type of routers broadcasting the exact same type of signals on the same bandwidths.

If you don't want an ugly-@$$ wire going through your home, especially if your PS4 and router are not close to each other, and don't want to pay to have to run a wire through the wall, you could look into getting a different type of router. Maybe look into "upgrading" to an AC router. I'm probably butchering the technical terms by the way, but it transmits at wider bandwidths than an N router or anything in that family (A, B, G). The reason I put "upgrade" into quotes is because technically, in pure laboratory conditions, a good N router should beat it speed-wise, at least where the AC routers were the last time I checked. But in the real world, AC routers transmit at bandwidths that are free of competition from anyone else living near you unless they also have AC routers. Your PS4 would only be competing for signal with whatever else is on your router -- and still the freaking microwave for some reason.

They also have a bit less range, which can be a bit of a problem if you live in a larger house, but we have an AC router and a pretty large space and even without a range extender the signal still reaches the wifi PS4 (on a different floor and the entire house away) just fine. With the N router it replaced, which was a pretty decent one and fairly new until somebody decided it should have juice spilled on it, we always had between 80 and 100 percent strength, and with this, about 50 to 60 percent strength where the PS4 is, because of that range dropoff. So it's a bit of a mixed bag, BUT it took my PS4 download speed readings from about 10 megs per second up to about 80 megs per second. Far less lag too when playing multiplayer, not just with the PS4 but with streaming. I haven't seen the word "buffering" since we put it in. For your purposes, I think the important bit is despite a weaker wifi signal it improved lag significantly although wired is still better. If I cared enough I could always get a range extender to make that range dropoff less of an issue and improve lag more. It's far cheaper than a Pro, too. Might be worth looking into, but I'd do your own homework on it first and consider your physical setup considering the range issues. And again, if you live in a more rural area then it probably won't make a difference unless they've improved dramatically. Also, one of the biggest benefits of an AC router, your PS4 won't use, which is a bummer. AC's transmit on both 2.4 and 5 gigahertz, and 5 is clear of pretty much everything, even cellphone signals, but neither vanilla PS4s nor Pros can use a 5 gig signal.

Oh, and the "past few weeks" thing is consisistent with it being your wifi competing with other wifi signals. Someone around you might have bought a new toy, or come home from some trip especially since it's summer, or maybe they changed their own internet setup or decided to go a bit more smart-home.


*Disclaimer*
I’m in mobile and I’m not 100% sure who I’m replying to and who I’m trying to reply to 😂
OP some of this is for you my dude 🤣

@wosley Wi-Fi is essentially radio waves fitted to a format that the receiver can interpret as data transfer. Different types of radiation could effect Wi-Fi signals. Wind can also play a part by incorporating water vapors and dust into the environment and ultimately interfere with the signals. However for a home user this is almost certainly not the case. While, yes it would have some effect, it likely would not be to the amount that anyone would ever notice it to this extent.

@aeneax To touch on your point about others messing with signals, I think you got the right idea but I’ll butt in if you don’t mind... :p
Microwaves, garage doors, and various other wireless components around a typical first world home can and will likely interfere with each other. This is because they operate on an unlicensed and open band which for the longest time was the 2.4ghz band. Not too terribly long ago the support for the 5ghz band started picking up traction because of all the collisions in the 2.4ghz range.
Unfortunately we can’t just bounce to a different band because our handware can’t always play by our rules. To circumvent those limitations often times our devices will have the capabilities to play on each band. But in some cases that’s just not possible, and in others the alternative is just as saturated with noise and clutter that it doesn’t always make much of a difference. To combat the ever expanding world of wireless fidelity, 802.11 standard does support a variety of channels that we can operate under. These channels are usually set by default on our wireless routers and wireless repeaters.
I would strongly recommend researching your current Wi-Fi channel on each band and experiment on different ones. BUT, some perform less than others... I’ll let you find out that research for yourself Winky Winky it’ll help you learn if you choose this route.

If you need additional help please feel free to reach out to me You must login or register to view this content. and I’ll be happy to help 🤙

The following user thanked X-UNDEAD_NINJA2 for this useful post:

aeneax
08-10-2018, 03:18 PM #10
aeneax
Nothing To See Here
Originally posted by NINJA2 View Post
@aeneax To touch on your point about others messing with signals, I think you got the right idea but I’ll butt in if you don’t mind... :p
Microwaves, garage doors, and various other wireless components around a typical first world home can and will likely interfere with each other. This is because they operate on an unlicensed and open band which for the longest time was the 2.4ghz band. Not too terribly long ago the support for the 5ghz band started picking up traction because of all the collisions in the 2.4ghz range.
Unfortunately we can’t just bounce to a different band because our handware can’t always play by our rules. To circumvent those limitations often times our devices will have the capabilities to play on each band. But in some cases that’s just not possible, and in others the alternative is just as saturated with noise and clutter that it doesn’t always make much of a difference. To combat the ever expanding world of wireless fidelity, 802.11 standard does support a variety of channels that we can operate under. These channels are usually set by default on our wireless routers and wireless repeaters.


Most of that I understand, and as I said I was being loose with the terminology. The main reason I was being loose with the terms is because I've never been 100 percent sure why this AC router has shown such a dramatic increase in performance (measured by speed and also lag) compared to the N it replaced, despite a massive signal drop. We both speak of 2.4 verus 5 gig frequency, but since the OP was speaking of PS4s and the experience I was supplying is from one of my own PS4s, then unless I've missed something neither PS4s nor Pros support 5 gig frequencies, and I don't think that's something a FW update could patch in either. The AC router is 802.11, and at least according to its documentation the N router is too. On the 2.4 gig frequency then, the main difference I think I SHOULD have seen was just a drop off in range, and I certainly did, and yet while the signal is much weaker it's very significantly more stable and improved the PS4's reading of download speeds from a best of 10-12 megs per second to now around 78-80 megs per second. These are the best results I've achieved with each (both the AC and the N it replaced), speed-wise and stability-wise, after finding the best channel for reaching the PS4 which is on the opposite end of the router and another floor away (any other part of that floor doesn't even receive the AC signal). So, on the same 2.4 frequency and (I'm assuming here and maybe you can correct me) the same channels, I'm unsure of why the AC signal is that much more impressive especially when it's so much weaker with that large range drop-off. That's why I was being loose with the terminology: Because I know that at least for me it made a dramatic difference and I understand some of the basics, but I'm at a loss as to why EXACTLY it made such a dramatic difference.

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