ping spikes and packet loss seemingly only in cod mw

it actually turns out that battefield V has a very comprehensive in-hud netgraph display, and I do seem to be experiencing spikes of latency and packet loss, just somehow isn't nearly as noticeable in that game and doesn't impact gameplay much. Of course,
there are times where it's bad enough to be noticeable.

I highly doubt that it could be an ISP issue because it's the same ISP as the one i was using before I came here 2 weeks ago. Starting to look like something I'm just gonna have to live with

Its quite tricky trying to diagnose a fluctuating latency problem, particularly when over wifi!

Tonnes of things can affect wifi performance, incorrectly placed wireless boosters, neighboring networks, even xmas lights!

As it would appear to be only/mainly affecting MW, chances are its an issue at Activision's end. You could test this by ping testing the Activision servers.

You'd get more useful info using tracert tests though, these tests calculate the time between hops from the pc to the router, router to network, network to server etc. From reviewing the results, its usually quite easy to spot if theres a problem as the
time between hops increases dramatically when there's a problem.

So assuming it is an Activision problem, it's going to be difficult to fix it... But if it isn't, there are some things you could try...

So, the MTU thing, usually a router will be set to 1500, so the xbox seeing 1480 is odd.

You could install a wifi analyser app to your mobile phone and scan to see whether there are interfering networks,then arrange to change the channel to a less congested one.

The ISP being spectrum, yet the router when you log into it showing Verizon: this too is odd: it could be that there's a spectrum modem and a verizon router set up hopefully in bridge mode only.

Another thing to consider is whether MW is using P2P in matchmaking/online multiplayer, i believe this can have a serious detrimental effect on quality. This would explain why only MW is affected, could be that anti-P2P is very strictly enforced with the
ISP?

Hi, its certainly an odd situation as it mainly only affects mw. One thing that i noticed from your info is the MTU figure quoted by the Xbox, 1480 is an odd (ish) figure to be quoting - this may be worth some investigation, router setting maybe too low?
This would result in some packet loss.

Although you've run ping tests from command prompt, you may want to try running tracert tests, they will show which hops are causing issues.

Other than the standard 'try wired', (not an option), unfortunately ive not much more i can suggest.

Good luck!

I do consider myself rather tech savvy especially with PC hardware and and microsoft software and starting to polish up on Linux.

Networking is my weak point. It's gotten better since the early 2000's since things have just become more user friendly, but that's beside the point.

MTU is a term that I'm unfamiliar with and unsure what the term means.

I'm wondering if the ookla speedtest just takes one brief ping reading then stops because it never seems to fluctuate and maybe that's why it seems fine on the pc. I've taken game captures on xbox showing the netgraph in game in cod and it just wildly fluctuates
between 23 and 1500ms ping and quite often has a consisstent 2% packet loss.. is there a way to get a better statistic readout? I suppose I could run a game like counterstrike that has a constant netgraph readout on the HUD but there has to be better analytical
software or command prompts or powershell commands

The place I'm living is a privately owned inn and does have a very friendly staff so it's possible she will let me fiddle with the main router and grant my xbox qos priority or at least set it as DMZ.

As mentioned before, my xbox is not getting assigned an ipv6 address but only ipv4. Also when I run net tests on console like the multiplayer connection test and bandwidth test, while the ping is higher than I would like at 60-70 there's no packet loss.
Is there a way I can share with you the game capture I took of the ping fluctuation I'm seeing?

Another very strange phenomenon is that it appears to happen much worse during daytime peak hours which... also leads you to think public access wifi bandwidth being stressed but then... why would battlefield games still work ok? last night was the first
time I experienced the problem consistently also through late night early hour non peak hours as well.... it's usually much better at night which is fine with me because that's when I'm up gameing instead of out trying to make a living.

Is there an app or function on the xbox I can download that is similar to windows task manager where I can see the data of what apps are using up bandwidth etc?

Also do you have an answer for the mac cloning question? I mean I suppose I could just try it myself.

I suppose perhaps it might also be woirth trying bridging from my pc to xbox using ethernet to see if that would somehow alleviate the problem

Your prompt reply was greatly appreciated and I hope to find help with this because this is a really nice place and I could see myself staying here long term. Almost like a studio apartment except I share a bathroom with 1 other room and there's a community
kitchen.

Also as I said, I'm not 100% familiar with networking. I do have a coaxial input in my room, if it's a matter of the main facility modem being stressed am I able to just install my own modem in my room without having to contact their ISP I wonder? Although
it's still hard for me to believe that it's a bandwidth or modem traffic stress issue because of battlefield games being seemingly unaffected, but that could also be because they are much larger scale and slower paced where it wouldn't matter quite as much.

As for command prompts and diagnostic software on the Xbox:

It doesn't exist or won't work. The Xbox One runs apps and games in separated virtual environments. Games get the most share of computing power, whereas "apps" (that could formerly be "snapped" to run next to game apps) get only a smaller part of computing
resources. That might also be the reason why the speedtest on the Xbox Edge browser seems wonky.

And since the Xbox is a closed system that only runs digitally signed code from their marketplace, you won't get a command prompt or install your own net-tools.

As for MTU: It stands for
Maximum Transmission Unit. It describes the largest amount of data a frame in a data packet can hold. If a data packet is larger than the MTU, it has to be broken up, and sent with two packets, and then has to be re-assembled on the other end, which of
course takes more time.

The 1480 come from the fact, that the Xbox One ALWAYS talks via IPv6, and if not actual IPv6 is available, will encapsulate IPv6 traffic in IPv4 packets, and reserves 20 bytes for extra IP headers. So if the modem allows an MTU of 1500, and only does IPv4,
the Xbox will tunnel it's IPv6 through IPv4, and needs the 20 bytes for the added IPv6 information.

As for the MAC cloning: This is usually used when you are in a network with a captive portal (e.g. some hotel WiFi where you have to sign into a portal before you can use the Internet, or if the network restricts access to specific MACs.

You can then "unlock" the portal with your PC, and then clone the PC's MAC address to the console, and the console can then use the unlocked internet access, as the console will then be disguised as the unlocking PC because of the same MAC address.

Regarding the fluctuations: it's really hard to measure stuff in games, as you are often connected to other players via Peer 2 Peer connections, and if the host is some guy in El Armpito with bush drums as internet connection, your connection will fluctuate
more as if you speed test to a dedicated server connected with an optical cable that can easily sustain the bandwidth of a small continent alone.

Also: EA Servers (which host Battlefield) are known to be as stable as a fridge, that is balancing on a bottle of Coke, on a slope covered in Teflon during a hurricane.

So, from what I read from your descriptions, and with the limitations that I can only read what you describe, I think you're "good".

Thank you for such an in-depth and comprehensive reply. I did know that battlefield servers were dedicated and hosted by EA and I have rarely had issue with their stuff through the years. Other than the obligatory "Nothing works on release day" that every
modern online game has. Also thank you for taking the time to explain MTU, something I could have easily googled myself.

In the past, Call of Duity has had dedicated servers on PC. I knew it was peer to peer on consoles. I have rented dedicated world at war servers. So, I was unsure if this one was dedicated or peer to peer but having no console commands or server browser
I guess provides a "duh" moment on that. I agree with always having had the chance of the jerk playing from kathmandu somehow connecting to US East players or router sporting, and would have dismissed it as such if it wasn't so consistent.

Now, the other anomaly here is that the facility's modem, router, and ISP all do support IPV6, I believe I posted my netstats in my original post which I guess in hindsight was reckless to publicly post my ip. I may oughtta edit that out. Either way, I'm
down to thinking that ipv4 connection on xbox vs ipv6 is somehow the culprit. I had read elsewhere that this should not make a difference but by my logic that would be the next step in the process of elimination.

I think maybe I'll try bridging my connection from my pc to my xbox using an ethernet and see if that helps matters. Didn't think of that before. After that may buy a dozen repeaters and just start sticking them throughout the facility lol. I'm showing 100%
signal strength but am on third floor.

Also just funny in the strange sort of way that battlefield still seems mostly playable even with large lag spikes and intermittent 2-3% packet loss.

Networking has always been a mystery to me. I understand most basics but when it comes to IT in networking I'm done. I'll build, troubleshoot, and repair pc/console hardware all day though.

Thank you again for your in-depth reply.

As for command prompts and diagnostic software on the Xbox:

It doesn't exist or won't work. The Xbox One runs apps and games in separated virtual environments. Games get the most share of computing power, whereas "apps" (that could formerly be "snapped" to run next to game apps) get only a smaller part of computing
resources. That might also be the reason why the speedtest on the Xbox Edge browser seems wonky.

And since the Xbox is a closed system that only runs digitally signed code from their marketplace, you won't get a command prompt or install your own net-tools.

As for MTU: It stands for
Maximum Transmission Unit. It describes the largest amount of data a frame in a data packet can hold. If a data packet is larger than the MTU, it has to be broken up, and sent with two packets, and then has to be re-assembled on the other end, which of
course takes more time.

The 1480 come from the fact, that the Xbox One ALWAYS talks via IPv6, and if not actual IPv6 is available, will encapsulate IPv6 traffic in IPv4 packets, and reserves 20 bytes for extra IP headers. So if the modem allows an MTU of 1500, and only does IPv4,
the Xbox will tunnel it's IPv6 through IPv4, and needs the 20 bytes for the added IPv6 information.

As for the MAC cloning: This is usually used when you are in a network with a captive portal (e.g. some hotel WiFi where you have to sign into a portal before you can use the Internet, or if the network restricts access to specific MACs.

You can then "unlock" the portal with your PC, and then clone the PC's MAC address to the console, and the console can then use the unlocked internet access, as the console will then be disguised as the unlocking PC because of the same MAC address.

Regarding the fluctuations: it's really hard to measure stuff in games, as you are often connected to other players via Peer 2 Peer connections, and if the host is some guy in El Armpito with bush drums as internet connection, your connection will fluctuate
more as if you speed test to a dedicated server connected with an optical cable that can easily sustain the bandwidth of a small continent alone.

Also: EA Servers (which host Battlefield) are known to be as stable as a fridge, that is balancing on a bottle of Coke, on a slope covered in Teflon during a hurricane.

So, from what I read from your descriptions, and with the limitations that I can only read what you describe, I think you're "good".