Connection loss when playing some games in the foreground (Wi-Fi)

Hi, hope you are okay.

Recently, only on Wi-Fi and only with my router i've started encountering this issue that when i play (CS2) for example, i seem to lose internet connection. It only happens when the game is active (in the foreground) but if i have it in the background everything is fine.

I'm not sure if the whole PC loses connection but i've ran a test, the test consisted of pinging a random addres via the cmd (google in my case) and it did cut for a period of (for 2 or 3 packets) while the game was in the foreground.

Note that i tested this with a mobile hotspot and everything worked fine, also my friends using the same Wi-Fi router have no problem.

Also the problem only occurs with Wi-Fi and is quite recent.
The Wi-Fi router i use is in fact a 5G box, an arcadyan router.

I've tried with another game to see if the problem persisted, it did the game was The Finals.
I've tried with yet another game to see if the problem persisted, it did not, the game was Rocket League

I have tried multiple things :
- Update/Rollback Wi-Fi and Ethernet drivers.
- Update/Rollback Windows 11
- Updated/Rollback Graphics Drivers
- Reset Windows (Keep personal files option)
- Tried to figure out stuff via WireShark but i didn't find anything or at least didn't see it.

If any of you could set me in the right direction, i'd be thankful !

Thanks in advance for your time and have a good day.

Frequent Wi-Fi disconnections are usually caused by router glitches, outdated device drivers, physical interference, or power-saving settings on your computer.

Upgrade Router firmware.

Reconnect to your router and use different channel.


Your Wi-Fi signal might be dropping because of physical barriers or competing devices.

Ensure your router is in a central, elevated location away from thick walls.

Keep it away from heavy electronics, microwaves, or cordless phones.

If your router broadcasts two networks, try connecting to the 5 GHz band instead of the 2.4 GHz band for faster, interference-free speeds.

On laptops, the operating system may automatically shut off your Wi-Fi adapter to save battery.

Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.

Click the arrow next to Network adapters to expand the list.

Right-click your wireless Wi-Fi adapter (look for Intel, Realtek, or Broadcom) and choose Properties.

Go to the Power Management tab.

Uncheck the box that says Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power, then click OK.

Hi,

You stated that pinging show signs of dropped packets as well when playing game in the background?
Do you happen to remember when it started? Do you have a backup from that time as recently is vague?

In order to help you and avoid redundancy, we need to know what else you've tried because most of what you listed has nothing to do with wifi connectivity.
-Reboot the router?
-Change the channel used for wifi? Change the band? The bandwidth?
-Change any settings of the adapter such as lowering or hiking roaming aggressiveness, Transmit power, etc.?
-Any devices that could bring interferences?
-Can you test with ethernet?

Have a good day too.

I quit gaming, but when I did it was never on WI-FI.

Josey Wales said:

I quit gaming, but when I did it was never on WI-FI.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it's not ideal is it?
But some of us don't have the choice, unfortunately but wifi6 helped a bit.

Thanks for all the replies and yes unfortunately i can't game on ethernet anymore.

I have already unchecked the box in the device manager propreties, i was already using 5ghz i'm going to try the 2ghz to see if that changes anything
I had also tried to change the transmit power, aggresiveness...

I'm not on a laptop and the problem started about 2-3 days ago, before that anything went ok

I was suspecting that an update might have tweaked something in the computer but i can't seem to find it.

I'm going to try some other stuff in the meantime.

Once again, thanks for your time.

Quick update, i've reset the router via the 192.168.1.1 addres on my browser.
It worked for about 15 minutes then the problem reoccured.

20centss said:

Thanks for all the replies and yes unfortunately i can't game on ethernet anymore.

I'm not on a laptop and the problem started about 2-3 days ago, before that anything went ok



Once again, thanks for your time.

Click to expand...

You are welcome.
If it's 2 or 3 days, you might have a Restore Point.

I suggest to set to minimum (1) Roaming Aggressiveness and also check which Wi-Fi APs are around. Choose the band (2.4 or 5 GHz) where the number of these is minimal. Set this band as preferred in the adapter properties.
Also a good idea is to set static MAC address, see Settings, Network & internet > WiFi > Random hardware addresses, set Off. Connection will be more stable on the router side.

20centss said:

the test consisted of pinging a random addres via the cmd (google in my case) and it did cut for a period of (for 2 or 3 packets) while the game was in the foreground.

Click to expand...

Possibly MTU (maximum transmission unit) or Fragmentation Threshold settings. Maybe called something else in your Router mine says 'MTU Size' in WAN setup, and 'Fragmentation Length' in Advanced Wireless settings.

I has been many years when I tested my system with various MTUs and it was such a broad setting never done it since(1400 to 1500).
I forget what App I used. But as you already used ping then try this:

ping www.google.com -f -l abcd
the 4 last letters being MTU start at 1500 and go down 10 at a time.

That is my knowledge limit, no idea about Fragmentation Threshold.