Losing my Mind to an Asus GT-AX11000

[Bluecoolman]

The latency at my house has largely been solid for as long as i've been here. Occasionally servers in games would show ping being doubled what i'm used to, but a simple reset would always squash it back down.

Just recently, I received an "Upgraded" modem from Spectrum, and immediately every server in every game has doubled or tripled, like it would on occasion. After a lot of live chats, a couple of techs coming out to my house, and factory resetting everything multiple times, the issues stays the same.



The weird part though, is if I plug my computer straight to the modem, my ping is fine, hovering around 30ms in the servers I play in. Switch to router, immediately hits 90ms or more. I tried swapping my router for the same model to see if my particular unit was being problematic, but nothing.

I've tried stock firmware, i've tried merlin. And for reference, I am connected over ethernet, never over wifi. Currently I'm on the most recent version of Merlin.

Is there anything I can do? Some setting i'm missing, or something that can be done? I know a router adds slight latency but triple the ping of the modem feels insane to me.

I'm new to networking, but i've followed everything I could find here to no avail. I'll happily offer any further information if necessary. Thank you in advance!

 

[sfx2000]

Just recently, I received an "Upgraded" modem from Spectrum,

Modem Vendor/Model?

 

[RMinNJ]

Maybe the new modem puts you on different ip range with them that is routed different? I made that up..one would think when switching modems you get the same default route/gw from them as youre in the same physical location/node etc.. but what if it's different.

It does sound like the new modem is adding the latency... how is the speed vs the old?

 

[Bluecoolman]

I've had a bit more of a development with my modem/router issues, and i'm pretty unsure how to interpret it.

If I plug my computer directly into the modem, my ping becomes actually very impressive, both in ping tests, trace routes, and in game. However, plugging the modem into a router, ANY router causes some extreme jumps in ping. I've tried a GT-AX11000, RT-AX86U and AX3000 and have had the same results across all of them. I've attempted factory resets, and have swapped between Asus and Merlin firmware to test. Currently I am using the RT-AX86U.

When first connecting my modem to my PC, it doesn't seem to register it as a connection until i've power cycled the modem, then the signal comes in at a beautiful rate.
Any ideas why exactly this is happening, and how I can stop the 50-60+ ping increase between my router and modem?
Here are my tests as mentioned:

Ping and Traceroute through Router
Tracing route to dns.google [8.8.8.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms RT-AX86U_Pro-D538
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 10 ms 10 ms 9 ms lag-59.gdjtco0602h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.253]
4 50 ms 51 ms 40 ms lag-24.msslmt33zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.142]
5 72 ms 71 ms 71 ms lag-702.bbr02sttlwa.netops.charter.com [69.144.130.200]
6 64 ms 63 ms 62 ms lag-802.prr01sttlwa.netops.charter.com [96.34.3.39]
7 60 ms 58 ms 58 ms 096-034-158-069.biz.spectrum.com [96.34.158.69]
8 67 ms 66 ms 66 ms 142.251.229.135
9 57 ms 56 ms 56 ms 142.251.55.197
10 65 ms 66 ms 66 ms dns.google [8.8.8.8]
Trace complete.

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=66ms TTL=57
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=66ms TTL=57
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=69ms TTL=57
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=67ms TTL=57
Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 66ms, Maximum = 69ms, Average = 67ms

Ping and Traceroute through Modem
Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=117
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=117
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=20ms TTL=117
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=12ms TTL=117

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 12ms, Maximum = 20ms, Average = 14ms

Tracing route to dns.google [8.8.8.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 * * * Request timed out.
2 9 ms 8 ms 10 ms lag-59.gdjtco0601h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.249]
3 13 ms 13 ms 16 ms lag-24.dnvtco56zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.140]
4 14 ms 14 ms 16 ms lag-702.bbr01dnvrco.netops.charter.com [69.144.130.202]
5 13 ms 97 ms 13 ms lag-803.prr03dnvrco.netops.charter.com [96.34.173.67]
6 14 ms 16 ms 16 ms 096-034-157-007.biz.spectrum.com [96.34.157.7]
7 13 ms 16 ms 22 ms 216.239.40.57
8 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms 142.251.51.221
9 13 ms 12 ms 12 ms dns.google [8.8.8.8]

Trace complete.

 

[drinkingbird]

I've had a bit more of a development with my modem/router issues, and i'm pretty unsure how to interpret it.

If I plug my computer directly into the modem, my ping becomes actually very impressive, both in ping tests, trace routes, and in game. However, plugging the modem into a router, ANY router causes some extreme jumps in ping. I've tried a GT-AX11000, RT-AX86U and AX3000 and have had the same results across all of them. I've attempted factory resets, and have swapped between Asus and Merlin firmware to test. Currently I am using the RT-AX86U.

When first connecting my modem to my PC, it doesn't seem to register it as a connection until i've power cycled the modem, then the signal comes in at a beautiful rate.
Any ideas why exactly this is happening, and how I can stop the 50-60+ ping increase between my router and modem?
Here are my tests as mentioned:

Ping and Traceroute through Router
Tracing route to dns.google [8.8.8.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms RT-AX86U_Pro-D538
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 10 ms 10 ms 9 ms lag-59.gdjtco0602h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.253]
4 50 ms 51 ms 40 ms lag-24.msslmt33zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.142]
5 72 ms 71 ms 71 ms lag-702.bbr02sttlwa.netops.charter.com [69.144.130.200]
6 64 ms 63 ms 62 ms lag-802.prr01sttlwa.netops.charter.com [96.34.3.39]
7 60 ms 58 ms 58 ms 096-034-158-069.biz.spectrum.com [96.34.158.69]
8 67 ms 66 ms 66 ms 142.251.229.135
9 57 ms 56 ms 56 ms 142.251.55.197
10 65 ms 66 ms 66 ms dns.google [8.8.8.8]
Trace complete.

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=66ms TTL=57
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=66ms TTL=57
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=69ms TTL=57
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=67ms TTL=57
Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 66ms, Maximum = 69ms, Average = 67ms

Ping and Traceroute through Modem
Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=117
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=117
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=20ms TTL=117
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=12ms TTL=117

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 12ms, Maximum = 20ms, Average = 14ms

Tracing route to dns.google [8.8.8.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 * * * Request timed out.
2 9 ms 8 ms 10 ms lag-59.gdjtco0601h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.249]
3 13 ms 13 ms 16 ms lag-24.dnvtco56zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.140]
4 14 ms 14 ms 16 ms lag-702.bbr01dnvrco.netops.charter.com [69.144.130.202]
5 13 ms 97 ms 13 ms lag-803.prr03dnvrco.netops.charter.com [96.34.173.67]
6 14 ms 16 ms 16 ms 096-034-157-007.biz.spectrum.com [96.34.157.7]
7 13 ms 16 ms 22 ms 216.239.40.57
8 13 ms 13 ms 13 ms 142.251.51.221
9 13 ms 12 ms 12 ms dns.google [8.8.8.8]

Trace complete.

First, FYI anytime you change the device connected to the modem, you need to reboot it, that is normal.

You're having issues with your ISP routing. Your PC is getting one IP, your router is getting a different one, and although the path they are routing via is similar, it is not the same and one has much higher latency. Power down the modem, clone the MAC of your PC to your router's WAN, power up the modem with the router connected, and your router should get the IP your PC was getting, and your pings should be nearly what the PC were. Of course, if you lose that IP, it may increase, at which point you can try removing the MAC clone to see if your router gets a better routed IP.

Below is where the routing changes between the two. Given the names, I'd guess one is Denver, one is something else, (Missouri? dunno, is there another city in your area that sounds like mss)? Assuming the 5th and 6th digit are state, looks like one path is Colorado the other is Montana.

Router
3 10 ms 10 ms 9 ms lag-59.gdjtco0602h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.253]
4 50 ms 51 ms 40 ms lag-24.msslmt33zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.142]

PC
2 9 ms 8 ms 10 ms lag-59.gdjtco0601h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.249]
3 13 ms 13 ms 16 ms lag-24.dnvtco56zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.140]

Your only other option is to try and contact your ISP and have them fix the routing or get you a different IP subnet assigned, I wouldn't hold your breath on that though. But if the complaint gets to the right place they may figure out that they have a routing problem and fix it, never know. Probably take quite a while though.

 

[bbunge]

First, FYI anytime you change the device connected to the modem, you need to reboot it, that is normal.

You're having issues with your ISP routing. Your PC is getting one IP, your router is getting a different one, and although the path they are routing via is similar, it is not the same and one has much higher latency. Power down the modem, clone the MAC of your PC to your router's WAN, power up the modem with the router connected, and your router should get the IP your PC was getting, and your pings should be nearly what the PC were. Of course, if you lose that IP, it may increase, at which point you can try removing the MAC clone to see if your router gets a better routed IP.

Below is where the routing changes between the two. Given the names, I'd guess one is Denver, one is something else, (Missouri? dunno, is there another city in your area that sounds like mss)? Assuming the 5th and 6th digit are state, looks like one path is Colorado the other is Montana.

Router
3 10 ms 10 ms 9 ms lag-59.gdjtco0602h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.253]
4 50 ms 51 ms 40 ms lag-24.msslmt33zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.142]

PC
2 9 ms 8 ms 10 ms lag-59.gdjtco0601h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.249]
3 13 ms 13 ms 16 ms lag-24.dnvtco56zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.140]

Your only other option is to try and contact your ISP and have them fix the routing or get you a different IP subnet assigned, I wouldn't hold your breath on that though. But if the complaint gets to the right place they may figure out that they have a routing problem and fix it, never know. Probably take quite a while though.

Question, is it wise to use an anycast address when doing ping or traceroute comparison? There is no guarantee the route will be the same. Using a specific IP address is best, yes?

 

[Adooni]

do you have modem or modem-router from ISP provider?

I think you have modem-router combo or what ever they call it. In this case you shall set ISP modem-router in bridge mode or if now available create DMZ.

 

[drinkingbird]

Question, is it wise to use an anycast address when doing ping or traceroute comparison? There is no guarantee the route will be the same. Using a specific IP address is best, yes?

Eh, in this case the latency is only 1 hop away so shouldn't matter, the ISP should be directing all traffic over their closest link.

These days it is hard to know what is or isn't a fixed in place IP vs anycast or CDN etc.

 

[drinkingbird]

do you have modem or modem-router from ISP provider?

I think you have modem-router combo or what ever they call it. In this case you shall set ISP modem-router in bridge mode or if now available create DMZ.

That's not what is causing the latency, in both traces that is the hop that is not responding, the latency is happening out in the carrier network. A local router wouldn't add more than 1msec latency anyway.

 

[Bluecoolman]

First, FYI anytime you change the device connected to the modem, you need to reboot it, that is normal.

You're having issues with your ISP routing. Your PC is getting one IP, your router is getting a different one, and although the path they are routing via is similar, it is not the same and one has much higher latency. Power down the modem, clone the MAC of your PC to your router's WAN, power up the modem with the router connected, and your router should get the IP your PC was getting, and your pings should be nearly what the PC were. Of course, if you lose that IP, it may increase, at which point you can try removing the MAC clone to see if your router gets a better routed IP.

Below is where the routing changes between the two. Given the names, I'd guess one is Denver, one is something else, (Missouri? dunno, is there another city in your area that sounds like mss)? Assuming the 5th and 6th digit are state, looks like one path is Colorado the other is Montana.

Router
3 10 ms 10 ms 9 ms lag-59.gdjtco0602h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.253]
4 50 ms 51 ms 40 ms lag-24.msslmt33zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.142]

PC
2 9 ms 8 ms 10 ms lag-59.gdjtco0601h.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.249]
3 13 ms 13 ms 16 ms lag-24.dnvtco56zp0.netops.charter.com [69.144.131.140]

Your only other option is to try and contact your ISP and have them fix the routing or get you a different IP subnet assigned, I wouldn't hold your breath on that though. But if the complaint gets to the right place they may figure out that they have a routing problem and fix it, never know. Probably take quite a while though.

The Mac cloning was a success! With a catch. The ping and traceroutes were fantastic for 24 hours, and then it seems when the IP lease went up, it reverted to another bizarre route, instead to New Jersey this time.

Tried cloning another MAC in the house and had the same issue. Genuinely at a loss on what to do here.

 

[drinkingbird]

The Mac cloning was a success! With a catch. The ping and traceroutes were fantastic for 24 hours, and then it seems when the IP lease went up, it reverted to another bizarre route, instead to New Jersey this time.

Tried cloning another MAC in the house and had the same issue. Genuinely at a loss on what to do here.

Odd that they changed your IP, usually when you renew you keep your IP. With many companies you will have an IP for months or even years. Your router should be renewing the lease long before it expires. Your only option is to keep trying different MACs but apparently that may only work for a day even if you get a "good" IP.

At this point you may have to escalate with the ISP, it will need to go to a higher tier support to look into it, their front line won't really know much about it.