XT8 DFS causing game desync?

[Senseitional]

Hi all, I'm after some help here hopefully. I play an online game on PC via WiFi (I know wired is better, I'm working on it). I have done this for years without issue.

More recently I've been using two ZenWiFi XT8 nodes, again without issue, but recently I'm getting all kinds of desync in-game and I'm wondering if it was a firmware change that's tweaked settings. My ISP speeds are good, no issue on the network, I've got a broadband monitor on and it seems fine. So I'm wondering if it's the backhaul.

About my setup: my PC is connected wirelessly to a first floor AP two metres away via 5GHz-1. Everything else in the house is on the 2.4GHz band and I'm using the 5GHz-2 as dedicated backhaul (160MHz enabled) with my router, the other XT8, on the ground floor.

I'm been reading about DFS channels and wondered if the backhaul should have DFS and Auto select channel on or off? I've turned both off as I don't recall them being on before...but they just turn themselves back on?? Auto channel and DFS are definitely off on the 5GHz-1 band.

What, in theory, is the optimal backhaul setup here? And could DFS and Auto be responsible for drops causing game desync due to interference? I am going to get a wired connection installed for sure...but I can't do that just yet and would like this resolved.

TIA!

 

[Crimliar]

If you have DFS off, then your router will not be able to use the channels that can be affected by radar. If DFS is on then you can only use those channels when radar is not detected. Your router is not going to be switching backwards and forwards between DFS and non-DFS channels, so it's likely that the cause is something else!
Are there any clues in the router logs that could help further?

 

[Senseitional]

I'll check the logs for the next time I have the issue and see if anything is flagged

 

[Senseitional]

Update: I think the router resetting to Auto channel, DFS, and 160MHz bandwidth all contribute to these issues.

I've reset the router and disabled all of those so I've manually chosen the channel and opted for 160MHz off. It's been much better, although not perfect.

But perfect may now be a wired connection I guess. Still, a lot better.

Here's the latency before the changes (far left) vs after (far right) while gaming online on my thinkbroadband.com monitor.