Wifi Latency : modem or internet carrier?

Question

I would like to know if problems I have in wifi depends on the internet provider or the wifi.

• Mac OS 10.9.5.
• Router D-Link.
• Wi-Fi Frequency 2.4Ghz.

The internet providers says the signal is relatively good, and suggested to change the channel.

I did that, and can see which is best with a mobile app.

But a simple ping test usually misses 10% of packages, in peak hours it arrives to 30%, with peaks of 50%.

I can't even browse most popular sites, like gmail:

I tried a traceroute test, this is what I got:

traceroute to google.com (216.58.205.174), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
 1  192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1)  5.406 ms  2.420 ms  5.930 ms
 2  XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX)  7.667 ms *  7.975 ms
 3  XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX)  7.953 ms  8.268 ms  7.425 ms
 4  XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX)  10.750 ms *  11.530 ms
 5  * micl-n01-mica-t02-po02.wind.it (151.6.2.50)  15.045 ms  12.829 ms
 6  XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX)  12.416 ms
    XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX)  13.214 ms
    XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX)  11.982 ms
 7  XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX)  15.334 ms
    XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX)  16.715 ms  11.431 ms
 8  * * *
 9  * 216.239.42.21 (216.239.42.21)  11.295 ms
    216.239.42.28 (216.239.42.28)  13.953 ms
10  * * 216.239.42.21 (216.239.42.21)  13.823 ms
11  mil04s28-in-f14.1e100.net (216.58.205.174)  19.501 ms  14.954 ms  15.471 ms

I am using a mac and noticed that the signal is frequently lost (searching for networks), so that connection is frequently reset.

What can I possibly do to improve stability of wifi signal?

Is it a router problem or is it the carrier?

Note I'm about 10m from the router, 2nd floor of an house, no palaces or building around to interfere or compete with channels...

Answer 1

The first thing I would check is whether the performance improves by using an ethernet cable directly into your router. That way you can rule out the connection to your property being at fault.

If everything works ok when you are using a wired connection, then you will have to look at your current router setup and see what can be done there. Do you have many other devices connected to the router? I have had a router in the past from my Broadband provider that would start dropping new devices if there were more than 8-9 connected at the same time. That sounds like a lot until you think about laptops, tablets, phones and other smart devices. There could be any number of reasons why the connection is weak to your Mac. You said you are on the second floor. Is this the same floor as the router? You could try a signal booster and see if that helps. You could also get powerline adapters which will allow you to run a wired connection to other parts of your property.

I hope that gives you some things to try!