Virtual Desktop network spikes: Are there routers in the UK that support 5ghz channels over 48?

hdpcgamer · 4 Dec 2023 at 13:05

I am currently on BT 500 fibre broardband and using the BT Smart Hub 2 as our main router but trying to get it to work smoothly with virtual desktop using my quest 2 is a real pain and I can't get a smooth stutter free PCVR experience without massive lag spikes.

My PC is connected to the router using ethernet and the quest 2 is the only device connected to the 5ghz network but I will occasionally get network lag spikes over 100ms within 5 mins of playing - virtual desktop settings are default.

I have used a wifi analyzer and all the 5ghz channels (32-48) are congested with other 5ghz networks around the neighborhood. However, from channels 52 upwards, it is completely free and empty but the hub only allows me to select between 32-48.

Does anyone know for sure routers that offers channels over 48 as this will hopefully fix the issue with the lag spikes I think.

Thanks

stellasuppa · 4 Dec 2023 at 13:14

i could not pin down exactly which router you own but this may help

hdpcgamer said:
I am currently on BT 500 fibre broardband and using the BT Smart Hub 2 as our main router but trying to get it to work smoothly with virtual desktop using my quest 2 is a real pain and I can't get a smooth stutter free PCVR experience without massive lag spikes.

My PC is connected to the router using ethernet and the quest 2 is the only device connected to the 5ghz network but I will occasionally get network lag spikes over 100ms within 5 mins of playing - virtual desktop settings are default.

I have used a wifi analyzer and all the 5ghz channels (32-48) are congested with other 5ghz networks around the neighborhood. However, from channels 52 upwards, it is completely free and empty but the hub only allows me to select between 32-48.

Does anyone know for sure routers that offers channels over 48 as this will hopefully fix the issue with the lag spikes I think.

Thanks

How do I change the wi-fi channel on my BT Hub | BT Help

www.bt.com

hdpcgamer · 4 Dec 2023 at 13:17

stellasuppa said:
i could not pin down exactly which router you own but this may help

How do I change the wi-fi channel on my BT Hub | BT Help

www.bt.com

Mine is the Smart Hub 2 and that only allows me to change the 5ghz channels to 36, 40, 44 or 48 and they are all heavily congested.

stellasuppa · 4 Dec 2023 at 13:33

https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/BT-Smart-hub-2-5GHz-Wifi-issues/td-p/1813603 not sure if there has been any firmware to address the issue but i doubt it.

Ravenger · 4 Dec 2023 at 14:39

Get a 6E router.

melmac · 4 Dec 2023 at 15:01

hdpcgamer said:
I am currently on BT 500 fibre broardband and using the BT Smart Hub 2 as our main router but trying to get it to work smoothly with virtual desktop using my quest 2 is a real pain and I can't get a smooth stutter free PCVR experience without massive lag spikes.

My PC is connected to the router using ethernet and the quest 2 is the only device connected to the 5ghz network but I will occasionally get network lag spikes over 100ms within 5 mins of playing - virtual desktop settings are default.

I have used a wifi analyzer and all the 5ghz channels (32-48) are congested with other 5ghz networks around the neighborhood. However, from channels 52 upwards, it is completely free and empty but the hub only allows me to select between 32-48.

Does anyone know for sure routers that offers channels over 48 as this will hopefully fix the issue with the lag spikes I think.

Thanks

Are you sure congestion is causing your issues? Is the router in the same room as where you use the Quest 2?

hdpcgamer · 4 Dec 2023 at 16:08

Ravenger said:
Get a 6E router.

Is there any particular model you would recommend and will it allow me to choose channels beyond 48?

hdpcgamer · 4 Dec 2023 at 16:14

melmac said:
Are you sure congestion is causing your issues? Is the router in the same room as where you use the Quest 2?

Yes, I am playing in the same room and I am around two meters from the router.

Every time I get frame rate drops I notice the network latency goes red and spikes to around 100ms on the OSD and CPU and CPU usage is nowhere near 100%.

If the problem isn't congestion then what do you think it is?

Ravenger · 4 Dec 2023 at 16:16

hdpcgamer said:
Is there any particular model you would recommend and will it allow me to choose channels beyond 48?

6E uses a different spectrum so it's not really relevant to 5ghz channels (which is kind of the point.)

I have a TP Link AXE5400 Tri-band.AXE75 which I got for £150 but seems to be going around £200 now. Not cheap but gives amazing wireless VR performance.

Armageus · 4 Dec 2023 at 16:28

You don't even need a new router - just a separate access point and turn Wifi off on the Router.

The issue with channels above 48 is that they can potentially conflict with Radar, and so a scheme called DFS is required when they are used (which has it's own problems - e.g. completely dropping traffic whilst it scans)

Unifi Access points will support DFS 5Ghz channels, as will a lot of other prosumer kit (e.g. Draytek Routers)

See also:

List of WLAN channels - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

melmac · 4 Dec 2023 at 16:53

hdpcgamer said:
Yes, I am playing in the same room and I am around two meters from the router.

Every time I get frame rate drops I notice the network latency goes red and spikes to around 100ms on the OSD and CPU and CPU usage is nowhere near 100%.

If the problem isn't congestion then what do you think it is?

I don't know, how many 5ghz networks are around you? 10? 50? 100's? Are they strong signals? Are you getting any disconnects at all? How is your signal strength on the Quest 2?

Is the network cable between your PC and router a cat 5e or higher?

Have you tried using the Quest 2 very early in the morning or middle of the night when these other networks are quieter?

drakulton · 4 Dec 2023 at 22:35

Ravenger said:
Get a 6E router.

I don't think Quest 2 can take advantage of 6E

The wifi chip in the Quest 2. It's a Qualcomm® FastConnect™ 6800. This means Wi-Fi 6 support. Sadly, even though the 6700 and 6900 have 6E support, the 6800 does not.

https://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/qualcomm-fastconnect-6800-product-brief.pd

hdpcgamer · 7 Dec 2023 at 17:25

melmac said:
I don't know, how many 5ghz networks are around you? 10? 50? 100's? Are they strong signals? Are you getting any disconnects at all? How is your signal strength on the Quest 2?

Is the network cable between your PC and router a cat 5e or higher?

Have you tried using the Quest 2 very early in the morning or middle of the night when these other networks are quieter?

So just a quick update on this.

The BT smart hub has only one SSID whereby you can't split the 2.4ghz/5ghz bands. I also have a mesh system connected to the hub but that also has one SSID and no way of splitting the bands.

So even if I have disabled the 2.4ghz band on the hub and kept the 5ghz one just for the Quest 2, anyone in the family who connects to the mesh system is automatically connected to the faster 5ghz band by default and in the end, everyone ends up using the 5ghz and that is when the network latency spikes occurs.

I tried playing with Half-Life Alyx on the quest 2 for at least a couple of hours without anyone else using the wifi and it was pretty solid with no network lag spikes.

Why on earth doesn't the smart hub 2 allow you to split the 2.4ghz/5ghz bands and create separate SSIDS as that would have fixed the network lag spikes.

What are my options other than getting an access point or extender for getting 2.4ghz network just for the family?

Thanks

drakulton · 7 Dec 2023 at 17:32

melmac · 7 Dec 2023 at 18:10

hdpcgamer said:
So just a quick update on this.

The BT smart hub has only one SSID whereby you can't split the 2.4ghz/5ghz bands. I also have a mesh system connected to the hub but that also has one SSID and no way of splitting the bands.

So even if I have disabled the 2.4ghz band on the hub and kept the 5ghz one just for the Quest 2, anyone in the family who connects to the mesh system is automatically connected to the faster 5ghz band by default and in the end, everyone ends up using the 5ghz and that is when the network latency spikes occurs.

I tried playing with Half-Life Alyx on the quest 2 for at least a couple of hours without anyone else using the wifi and it was pretty solid with no network lag spikes.

Why on earth doesn't the smart hub 2 allow you to split the 2.4ghz/5ghz bands and create separate SSIDS as that would have fixed the network lag spikes.

What are my options other than getting an access point or extender for getting 2.4ghz network just for the family?

Thanks

What mesh system do you have? Is it connected wirelessly to the Hub? If it is, how hard would it be to connect it by network cable?

How about trying something like this. On the Hub Change the SSID to Quest2only or something like that. On the Mesh system disable the 5Ghz band(I am presuming the mesh system is wirelessly connected to the Hub) That means any of the family/friend's devices or your other devices only connect to the Mesh system via the hub using the 2.4Ghz band. Only the Quest 2 is using the 5ghz wireless on the Hub.

hdpcgamer · 7 Dec 2023 at 19:20

I have the Tenda Nova MW3 and it is connected to the hub via an ethernet cable, however every device that connects to it is automatically connected to the 5ghz band by default and there is no way of disabling the 5ghz band.

melmac · 8 Dec 2023 at 11:29

hdpcgamer said:
I have the Tenda Nova MW3 and it is connected to the hub via an ethernet cable, however every device that connects to it is automatically connected to the 5ghz band by default and there is no way of disabling the 5ghz band.

Ok, are you using the same SSID for the Tenda Mesh and the HUB?

hdpcgamer · 8 Dec 2023 at 12:31

melmac said:
Ok, are you using the same SSID for the Tenda Mesh and the HUB?

No, the hub and mesh have a seperate SSID. Quest is connected to the hub and everyone else is on the mesh but there is no way of force connecting to a 2.4ghz band on either neworks.

melmac · 8 Dec 2023 at 13:06

hdpcgamer said:
No, the hub and mesh have a seperate SSID. Quest is connected to the hub and everyone else is on the mesh but there is no way of force connecting to a 2.4ghz band on either neworks.

Yeah, I did a quick google on the Tenda, seems very limited

And since you have the Hub and the Mesh system on separate SSIDS, the problem is most likely that the Hub can't handle the traffic when things get busy. And it's not anything to do with 5Ghz networks interfering with each other.

If you don't want to spend money, the only real option you have is to make the Tenda MW3 your main router. And turn your smart hub into an access point. That way the Tenda MW3 will be handing all routing of traffic from the rest of the house and the hub will really only be responsible for what's happening on your PC and the Quest 2. However, it might not be possible with your ISP. Also, I don't know much about Tenda products. So I can't tell you how good or bad the Tenda would be as the main router.

Another option would be if your ISP upgraded you from a smart Hub to the smart hub 2 you might have the old smart hub lying around? You could set that up as an access point.

Last option would be to buy a cheap AC router to use as a dedicated access point for the quest 2. You can get ones for less than £40. Probably less if you get one second hand. Just make sure it has 5ghz and a gigabit lan connection.

hdpcgamer · 8 Dec 2023 at 13:57

Hmm, I think may still have a Virgin Media hub 3 lying around in the garage that I could try and I do think you can split the bands with that router but will it work with a BT fibre line?