We run two accounts in our house:

Account 1 is hardwired with a LAN and has no trouble playing SWTOR.

Account 2 uses a wireless USB stick. Connectivity comes and goes--sometimes there is no lag, sometimes it will go minutes with a red X for no connectivity (but I don't get kicked off). I've tried both of our wireless channels (2.4 and 5.0) and it doesn't matter if anything else is connected to the wireless or now. (We have a new wireless router with a high capacity.)

But is it my wireless router or connection? Well, even while I'm getting the red X for no connectivity whatsoever, I am on a video call on Google Hangouts and can do other internet functions--for instance, watching a YouTube video.

So how do I troubleshoot and figure out why I get these minutes of no-connectivity with SWTOR while not having any other internet connection issues? (FWIW--the account with problems is a legacy account, while the account with no connection problems is a current subscriber.)

It could be the USB stick - because of the small size of them (and their antennas) they often have a relatively poor connection.

If it's a desktop computer, try getting a PCIe wireless card.

It could be the USB stick - because of the small size of them (and their antennas) they often have a relatively poor connection.

If it's a desktop computer, try getting a PCIe wireless card.

I'm not saying I disagree, but...

Why would the connectivitiy be on/off? I'm not having traditional lagging, but extended periods of time with no connectivity to SWTOR. Then all will be well for minutes at a time (~70ms or so lag), then minutes of no connectivity. And even when I have zero connectivity to SWTOR, my Google Hangouts call is working fine.

Is there a way to test the stick?

I'm not saying I disagree, but...

 

Why would the connectivitiy be on/off? I'm not having traditional lagging, but extended periods of time with no connectivity to SWTOR. Then all will be well for minutes at a time (~70ms or so lag), then minutes of no connectivity. And even when I have zero connectivity to SWTOR, my Google Hangouts call is working fine.

 

Is there a way to test the stick?

I just ran a Speedtest over this computer (using the USB stick), and got 41 Mbps download/8Mbps upload speed, using the 2.4 wireless channel.

Think of a drain pipe. Download bandwidth is the diameter of the pipe while ping is how fast water flows through the pipe. Doesn't matter a lick what your download speed is if the water going through the pipe is slow. Every time there is a hop think of that as a bend in the pipe. The wireless signal is another bend in the pipe. Wireless is going to be slower than a connected wire. It's a radio signal susceptible to interference from other radio signals.

Also it depends on the USB port as well. That can slow it down. A lot of things often share USB connections with your motherboard. More connections slower speed. Is it a 2.0 USB port or 3.0. That will slow it down. Low price point motherboards have less USB connections. Choke points slow it down.

I wouldn't use a USB wireless adapter for gaming where ping matters.

Think of a drain pipe. Download bandwidth is the diameter of the pipe while ping is how fast water flows through the pipe. Doesn't matter a lick what your download speed is if the water going through the pipe is slow. Every time there is a hop think of that as a bend in the pipe. The wireless signal is another bend in the pipe. Wireless is going to be slower than a connected wire. It's a radio signal susceptible to interference from other radio signals.

 

 

Also it depends on the USB port as well. That can slow it down. A lot of things often share USB connections with your motherboard. More connections slower speed. Is it a 2.0 USB port or 3.0. That will slow it down. Low price point motherboards have less USB connections. Choke points slow it down.

 

I wouldn't use a USB wireless adapter for gaming where ping matters.

But that's not what is happening. Either SWTOR is running fine, or it's completely stopped. And even when it has completely stopped I can still use other high-bandwidth things.

I've either got 4 bars in SWTOR and running at a lag of 70ish ms, or I get a red X and it will go minutes without any SWTOR connectivity at all.

So I'm trying to troubleshoot and figure out why SWTOR is the only internet connectivity that comes to a complete halt at times.

USB 2.0 is more than enough with 480Mbps. It may be a problem of packet lost; modern av streaming applications are pretty resistance to packet lost which can explain the differences.

If it's a laptop without ethernet, there are usb ethernet port that you can use to test whether it is a problem caused by wifi. If yes then you can try to improve the signal (e.g. relocating router, use usb with antenna stick) or work around it (e.g. HomePlug). If not then the pc need some troubleshotting.

We run two accounts in our house:

 

Account 1 is hardwired with a LAN and has no trouble playing SWTOR.

 

Account 2 uses a wireless USB stick. Connectivity comes and goes--sometimes there is no lag, sometimes it will go minutes with a red X for no connectivity (but I don't get kicked off). I've tried both of our wireless channels (2.4 and 5.0) and it doesn't matter if anything else is connected to the wireless or now. (We have a new wireless router with a high capacity.)

 

But is it my wireless router or connection? Well, even while I'm getting the red X for no connectivity whatsoever, I am on a video call on Google Hangouts and can do other internet functions--for instance, watching a YouTube video.

 

So how do I troubleshoot and figure out why I get these minutes of no-connectivity with SWTOR while not having any other internet connection issues? (FWIW--the account with problems is a legacy account, while the account with no connection problems is a current subscriber.)

Legitimate question as I was having the same problem and it turned out to be where my modem was placed in the house (the laptop I run SWTOR on is upstairs and the modem is downstairs). Also, I got a boost from my ISP to where, and this is what they told me, the box itself will "search" for channels that don't have a lot of traffic to get the best signal. Again, this is just what they told me, but there is something to the waves that the modem sends out that they can be block by objects. Is your modem inside a cabinet or something of that sort or is it in the open? If it's inside something, take it out and try that. If it's already in the open, you might need to call your ISP and see what they can do. I ended up getting a new box and a signal boost. So far, everything's working great. Let me know if this works for you.

Welp seems you have it in your head you think swtor is the problem and nothing else. Have fun with that and good luck.

Nope.

Legitimate question as I was having the same problem and it turned out to be where my modem was placed in the house (the laptop I run SWTOR on is upstairs and the modem is downstairs). Also, I got a boost from my ISP to where, and this is what they told me, the box itself will "search" for channels that don't have a lot of traffic to get the best signal. Again, this is just what they told me, but there is something to the waves that the modem sends out that they can be block by objects. Is your modem inside a cabinet or something of that sort or is it in the open? If it's inside something, take it out and try that. If it's already in the open, you might need to call your ISP and see what they can do. I ended up getting a new box and a signal boost. So far, everything's working great. Let me know if this works for you.

Thanks. The modem is out in the open, on a counter raised about 3 feet off the ground, maybe 25 feet (through only one wall) from where my computer is--it is almost line of sight to my computer, on the same floor.

I am going to try audio call instead of video call next time on Google Hangout.

You could try (temporarily) moving your computer close to the modem and see how well SWTOR works there. If it improves, then getting a better quality USB Wi-Fi adapter may be the answer. The good thing about PCIe adapters is that they generally have better antennas than USB types, and can handle a weaker signal better.

Also, if the modem has movable antennas, you could experiment with different angles to see what gives you the best reception at your computer.