Possible issues on Roblox-end with specific ISP

Bug Reports Website Bugs
#1

Reproduction Steps
Currently, as of 4/27/22, it appears that Roblox is having issues with a specific highspeed fiber ISP (name of ISP is included in a private message attached to this report, since it is a very specific local ISP). When I was on Spectrum (formerly Charter), I was able to play Roblox games, download assets when connected to games, etc at a fast speed. However, ever since I switched to my fiber ISP, I’ve noticed the following multiple times a day:

  • Extremely high ping, regardless of game or server (over 1,000ms of ping). Friend of mine connected to the same server had normal ping, ruling out a server issue.
  • Extremely long loading times, even if no assets are being downloaded (replication of instances themselves takes a very long time)
  • Roblox site loading very slowly in some cases

The above happens at a fairly consistent interval. About every 2-3 hours, my connection to Roblox will severely degrade, and will temporarily fix itself after about 1-2 hours of degraded performance. Once fixed, my connection to Roblox is good until another 2-3 hours later, then it degrades again. Around 6:00 PM EST is when the problems become very severe.
It is worth noting, my connection to other games (such as destiny 2) remain perfectly fine. I have not had any connection problems to other services & game servers. The issue appears specific to Roblox.

I’ve ran multiple speedtests, and I am getting over 900mbps down and over 800mbps up regularly (I have a gigabit plan), with speeds dropping to about 150mbps during peak usage hours (~5 PM). Even with just 150 down & up, that should be more than enough to have a stable connection to Roblox.

My initial thought was that it was a problem with my local network. I tested on multiple machines, all had the same issue. I tested on an ethernet connection directly connected to my ISP’s modem, bypassing my highend router. Same issue. I monitored network activity via glasswire, Roblox wasn’t generating a lot of network activity (<10mbps). I switched from my ISP’s DNS (I tried cloudflare, 1.1.1.1 & 2606:4700:4700::1111). I have verified that all of my hardware (cables, router, modem, computer NICs) are capable of handling gigabit speeds. My slowest NIC is rated for 1.2Gbps. All of these tests did not help, the problem persisted.

My next thought was that it was my ISP throttling my connection to Roblox. I contacted them. They (very firmly) stated that they do not throttle any customers, and that they are not having any service issues with the cabinet that serves my neighborhood. While I do have a support ticket with them, I’m beginning to wonder if there’s some sort of a problem on Roblox’s end that is specific to my ISP? It is worth noting that my ISP is fairly new, along with their fiber lines.

I’ve attached a video that shows some of the connection issues I’ve described below. It’s worth noting that my client does not download any assets when I join the experience in the video, because the assets are cached locally on my SSD in Roblox’s asset cache.

I’m not 100% certain that the issue is on Roblox’s end, but it’s starting to seem like a possibility. If an engineer could possibly investigate this, I’d greatly appreciate it!

Example of problem :

Expected Behavior
I’ve described the expected behavior above, this is a bit of an odd bug report.

Actual Behavior
I’ve described what actually happens above, this is a bit of an odd bug report that does not fit the format of this report wizard.

Workaround
None

Issue Area: Roblox Website
Page URL: https://roblox.com
Impact: High
Frequency: Often
Date First Experienced: 2022-04-27 00:04:00 (-04:00)
A private message is associated with this bug report

12 Likes
#2

Interesting note : If I ping a Roblox server that I am connected to, the average ping time in the command prompt is ~18ms. However, in the game client, it’s showing as 500+ ms of ping.

#3

Been experiencing this too over the past few weeks

#4

Do you get any difference in symptoms if you play over a VPN?

3 Likes
#5

I’ve also been having a similar problem with (what I assume to be) a different ISP for over a two years now. I get extremely high ping in games that would’ve otherwise performed fine beforehand and asset loading takes 10x longer then it usually would.

I had this thought too and tried contacting my ISP. Although I was constantly stonewalled by them they were adamant about not throttling on the services. While doing a little of my own investigative effort I figured out that neighbors and friends with different ISPs in similar areas did not have the problem, and friends who lived interstate with the same ISP had the same issues with roblox. So to me it seemed like there was some kind of packet limit somewhere but I couldn’t realise who was enforcing it.

Maybe try to ask around your local area, see if there are any computer cafes or gaming lounges with a different ISP and see if you have a similar problem?

Assuming my problem is the same, no, connecting over a VPN does not fix the problem.

#6

I do!

VPN Off:
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VPN On:
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It’s worth noting, that after running a lot of tracert tests, there seems to be some sort of problem with Roblox and level3 communcations (an east coast internet backbone in the US). At specific times of the day, latency to level3 backbone servers skyrockets.

When I enable my VPN, I essentially bypass level3 servers to my knowledge, which fixes my latency.

#7

My ISP has actually been super helpful. They put me into contact with one of their senior engineers. Sr engineer told me about a problem they’ve been having with servers in washington DC (upstream issue). We ran some tests together, and he sent me the results from his tests on his machines from the ISP’s main office. I 100% don’t think it’s my ISP throttling me.

Our issue is not the same, a VPN makes a massive difference for me.

2 Likes
#8

Thanks for the follow up info, I will pass this along

4 Likes
#9

Same issue, I live in Hong Kong, US Server have 1000+ ms ping (regularly I will get 250-300 ping), but Asia server such as Singapore work well (~100 Ping).

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#10

Hi @LordRugDumph - are there any updates regarding this issue? I still have to enable a VPN at night to bypass the internet backbone that ruins my network connection to Roblox.

1 Like
#12

I’ll send them a reminder and a link to your post

4 Likes