Packet Loss Problems
Packet loss is one of the most damaging and misunderstood network issues. Even small amounts can cause application timeouts, VoIP distortion, video freezes, and failed TCP sessions.
What Packet Loss Really Means
Packet loss occurs when packets fail to reach their destination. Unlike latency, loss directly breaks protocols — retransmissions increase congestion and amplify performance problems.
Common Symptoms
- Applications randomly disconnect or freeze
- VoIP calls sound robotic or drop entirely
- Web pages partially load or hang
- SSH sessions stall or terminate
- Gaming rubber-banding and desync
Primary Causes of Packet Loss
- Congestion: oversubscribed links or buffer exhaustion
- Wi-Fi interference: collisions, retries, weak signal
- Failing hardware: bad NICs, optics, cables
- ISP transit issues: upstream drops and shaping
- Firewall rate-limiting: ICMP or TCP drops
How to Detect Packet Loss Correctly
Single pings are misleading. Loss must be measured over time and correlated with latency spikes.
Ping Monitor
Run sustained tests to measure packet loss percentage and jitter. Continuous sampling is critical for proving intermittent loss.
Traceroute Map
Identify where loss begins along the path. Loss appearing after leaving your LAN usually indicates upstream congestion.
ISP Outage Detector
Correlate packet loss with regional or provider-wide incidents.
What Not to Do
- Do not trust single ping results
- Do not assume DNS problems without loss evidence
- Do not reboot repeatedly without data
Escalation Checklist
- Packet loss percentage over time
- Latency correlation graphs
- Traceroutes showing loss origin
- Exact timestamps and destinations