Verizon Packet Loss: What is Causing It & How to Fix

Experiencing packet loss while enjoying internet activity or using high-bandwidth applications can be frustrating. You can’t enjoy your favorite game with constant packet loss and lags.

Verizon is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the US. It also owns Yahoo. The company provides broadband, wireless, and cable services, serving nearly 102 million users worldwide.

The major cause of packet loss on Verizon is network congestion, but it could also occur as a result of other reasons such as faulty or outdated hardware or software bugs.

This causes the bit rate of your Internet connection to fluctuate and even drop at times, generating packet loss while live-streaming, playing video games, or carrying out any other bandwidth-intensive online activity.

What is packet loss?

🖧 What are packets and how do they work?

Before we find out what packet loss is, let’s first understand what packets are. A packet can be understood as a small unit of data routed by a network on the internet, from origin to destination.

Each packet carries a small amount of data. The data could carry information such as destination address, data source, and destination, protocol numbers, etc. 

What then is packet loss?

Packet loss occurs when one or more of the data packets you transmit fail to reach their destination.

When the data you’re trying to transmit fails to reach its destination due to an error in transmission, network congestion, or other factors, it gets lost in the form of signals, thereby causing packet loss in the network connection.

When you’re playing a video game, for instance, information is passed between your gaming device and the game servers.

The number of lost packets can be determined by calculating the amount of sent packets against the packets received.

Why am I all of a sudden getting packet loss on Verizon?

➡️ Network congestion

Verizon’s servers have over 102 million users worldwide and with that number, network congestion wouldn’t come as a surprise. It is difficult to satisfy all these data-hungry users without running into packet loss issues. 

➡️ Outdated network infrastructure

The cause of the Verizon packet loss you’re experiencing could be old and outdated network infrastructure like firewalls, modems, and routers. This could cause your network traffic to lag, resulting in packet loss.

➡️ Operating system/ software issues

Software bugs could affect your Verizon network leading ro packet loss. If the software you’re using is malfunctioning, then you need to update it to avoid it introducing bugs into your network.

➡️ DDoS attacks

Hackers perform Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks by flooding your system with so many requests that your network crashes. This type of cyberattack makes it impossible for you or anyone else to access your resources. 

Can a VPN help with packet loss? 

You can reduce packet loss greatly by using a no-lag VPN such as a ExpressVPN,  but realistically speaking, VPNs can’t totally fix packet loss issues.

VPNs can improve a lot of things if your ISP isn’t delivering a great service. And if your routing is bad, using a VPN can improve your connection speed by routing your traffic through faster servers.

VPNs can give your network a smooth run in terms of curbing packet loss, but there has to be something to improve in the first place. For instance, VPN won’t magically upgrade your DSL connection to ,T1, T3 or fiber optics.

To find out more on how VPN can help you with packet loss, check this article that explains the best VPN to fix packet loss.

How to fix packet loss in Verizon?

1. Use a VPN

Using a VPN is also the best way to fix packet loss on Verizon. As mentioned earlier, VPN isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to fixing packet loss on VPN, but it goes a long way in helping out. 

We recommend using ExpressVPN because it has multiple VPN locations in the US and unlimited data and bandwidth. You can connect and route your traffic through any of these servers to reduce lags and packet loss.

1. Get an ExpressVPN subscription and install the VPN to the device from your preferred browser.
2. Launch the app and connect to a server of your choice. For Verizon, we recommend using a server from the United States.

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2. Run a troubleshooting test

This is to determine the source of the your Verizonf packet loss. It could be due to Verizon’s network congestion or other factors such as software bugs, cyberattacks, and outdated network infrastructure.

1. Select Start button > Settings
2. Go to Updates and Security
3. Click Troubleshooting
4. Click Additional troubleshooters > Internet connections > right click and Run the troubleshooter

Your PC should be able to detect any underlying network issues. Make sure to follow the on-screen instructions provided by Windows if it detects anything.

3. Update your device operating system

Update your device software to ensure that there are no bugs in the software that may lead to packet loss.

1. Select the Start button.
2. Go to Update and Security.
3. Select Windows Update.
4. Click check for updates. Any new updates will appear in this panel (if any new releases are available). Select Update or schedule the update.

4. Restart your router

Try to restart your router because it may jumpstart any connection that may have been interrupted due to external factors like the weather.

1. Press the power button on your router.
2. Disconnect from the power source.
3. Wait 30 seconds – 1 minute.
4. Connect your router to the power source.
5. Start your router and wait for it to configure.
6. Open your device and check if the connection has improved.

5. Upgrade your network hardware and update drivers

5.1 Upgrade network hardware

If your hardware infrastructure is becoming inefficient or outdated, this could lead to packet loss. Use the latest router and modem, so you can maximize your Internet connection.

If your router is proprietary to your ISP, try contacting them and informing them about your packet loss issue. They may be able to troubleshoot the problem.

Some ISPs offer routers exchanges for free to their customers, so that’s important to keep in mind as well.

5. 2. Update network drivers

1. Open Device Manager on your PC.
2. Scroll down to your Network Adapters section.
3. Right-click on your network driver and select Update.

Verizon wireless packet loss

The best way to keep packet loss on Verzion in check is to understand where the packet loss is coming from. Users suggest connecting via Ethernet can temporarily remediate the problem.

Also, if you have other issues with this ISP, consider learning how to stop Verizon ISP throttling. It can really improve Internet speed.

Run speed and latency tests frequently to be able to understand the reason for the packet loss you’re experiencing.

When you understand where the packet loss is coming from, recovery becomes an easy task.The solutions provided in this article will certainly help you reduce packet loss on your Verizon network.