Network packets dropping for a few seconds every 3 minutes

Question

I've been having this problem for a few months now, and have not been able to figure out what the problem is. I've noticed that when I'm on a video conference call, every few minutes, the video and audio will freeze for about 2-3 seconds. To test my network connection, I decided to set up a ping to google (and my router), and noticed that whenever the network interruption would occur, my pings would timeout. I've tested doing concurrent pings with 2 machines side by side, and can see that the other machine pings just fine during the period mine is acting up. Here's an example of what I see when I'm pinging:

64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=76 ttl=64 time=1.192 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=77 ttl=64 time=2.622 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=78 ttl=64 time=2.103 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 79
Request timeout for icmp_seq 80
Request timeout for icmp_seq 81
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=81 ttl=64 time=1839.023 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=82 ttl=64 time=834.402 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=83 ttl=64 time=2.624 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=84 ttl=64 time=1.049 ms
...
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=258 ttl=64 time=1.234 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=259 ttl=64 time=2.227 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 261
Request timeout for icmp_seq 262
Request timeout for icmp_seq 263
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=263 ttl=64 time=1101.699 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=264 ttl=64 time=98.018 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=265 ttl=64 time=1.613 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=266 ttl=64 time=3.222 ms
...
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=437 ttl=64 time=1.814 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=438 ttl=64 time=0.970 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 440
Request timeout for icmp_seq 441
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=441 ttl=64 time=1878.315 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=442 ttl=64 time=874.096 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=443 ttl=64 time=3.527 ms
...
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=616 ttl=64 time=1.466 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=617 ttl=64 time=1.430 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 619
Request timeout for icmp_seq 620
Request timeout for icmp_seq 621
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=620 ttl=64 time=2254.657 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=621 ttl=64 time=1250.068 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=622 ttl=64 time=254.426 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=623 ttl=64 time=1.744 ms
...
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=796 ttl=64 time=2.274 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=797 ttl=64 time=0.937 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 800
Request timeout for icmp_seq 801
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=801 ttl=64 time=1111.394 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=802 ttl=64 time=106.473 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=803 ttl=64 time=0.953 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=804 ttl=64 time=1.191 ms
...
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=975 ttl=64 time=0.897 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=976 ttl=64 time=1.557 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 978
Request timeout for icmp_seq 979
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=979 ttl=64 time=1801.378 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=980 ttl=64 time=797.444 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=981 ttl=64 time=1.651 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.1: icmp_seq=982 ttl=64 time=4.567 ms

The problem seems to get temporary better after a restart, but eventually comes back. I've tried closing most everything on my computer, but the problem persists. I'm at a loss as to what could be wrong, and I'm hoping this community can offer some assistance and troubleshooting steps.

EDIT: I've added sections from a longer trace. There's 1 ping every second, and breaking down the time between failures, we get the following intervals:

1-2: 182 seconds
2-3: 179 seconds
3-4: 179 seconds
4-5: 181 seconds
5-6: 178 seconds

From this, you can see I'm averaging a failure every 3 minutes (almost to the second). I have no idea what would be running every 3 minutes that would cause this issue.

EDIT2: Here are my system specs:

  Model Name:   MacBook Pro
  Model Identifier: MacBookPro14,3
  Processor Name:   Intel Core i7
  Processor Speed:  3.1 GHz
  Number of Processors: 1
  Total Number of Cores:    4
  L2 Cache (per Core):  256 KB
  L3 Cache: 8 MB
  Hyper-Threading Technology:   Enabled
  Memory:   16 GB
  Boot ROM Version: 198.0.0.0.0
  SMC Version (system): 2.45f0

EDIT3: I tried hooking up my computer to the ethernet port, and the problem seemed to go away, but came back when I switched to wireless. The other devices I tested on were also wireless, so I still feel that it's something to do with my computer, but specifically something with the wireless signal.

Answer 1

This could be happening for any number of reasons, check that your drivers are all up to date. It could also be a hardware issue possibility with your router or a cable going bad. Or it could be on your internet service providers end, they may be cutting off your data for some reason or just have a bad connection to you.