Found a Workaround for Co-Op/Online PC Gaming

T
Userlevel 3
Badge

So, after doing some testing I might have found a way to play online/co-op games for the PC. We all know that for some godforsaken reason the way T-Mobile has their networking forced all through IPv6 breaks PnP, which in turn basically breaks all lobby-based co-op games. Things like the new PC game Outriders will just not connect when you try to get into a co-op match, period. Well, after testing out a few VPNs I was able to find one that worked fixed that issue. Surfshark is what I have been testing all day today and so far every game I was having issues with is now working just fine. It is $12 something a month though which is kinda bs considering we shouldn’t have to resort to something like this just to make our service from T-Mobile usable. Unfortunately at the moment, this seems to be the only option we have though as gamers.

Next, I will start testing out live streaming to see if this will work as well with my Twitch channel. I will let you all know how that works.

 

Hopefully, TM will eventually pull their collective heads out and fix this disaster. The link is down below.

https://surfshark.com/

11 replies

T
Userlevel 3
Badge

Did a test run streaming and gaming on my Twitch channel last night and everyone said the stream was looking smooth so it looks like the VPN will work for streaming as well. The only thing that was kinda weird was that on my side Streamlabs said it kept disconnecting from Twitch chat for some reason. Facebook gaming is also working well at the same time. I will give it another week or so and let everyone know how it’s going but for now, it is working.

D
Userlevel 5
Badge +5

There are many out there that offer specific VPN sites that support P2P (Proton, Windscribe, Surfshark... think even PIA offers it).  Just may have to pay a premium for it.

 

The trick is whether those sites are in a good location so latency doesn't go off the rails, and whether the reduced MTU and processing overhead take too much of a hit on throughput.

 

Some additional things to keep an eye on when comparing them:

Whether they support putting the VPN in the router.  That way you can use it on consoles and such.

Many offer annual plans to help cut the costs. For example, Surfshark let's you buy 2 years up front, cutting the cost something like 70% when you include free month offers that come and go as well (see youtube personalities sponsored by them that give out codes for free months).

If you aren't using it on the router, be mindful of per device limits.  Some do that whole Netflix/Hulu thing where they track and limit how many devices can connect at once on a standard account. If you are trying to protect phones and such too, this could become an issue for a large family.

I

Some additional things to keep an eye on when comparing them:

Whether they support putting the VPN in the router.  That way you can use it on consoles and such.

If you aren't using it on the router, be mindful of per device limits.  Some do that whole Netflix/Hulu thing where they track and limit how many devices can connect at once on a standard account. If you are trying to protect phones and such too, this could become an issue for a large family.

My issue is with paramount+, HBOmax, and CW we have a ton of buffering and are unable to even load and watch them.  I am however on the white box (the new box is coming tomorrow or Tuesday) we do live in a 5g area (so shocked about that one).  I am wondering if we should get a VPN or if we should in fact get some sort of WiFi extender?  These are being played from Fire 4k stick. The WiFI is actually up high and close to our main Fire stick.  Any advice would be appreciated.  I am the tech of the house and I am great at putting things together making sure we have all the right connections and I never have issues.  The issue I have is understanding the words and such.  I am a step above the thingy plugs into that whatcha ma call it. 😂 So when explaining or any suggestions ease go easy on the tech talk.  😂. Thank you all in advance. P.S. I love Tmobile internet when it is playing Netflix and/or Hulu.

 

 

T
Userlevel 3
Badge

Some additional things to keep an eye on when comparing them:

Whether they support putting the VPN in the router.  That way you can use it on consoles and such.

If you aren't using it on the router, be mindful of per device limits.  Some do that whole Netflix/Hulu thing where they track and limit how many devices can connect at once on a standard account. If you are trying to protect phones and such too, this could become an issue for a large family.

My issue is with paramount+, HBOmax, and CW we have a ton of buffering and are unable to even load and watch them.  I am however on the white box (the new box is coming tomorrow or Tuesday) we do live in a 5g area (so shocked about that one).  I am wondering if we should get a VPN or if we should in fact get some sort of WiFi extender?  These are being played from Fire 4k stick. The WiFI is actually up high and close to our main Fire stick.  Any advice would be appreciated.  I am the tech of the house and I am great at putting things together making sure we have all the right connections and I never have issues.  The issue I have is understanding the words and such.  I am a step above the thingy plugs into that whatcha ma call it. 😂 So when explaining or any suggestions ease go easy on the tech talk.  😂. Thank you all in advance. P.S. I love Tmobile internet when it is playing Netflix and/or Hulu.

 

 

Try the VPN first. I know that before I got the VPN I was having issues with Twitch and a few other sites were buffering all the time for no reason and now it runs smooth as butter so that may help with your issues as well. That and almost all of them have a 30-day guarantee to test them out. 

T
Userlevel 3
Badge

There are many out there that offer specific VPN sites that support P2P (Proton, Windscribe, Surfshark... think even PIA offers it).  Just may have to pay a premium for it.

 

The trick is whether those sites are in a good location so latency doesn't go off the rails, and whether the reduced MTU and processing overhead take too much of a hit on throughput.

 

I totally get that and agree. I am just letting you know the one that seems to be working the best with an actual test on T-Mobiles network. As for putting the VPN on the router itself unless they bought their own Nokia, I wouldn’t suggest messing around with the one that T-Mobile sends out unless they are cool possibly bricking it and paying what, $300, that T-Mobile says it will cost to replace it. You gotta remember, a lot of these scripts are not officially supported or tested on a multitude of devices and it’s always the user's risk to try it out.

 

All I know is that after testing out 3 of the best well-known VPNs around for gaming, Surfshark is the one that is working all the time on every game I’ve thrown at it so far. Sure all the VPNs I tested ( Surfshark, Nord, and Express) all support P2P but not all of them work equally as well. Latency hasn’t been a big issue so far. I got a few extra ms but even on twitch\reflex games like League of Legends and FPS shooters like Outriders and Remnant: From the Ashes, it has all been very playable and really no huge hit.

 

I work in IT, and I thought I would just try and save some other gamers the time and money and find something that works until TM fixes their mess.

D
Userlevel 5
Badge +5

Don't think you can put a tomato/wrt type firmware on the Nokia....was talking more about a Netgear/Asus/etc. router.

 

More specifically aimed at those of us who have our own routers from when we were with a more traditional ISP--those of us who want to toggle bridge mode on their device and run our own networks.

 

T
Userlevel 3
Badge

Don't think you can put a tomato/wrt type firmware on the Nokia....was talking more about a Netgear/Asus/etc. router.

 

More specifically aimed at those of us who have our own routers from when we were with a more traditional ISP--those of us who want to toggle bridge mode on their device and run our own networks.

 

Again, I get where you are coming from, I know this doesn’t solve ALL THE ISSUES. But that’s not really on us to do, is it? TM is the one that needs to take responsibility and fix their half-baked service, not their customers. One last time, this is just a fix for all the PC gamers trying to play games.

W
Badge

so it does have UPnP they are shutting it down.

 

Apr  2 11:28:16 miniupnpd[26015]: HTTP listening on port 51007
Apr  2 11:28:16 miniupnpd[26015]: Listening for NAT-PMP/PCP traffic on port 5351
Apr  2 11:28:16 kernel: (mac address) not mesh client, can't update it's ip
Apr  2 11:28:16 wan: finish adding multi routes
Apr  2 11:28:18 miniupnpd[26015]: shutting down MiniUPnPd
Apr  2 11:28:18 miniupnpd: it is advised to use network interface name instead of 192.168.50.1/255.255.255.0
Apr  2 11:28:18 miniupnpd[26101]: HTTP listening on port 53073
Apr  2 11:28:18 miniupnpd[26101]: Listening for NAT-PMP/PCP traffic on port 5351
Apr  2 11:28:21 kernel: eth0 (Int switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 3) (phyId: c) Link DOWN.
Apr  2 11:28:22 BWDPI: fun bitmap = 83
Apr  2 11:28:22 A.QoS: qos_count=0, qos_check=1
Apr  2 11:28:24 kernel: eth0 (Int switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 3) (phyId: c) Link UP at 1000 mbps full duplex
Apr  2 11:28:25 miniupnpd[26101]: shutting down MiniUPnPd
Apr  2 11:28:26 miniupnpd: it is advised to use network interface name instead of 192.168.50.1/255.255.255.0
Apr  2 11:28:26 miniupnpd[27853]: HTTP listening on port 52292
Apr  2 11:28:26 miniupnpd[27853]: Listening for NAT-PMP/PCP traffic on port 5351
Apr  2 11:28:44 WAN Connection: WAN was restored.

E

Hi Trandel_Elent, I am looking into giving your workaround a go. Figured I would ask if you are still having success with it now that its been around 10 months.

H

So, after doing some testing I might have found a way to play online/co-op games for the PC. We all know that for some godforsaken reason the way T-Mobile has their networking forced all through IPv6 breaks PnP, which in turn basically breaks all lobby-based co-op games. Things like the new PC game Outriders will just not connect when you try to get into a co-op match, period. Well, after testing out a few VPNs I was able to find one that worked fixed that issue. Surfshark is what I have been testing all day today and so far every game I was having issues with is now working just fine. It is $12 something a month though which is kinda bs considering we shouldn’t have to resort to something like this just to make our service from T-Mobile usable. Unfortunately at the moment, this seems to be the only option we have though as gamers.

Next, I will start testing out live streaming to see if this will work as well with my Twitch channel. I will let you all know how that works.

 

Hopefully, TM will eventually pull their collective heads out and fix this disaster. The link is down below.

https://surfshark.com/

Ok, so I am specifically having an issue on P2P games such as Elden Ring. Do you think this will in the scenario that I run ethernet from tmobile to nighthawk router, then to the PC, then from my PC to my ps5? 

 

If you work in IT I would much love some help.

 

Tia

A

Cloudflare VPN (1.1.1.1) works for everything except Destiny 2 and it’s free. Outside of that I highly recommend dumping T-Mobile. They are the only ISP that DOESN’T just work normally with online gaming. Apparently they have monkeys running their network.

Reply


New badge winners

Show all badges
Terms & Conditions