[Cherylann Richards]

I’m on a MacBook Air running Sequoia 15.5. connected with a Cat 6 50 foot ethernet directly into the modem, wired Yeti microphone, wired headphones, Spectrum internet 500Mbps/second. I don’t have a VPN but do use IP address blocking which I TURN OFF during lessons. I also turn off my wi-fi. My local latency is approximately 7-9 ms but when I sign on with my teacher the latency jumps to around 65, sometimes higher. The video frequently pixelates briefly. I tried with wi-fi just for fun and found there is literally no difference between the wi-fi and ethernet. In fact when speed testing sometimes the wi-fi is actually better. I’m the only one in the home so no one is running other devices that could be stealing broadband. Do you have any suggestions?

[David Liao]

Dear Cherylann,

Thank you for troubleshooting on your end. Let’s check the other end too: could you ask the teacher to check that they’re using a fiber/cable (hardwired) internet connection and an Ethernet connection direct from their computer to their modem/router (with Wi-Fi off and VPN off)?

I understand you turn off IP address blocking. Is this done using an application on your MacBook Air or a setting on your router?

Could you share where you and your teacher are geographically (just sharing states would be fine)?

Also, on your end, please go to Preferences > General Options and change the Audio Buffer Size to 16 to slightly reduce local latency (from around 8 ms to around 2 ms).

Thank you,
David Liao

[Cherylann Richards]

Hi David,

I believe my teacher is set up as above. Today I did ask if she was able to get a good latency with any of her other students and the best she has gotten so far was 30 ms. Her local latency is 2 ms.

The IP address blocking setting is in my Safari under settings then privacy. There is a toggle switch.

I am in central Ohio and my teacher is in Southern CA.

Cherylann

[David Liao]

Dear Cherylann,

Thanks for the details. Very helpful.

The latency you get with your teacher definitely has room for improvement. Between Ohio and southern California, I’d expect a latency in the ballpark of 40 ms (lower would be possible if both ends used fiber).

If you haven’t yet, see how far to the left you can drag the latency slider while still getting acceptable audio quality (see 1-minute tutorial: https://youtu.be/2p9H-mCjSVw). Ask your teacher to try dragging her latency slider too.

Using the “Hide IP” feature inside Safari is fine (won’t affect your FarPlay sessions).

(We’d also be happy to answer questions your teacher might like to ask).

Thank you,
David Liao

• This reply was modified 2 days, 3 hours ago by David Liao.