I just got a new Wi-Fi 6 router to replace my aging setup, hoping for smoother streaming on my smart TV and laptop. At first, things seemed great, but now I’m noticing random lag spikes during Netflix and YouTube, especially in the evenings when my roommate is gaming. I tried rebooting the router, switching streaming devices to 5GHz, and even updating the firmware. No dice. I’ve read that DNS settings can sometimes cause weird delays. Right now, I’m using the router’s default DNS, but I haven’t tried switching to something like Google or Cloudflare DNS yet. Also wondering if QoS settings could help prioritize streaming traffic? Has anyone experienced similar lag with a new router that looked fine at first? How do you figure out if it’s DNS, QoS, or something else? Would switching DNS servers be my best next step, or is there another angle I’m missing?

On 01/23/2026 at 4:35 AM, ChuckleNoodle said:

I just got a new Wi-Fi 6 router to replace my aging setup, hoping for smoother streaming on my smart TV and laptop. At first, things seemed great, but now I’m noticing random lag spikes during Netflix and YouTube, especially in the evenings when my roommate is gaming. I tried rebooting the router, switching streaming devices to 5GHz, and even updating the firmware. No dice. I’ve read that DNS settings can sometimes cause weird delays. Right now, I’m using the router’s default DNS, but I haven’t tried switching to something like Google or Cloudflare DNS yet. Also wondering if QoS settings could help prioritize streaming traffic? Has anyone experienced similar lag with a new router that looked fine at first? How do you figure out if it’s DNS, QoS, or something else? Would switching DNS servers be my best next step, or is there another angle I’m missing?

Sounds like you’re on the right track with checking DNS and QoS. Switching to a public DNS like Google (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) can sometimes help with those random delays, especially if your ISP’s DNS is slow or unreliable during peak hours. It’s a quick test that won’t hurt to try.

Also, QoS can definitely make a difference if your roommate’s gaming traffic is hogging bandwidth. Prioritizing streaming devices in the QoS settings could smooth out those lag spikes. Just keep in mind that some routers have better QoS implementations than others, so it might take a bit of tweaking.

If you’ve ruled out firmware and frequency bands, another angle could be interference or channel congestion in your area. Running a Wi-Fi analyzer app to see if your channel is crowded might help you pick a less busy one. Sometimes the “new router” honeymoon phase just

On 01/23/2026 at 4:35 AM, ChuckleNoodle said:

I just got a new Wi-Fi 6 router to replace my aging setup, hoping for smoother streaming on my smart TV and laptop. At first, things seemed great, but now I’m noticing random lag spikes during Netflix and YouTube, especially in the evenings when my roommate is gaming. I tried rebooting the router, switching streaming devices to 5GHz, and even updating the firmware. No dice. I’ve read that DNS settings can sometimes cause weird delays. Right now, I’m using the router’s default DNS, but I haven’t tried switching to something like Google or Cloudflare DNS yet. Also wondering if QoS settings could help prioritize streaming traffic? Has anyone experienced similar lag with a new router that looked fine at first? How do you figure out if it’s DNS, QoS, or something else? Would switching DNS servers be my best next step, or is there another angle I’m missing?

Switching DNS can definitely help if the lag is caused by slow name resolution, but since you’re seeing spikes mostly during your roommate’s gaming sessions, it might be more about bandwidth contention or packet prioritization. QoS settings could be a game-changer here - try setting streaming apps or your smart TV’s IP to higher priority so they get bandwidth preference over gaming traffic.

Also, double-check if your router supports Wi-Fi 6 features like OFDMA and MU-MIMO properly; sometimes those need to be enabled manually to handle multiple devices efficiently. If you haven’t already, running a speed test during those lag spikes could help confirm if it’s really network congestion or something else like interference.

One last thing: some routers have “smart” traffic management that can backfire under heavy load, so toggling those features off or trying a custom firmware (if you’re comfortable) might give you more control. Definitely worth experimenting with DNS too - Cloud

On 01/23/2026 at 4:35 AM, ChuckleNoodle said:

I just got a new Wi-Fi 6 router to replace my aging setup, hoping for smoother streaming on my smart TV and laptop. At first, things seemed great, but now I’m noticing random lag spikes during Netflix and YouTube, especially in the evenings when my roommate is gaming. I tried rebooting the router, switching streaming devices to 5GHz, and even updating the firmware. No dice. I’ve read that DNS settings can sometimes cause weird delays. Right now, I’m using the router’s default DNS, but I haven’t tried switching to something like Google or Cloudflare DNS yet. Also wondering if QoS settings could help prioritize streaming traffic? Has anyone experienced similar lag with a new router that looked fine at first? How do you figure out if it’s DNS, QoS, or something else? Would switching DNS servers be my best next step, or is there another angle I’m missing?

Those evening lag spikes with your roommate gaming sound like classic congestion or bandwidth contention. Since you’ve already tried rebooting and firmware updates, I’d definitely test switching to a public DNS like Google (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) just to rule out DNS delays - sometimes the default ISP DNS can get overloaded or slow during peak hours.

On the QoS front, it’s worth enabling it and prioritizing streaming devices or traffic types if your router supports it well. Some Wi-Fi 6 routers have pretty granular QoS settings that can help smooth out those spikes when multiple devices are competing. Also, double-check if your roommate’s gaming device is using a wired connection or 5GHz Wi-Fi; wired is usually more stable and less likely to interfere.

Lastly, you might want to monitor your network traffic during those lag spikes with a tool like Wireshark or your router’s traffic