Hello! My issue is a bit simple but I need to explain myself a bit.
I’m running a lower-end laptop (i7 8th Gen U - 16 GB 2400MHz RAM - MX250 4 GB GPU) with a cooling pad (my laptop only has 1 small fan for cooling) on Windows 11 with the latest updates (and some debloating) and ThrottleStop to maximize my CPU’s performance (my max is 4.10 GHz).
I also recently redid the thermal paste successfully (Max I get in game is 75C which is impressive for a laptop with a small fan).
I also make sure I have more than 20% free space on my boot SSD (which is where my game is), as well as stopping Windows Update everytime I play alongside any other service/program that uses internet or PC resources to ensure a good, clean connection.
Now I told you this because as you can see my laptop isn’t the issue, it’s my internet.
I am running on a 4G connection (Forced to stay 4G as well) with decent coverage and an average speed of 50 Mbps (which is well above the 15 Mbps minnimum requirement).
I ensure no one else but me is on the network and I make sure that the hotspot is near my laptop (I get 4 bars of WiFi).
I also set my DNS to the public Cloudflare DNS and flush my DNS through CMD frequently to ensure no software is getting in the way of me playing.
I also use a VPN to play (ExpressVPN) because the game is banned where I live and I did test the speed of the connection with and without the VPN and it’s basically the same with a small marginal difference (around 0.5 - 1 Mbps).
I even began testing different LTE bands to try and fix this issue (Band 7 works best from what I’ve found).
HOWEVER, I keep disconnecting mid-comp game for god-knows-what reason and I am legit stumped.
I test the connection in the Practice Range, then play some QP games (around 3 or 4) and the connection is very stable.
As soon as I play Comp or Stadium I get disconnected mid-game and the connection after relogging into the game is rubbery and unstable (no changes were made to the connection at all - no network change, no random VPN disconnects, no interruptions to the network on my phone - and I triple checked this with Task Manager on the side).
This has been going on for years and no matter what I do this always comes back. This also caused me to get banned in competitive modes for S17 (If you check my account, I got DCed 3 times in 1 stadium match and I legit have no control over it and no idea what caused it).
When these DCs happen, the game displays only the red square with a warning sign, everyone keeps moving through (sometimes through walls) for a few seconds and then I get disconnected with the message (Communication with the server timed out).
I have looked absolutely everywhere on the internet (Reddit, The Blizzard support forums, The OW Forums, Tom’sHardware, etc.) for a solution and no matter what I do I can’t seem to get rid of these random disconnects.
I even swapped my phone to a more modern one (Samsung Galaxy A73 5G) check if the issue’s from the phone but it’s still disconnecting me all the same.
I am someone who won’t give up on a game no matter how good/bad my teammates/enemy team are, and I always say GR and GGs after almost every round/match I play, even if I lost.
I’ll never leave a game of comp even if we were losing by a landslide because it’s rude to leave your teammates hanging.
I’ve been playing OW since 2017 and realised that there is no need to get toxic to teammates at all (it’s just a game after all) and would rather talk it out to tell a teammate that they’re doing something wrong and how to fix it (Example : “Hey the enemy is running double hitscan, do you mind swapping from a flying hero to something else?”).
Now I’m not perfect, but I do try to play as positively as possible.
I say this because all of the disconnects on my accounts are not by my own volition, but rather my bad internet disconnecting me mid-game and causing me to get banned from time to time.
Sorry for the long paragraphs, but I needed to explain my situation.
Now to sum it up, here’s what I need help with :
1 - Can you help me figure out why I keep disconnecting specifically in comp games?
2 -This one is more of a request, but can you please unban my account from competitive for this season? (I would understand if the answer’s no - just thought I’d give it a try).
PS. I don’t mind if you go into more niche PC/Connection details, and if any data is needed please let me know, I’ll be happy to provide.