Max,

You're right on basically every point, and it hits close to home, since we really want to be better than this. Ouch. Thank you for the work you did giving great and specific feedback. Thank you.

We're going to spend some time internalizing and processing your feedback, but you shouldn't have to wait for us to do that to get some guidance.

Yes, PingPlotter does exactly what you want, and you and your partner do not need the 139-page manual to do it.

1. Point it at one address (8.8.8.8 is fine) and leave it running.
2. When you encounter a problem, look at the time graph (https://www.pingplotter.com/manual/time_line_graphing/). If you see red or high latency, create a share page (File -> Share -> Create a Share Page). There are guides at the bottom of the share page that help troubleshoot.
3. If you want to go back to a time in the past (and you're still using the trial version, not the free version), drag the time graph at the bottom back to a time in the past (using mouse-dragging) until you find something that looks red or high latency. Then submit a share page from there.
4. When you've got a window that shows the problem, that's your evidence.

The getting started guide does this with current screenshots: https://www.pingplotter.com/fix-your-network/getting-started/

Now, in reality, PingPlotter is best for people who are interested in network troubleshooting. It sounds like you are and your partner probably isn't. The instructions above are the "simple" version of how to collect it, but not how to really interpret it. For that, you do have to spend more time understanding things. For that, you should go through the interpreting results part of the manual: https://www.pingplotter.com/manual/interpretgraphsexampleone/

On money: the free version handles a single target like this and is probably all your partner needs to capture the issue, but you have to catch it in action (last 10 minutes). The download is a 14-day Pro trial that drops to free on its own when it ends. Nothing gets charged unless you decide to buy.

And if either of you would rather not stare at a trace and guess, create a share page (File -> Share -> Create Share a Share Page) and send the link to support@pingman.com and someone here will read it and tell you straight whether it's your gear or the ISP.

Thanks for caring enough to write all this down. We'll follow up next week when we've had a chance to make a game plan on your comments.

-TJ