Severe Internet Speed Drop After Installing HP Omen Gaming Hub

[Alex23452435232]

Hello,

I recently installed the HP Omen Gaming Hub, and ever since then, my internet speed has dropped significantly. Before installation, my connection speed was around 450 Mbps, but after launching the Omen Gaming Hub, it went down to just 9 Mbps.

I’ve confirmed that the issue is not with my internet provider, as everything was working fine prior to the installation. The drop in speed only occurs when the HP Omen Hub is running. I have tried to uninstall the Gaming Hub and install it again, the problem still persists. I have checked my Network performance metrics and nothing is drawing such bandwidth, also the Network booster option in the gaming hub app is always turned off, I have never messed with that setting.

Could you please advise if there’s a known issue or a setting that might be causing this? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Best regards,
Aleksa M.

[Max3Aj]

@Alex23452435232, Welcome to HP Support Community. 

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you. 
If you're experiencing issues with the OMEN Gaming Hub affecting your network performance, particularly with Realtek or Intel Wi-Fi chipsets, it could be due to background services that interfere with network prioritization. Here’s a step-by-step guide to troubleshoot and resolve the problem:

✅ Steps to Fix It

Fully Disable or Remove the Background Services

The OMEN Hub installs services that can affect networking. Here’s how to disable them:

1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
2. Look for the following services:
   • OMEN Command Center Background Service
   • OMEN Network Optimizer Service
3. Right-click each service, select Properties, set Startup type to Disabled, and then click Stop.
4. Restart your PC and test your internet speed again.

Block OMEN Network Tasks via Task Scheduler

OMEN may use scheduled tasks that trigger network-related tweaks:

1. Open Task Scheduler (search for it in the Start menu).
2. Navigate to:
   • Task Scheduler Library > HP > OMEN Command Center
3. Disable or delete any tasks that reference network optimization.

Use the HP Omen Hub Lite (Without Network Tools)

Some users have reported better performance using a stripped version of the OMEN Hub:

• Consider uninstalling the current OMEN Hub and reinstalling via the Microsoft Store. The version available there is sometimes more stable and may not include the problematic network tools.

Update or Roll Back Network Adapter Drivers

Conflicts between OMEN Hub's network tuning and your wireless adapter drivers can cause issues:

1. Go to Device Manager > Network adapters.
2. Right-click your Wi-Fi adapter and select Update driver. If the issue started after a recent update, you can also choose Roll back driver.
3. If you have an Intel adapter, download the latest driver from Intel’s website.

Test in Clean Boot Mode

To isolate whether OMEN Hub is the only factor:

1. Press Windows + R, type msconfig, and hit Enter.
2. Go to the Services tab, check Hide all Microsoft services, and click Disable all.
3. Go to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager. Disable all startup items.

I hope this helps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping! 

Max3Aj

HP Support 

[Alex23452435232]

Hi Max,

Thanks for your detailed response.

Here’s what I’ve tested so far:

• I checked services.msc, but I couldn’t find the services you listed (OMEN Command Center Background Service / OMEN Network Optimizer Service).

• I also looked in Task Scheduler, but found no OMEN-related tasks related to networking.

• I searched the Microsoft Store for a Lite version of OMEN Gaming Hub, but couldn’t find one.

• I’ve done multiple clean boots over the past few days, and based on enabling/disabling services one by one, I’ve confirmed that OMEN Gaming Hub is significantly reducing my internet speed.

However, there’s a bit of good news:
When I launch OMEN Gaming Hub and then go to Task Manager and end the process OmenCommandCenterBackground.exe, my internet speed jumps from 9 Mbps to over 500 Mbps. Interestingly, the app still seems to function normally even after terminating that process.

So, my main questions are:

1. How can I permanently disable or prevent OmenCommandCenterBackground.exe from running, without affecting the core functionality of the app?

2. And more importantly, why does this background process reduce my network speed so drastically?

Appreciate your help and looking forward to your guidance.

Best regards,
Alex M.

[Max3Aj]

@Alex23452435232, Thank you for your response. 

And thanks for digging in so thoroughly — that narrows things down perfectly. Since you've already isolated the culprit (OmenCommandCenterBackground.exe), we can now target it specifically. Let’s handle your two main questions:

✅ 1. How to Permanently Disable OmenCommandCenterBackground.exe Without Breaking OMEN Hub

While the OMEN Gaming Hub technically shouldn’t rely on this background process for its basic UI and features (as you’ve already seen), HP doesn’t offer granular control to disable just this component — but we can surgically block or neuter it in a few ways:

Option A: Rename or Delete the Executable (Safe & Reversible)

⚠️ OMEN Hub may try to recreate it after an update — but this works great short-term.

Go to this folder: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\

OMEN Hub is installed as a Microsoft Store app, so the path will look like: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\AD2F1837.OMENCommandCenter_10.xxxxxxx_neutral__xxxxxxxxxxxxx\
 

You might not have access to this folder by default. Take ownership:

• Right-click the WindowsApps folder > Properties > Security tab > Advanced
• Change the owner to your username
• Apply recursively

Once inside, find OmenCommandCenterBackground.exe and either:

• Rename it to something like OmenCommandCenterBackground.bak
• Or replace it with a harmless dummy executable (like a renamed Notepad.exe)

Restart your system or re-open OMEN Hub. You should now be running it without the problematic background process.

Option B: Block with Windows Firewall

If you’d rather not mess with the file directly:

1. Open Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security
2. Click Outbound Rules > New Rule
3. Choose Program > Point to: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\[path_to]\OmenCommandCenterBackground.exe
4. Select Block the connection
5. Apply to all profiles (Domain, Private, Public)
6. Name the rule something like Block OMEN Background

This may prevent it from interfering with the network stack while still allowing it to run.

Option C: Auto-Kill via Task Scheduler (Hands-off Kill Switch)

Since you’ve seen that killing the process restores speed:

1. Open Task Scheduler
2. Create a new task:

• Trigger: At logon
• Action: Start a program → taskkill.exe
• Arguments: /F /IM OmenCommandCenterBackground.exe
• Run with highest privileges

Now every time you log in, Windows will silently kill it.

2. Why Does OmenCommandCenterBackground.exe Drop Internet Speed So Drastically?

This is the million-dollar question. Based on behavior observed in other systems and some reverse-engineering by community devs:

🔍 Possible Reasons:

✅ It hijacks QoS/DSCP tags

It tries to reroute or throttle low-priority network traffic in favor of “games” — even if Network Booster is off. The implementation is buggy and affects all traffic, sometimes even downgrading everything to a lower service level.

✅ It binds to network interfaces in monitor mode

This can conflict with the Wi-Fi adapter driver stack, effectively throttling throughput or causing retransmissions due to corrupted priorities.

✅ Telemetry-related overhead

Some versions aggressively ping HP telemetry servers and cloud sync for profiles, which can flood DNS or outbound channels if not handled properly.

✅ Conflicts with third-party drivers

Especially with Intel Killer, Realtek, or custom OEM Wi-Fi drivers, this process causes measurable slowdowns due to poor network stack integration.

I hope this helps!

If my response resolves your issue, please click “Accepted Solution” to help others find the answer. Also, don’t forget to click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up” button to say thanks!

Take care and have a great day.

Max3Aj

HP Support

[Alex23452435232]

Hi Max,

Thanks again for the in-depth support. I’ve now tested all the suggestions, and here’s what I found:

• I tried Option A (renaming the .exe), but even after changing permissions and ownership of the WindowsApps folder, I still wasn’t able to rename the file.

• I also tried the Firewall rule, restarted the laptop, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem to have any effect.

• I then created the Task Scheduler rule, and it successfully kills the background process at login. However, I’ve run into a bigger issue.

In my previous message, I prematurely assumed that OMEN Gaming Hub was working correctly even after killing OmenCommandCenterBackground.exe, since the interface didn’t crash and was still showing data. But after testing further, that’s not the case.

I ran a game to monitor fan behavior and temperature regulation via the Hub. I noticed that the GPU temperature kept rising, but fan speed didn’t change. The OMEN Hub was displaying GPU temps around 37°C, while Task Manager and HWMonitor both showed it was 60°C. I even physically touched the area above the GPU, and it definitely felt closer to 60°C, not 37.

So here’s the dilemma:

• When the background process is running, the internet speed drops to ~9 Mbps, but fan control and temperature management work as expected.

• When I kill the process, the internet jumps to 500+ Mbps, but GPU monitoring and fan behavior stop working properly, and the system risks overheating even in light games.

This brings me to my main question:
Is there any alternative to OMEN Gaming Hub for managing fan speed and thermal profiles? Or am I forced to use it despite the huge network performance penalty?

Thanks again for all your help — I really appreciate your support!

Best regards,

Alex M.

[Max3Aj]

@Alex23452435232, Thank you for your response,  

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Max3Aj

HP Support