The most common issues of gamers are usually lagging issues. This means one is experiencing high ping issues or more commonly known as Latency issues. When one experiences this type of gaming issues, you might experience your game freezing or other online players will disappear and appear all of a sudden. This problem could also occur even when you do not have good internet speed. Now the question would be, is this fixable and how to fix high ping in online games? And to answer and to give solution to these annoying issues, below are a few ways to handle high ping issues.
1. Use Ethernet Cable Instead of WiFi
For gaming, it is highly recommended for gamers to use Ethernet cable instead of connecting to WiFi. This is one of the most common reasons for a high ping speed. To use Ethernet cable, all you have to do is to ensure you have an Ethernet cable that is long enough to be able to connect your computer or laptop to your router. Connect one end of the cable to your router and the other end to your PC’s Ethernet port.
If you are using a laptop, no worries as most of them have inbuilt Ethernet port and if you are using a Desktop, on the other hand, if it does not have an input Ethernet port, you could use or fit an Ethernet Network Card in your CPU.
2. Bring Your Laptop/PC and Router Closer
This might not sound so techie or a professional tip; but, to decrease high ping in online games, if you are using WiFi and you do not have access to Ethernet, it is wise to bring your PC and Router closer to each other. This way your connection will provide you better performance and will help you lower your ping speed.
For those who are using desktops, this might be a challenge. Another challenge that could arise is the obstruction of walls and rooms between your PC and router. Hence, it is better to use an Ethernet cable for desktops.
3. Close Websites and Programs Running in Background
Programs running in your device’s background could actually increase ping speed. To reduce it, it would help to close websites and programs that you are not using. Take note that running sites and programs also utilize processor resources and internet bandwidth. If other sites use high RAM and processor, this will leave lesser processor memory for your game and will increase latency.
To close programs, all you have to do is to follow the steps below:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
- Once the Task Manager notification appears, go to Process tab.
- Look for the program names in the list and select one unnecessary process at a time and click end process.
4. Limit Number of Devices Connected to WiFi
If there are numerous devices connected to your router, your ping speed will increase as well. This not only applies those who uses WiFi but also to those that are connected to the router via an Ethernet cable. The more devices connected, the bandwidth becomes higher and ping speed increases as well.
5. Connect to Local Server in Online Games
It is highly recommended that if you are playing in the US, connect to a local server. Meaning, it is wiser to connect to US server than connecting to a server located in Asia or Europe. Naturally, the farther the server is the higher the speed of the ping. Hence, it is better to play online game on a local server or the nearest server to where you are.
6. Stop Downloads on PC
Downloading anything on your PC consumes internet bandwidth and if most of your internet bandwidth is consumed, game ping speed will increase. However, if you are downloading something important, complete the download first before playing or if it is not that urgent and important, you could pause your download. Another tip is, look out for active download in Torrent clients.
7. Check Your Internet Speed
One of the main factors that leads to the control of ping speed is the internet speed. As it goes, the slower your internet connection speed is, the higher your latency is, the higher your ping speed will be.
To check your internet speed, you could use an internet speed test tool like https://www.speedtest.net .
8. Restart Your Router to Fix High Ping
Restarting is the most basic action whenever you have a slow internet connection and this is also true when your ping speed is high. Try to restart your router once in a while. This way your download speed and ping speed will be refreshed as well.
9. Upgrade Your Router
If you have been using the same router for quite a while now, it is recommended that you upgrade it. Since routers have their own bandwidth capacity and its technology could be outdated, it is wise to update your router along with your internet connection.
10. Use VPN
Using a VPN is useful for those who live in areas where online gaming servers are not located at. Hence, if this is the case, connect to a server that is closest to you and gaming server through the use of a VPN.
VPN is in fact widely used by many gamers from all over the world and it is known not to have any risk of high ping speed.
11. Use Reduce Ping Software
If everything in your PC is good and you have done all the tips mentioned above and you still have a high ping, then we recommend that you use a software that could reduce ping. Although there are free reduce ping software available, they are not as good and as effective as the paid one. We highly recommend Kill Ping https://www.killping.com and Haste https://haste.net
12. Whitelist Game in Antivirus and Firewall
If you are using an antivirus or a firewall on your computer or laptop, you will have to whitelist the game that you are playing. If you do not do this, your antivirus and firewall will monitor the communication between the game server and your computer. This means, ping will increase but if you whitelist it, data transfer will bypass the antivirus and the firewall and will definitely reduce your ping speed.
13. Optimize Game Graphics
Using real full graphics will definitely lag your game as it plays an important role in the determination of the speed of ping. Hence, it is highly suggested that you keep your game’s graphics optimized based and according to the configurations of your PC.
Conclusion:
High ping and lags are very frustrating especially whenever you are playing games. Sometimes, it could even cost you the game. While mostly are due to your internet connection, there are still many other reasons why high ping occurs. We hope that through this article, we were able to help you reduce ping and lags on your computers.
