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 * Home
 * Video Games


WHY IS MY PING SO HIGH? (AND HOW TO LOWER IT)

By Ismar Hrnjicevic
Published 5 days ago


It's over 9000!

Lucas Gouveia / Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek


QUICK LINKS

 * Someone or Something on Your Network Is Using Up Bandwidth

 * Switch to an Ethernet Cable

 * Try Experimenting with Command Prompt

 * Your Router Is Acting Up

 * You’re Too Far From the Server

 * The Server Is Overcrowded

 * Maybe It's Your ISP


KEY TAKEAWAYS

 * Stop any downloads, close background apps, and ask your family to step off
   your network to lower your ping.
 * If you're on Wi-Fi, consider switching to an ethernet cable for a more
   reliable internet connection.
 * Use Command Prompt to flush DNS, renew IP, and reset settings to improve
   ping. Restart router if needed.

It's Friday evening, and you're struggling to play online games with your
friends because your ping is in the three digits. While everyone is focused on
the game, you're stuck trying to figure out how to fix your internet connection.
Don't worry, I got you.


SOMEONE OR SOMETHING ON YOUR NETWORK IS USING UP BANDWIDTH

In terms of your internet connection, the main factor that affects your ping is
actually latency rather than bandwidth. I remember playing Call of Duty 2 back
in the day with a 100Kbps internet connection, and I still had a ping of under
100ms, even when connecting to a different country.

This is because bandwidth primarily defines the maximum data transfer speed your
internet connection can handle, not how quickly your data packet reaches its
destination. However, you still need some bandwidth to play games with a low
ping.



If you're downloading something while playing a game, the item being downloaded
will use up all of your bandwidth and cause ping spikes and packet loss. A
simple fix for this is to make sure you don't have any background apps running
(especially game launchers) as these programs could be silently downloading
data. I have been plagued with this issue several times, as some games and apps
love to update in the background without my knowledge.

The same rule applies to all devices on your home network. Shut off any devices
you're not using, and kindly ask your family members to take a short break from
downloading too much data while you finish your match. They'll understand.




SWITCH TO AN ETHERNET CABLE

While Wi-Fi 7 is impressively fast and low-latency, it's still not as reliable
as the humble Ethernet cable, especially if you have several wireless devices on
your network. A high-quality Ethernet cable hooked up to your PC or console can
transform your online gaming experience, as a wired connection is infinitely
more reliable and experiences less latency. If you're already using an Ethernet
cable, make sure it's the correct category and isn't damaged.


Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

 

If you're gaming on a wireless-first device, such as a smartphone or the Steam
Deck, try moving closer to the router. Measure your Wi-Fi signal strength around
the house and find a spot that works for you (or isolate black spots you can fix
with a Mesh network or range extender). If this doesn't fix your high ping, at
least you'll know it's not the wireless connection to blame.




TRY EXPERIMENTING WITH COMMAND PROMPT

Command Prompt in Windows allows you to run commands that affect your network
configuration settings. Namely, you can use it to flush your DNS, obtain a new
IP address if you have a dynamic IP, and reset changes made to your Winsock
Catalog.



Don't worry if all of this sounds complicated; this step is very
straightforward. First, open up Command Prompt by opening the Start menu, typing
"Command Prompt" or "cmd" in the search bar, and clicking on "Run as
Administrator."



After opening the Command Prompt, copy-paste the following commands one by one
and hit enter after each paste:

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns 

Once you're done with the commands, restart your computer and check to see
whether your ping has improved.




YOUR ROUTER IS ACTING UP

Your router is a lot like a mini-computer, so it's susceptible to random bugs
that can disrupt its functionality. Thankfully, a quick reboot can fix many
issues. The easiest way to restart it is to unplug the power cord on the back
and wait for 10–20 seconds before plugging it back in.


Jordan Gloor / How-To Geek

If a simple reboot doesn't fix the issue, you could try doing a factory reset by
taking a paper clip and pressing and holding the reset button on the back. Note
that this will also wipe all of your router settings, so maybe it's best to try
a few other fixes from this article before you resort to a factory reset. Also,
if your router is very old, it might be time to throw it away and buy a new
router.




YOU’RE TOO FAR FROM THE SERVER

One of the biggest factors that affect your ping is the physical distance
between you and the server you're connecting to. All online games require a host
server. Some are hosted on the developer's or publisher's game servers, while
others use a peer-to-peer connection where one player acts as the host.



In the case of the latter, your ping depends on the distance between players,
among other things like your internet connection. For instance, if you're from
New Jersey, you'll have a higher ping if you play a co-op game with a friend
from Egypt than a friend from Pennsylvania.

Still, most multiplayer games use dedicated game servers, and if you live far
away from the server you're connecting to, you'll have a high ping. Depending on
the game, you might be able to switch to a server that's physically closer to
you. That's why games like League of Legends and World of Warcraft let you
choose your region. Unfortunately, if the game doesn't let you select the server
or region, there is not much you can do besides playing a different game... or
relocating.




THE SERVER IS OVERCROWDED

If you play the game regularly and don't typically get a high ping, perhaps the
server is seeing a lot of traffic. This is a common occurrence when a game or
major update has just been released, so everyone is trying to play the game at
the same time.



Think of it like this: you're shopping on Black Friday, and everyone and their
dog are trying to snatch a discount TV at Best Buy. The store is continually
overcrowded as people keep entering. The cash registers have limited processing
power, so the line keeps getting longer. In this case, the cash register is the
server, and the length of the line determines your ping.

Shutterstock/Gorodenkoff

To fix this issue, try playing on a different server that isn't as popular. If
this isn't a viable solution because your progress is tied to the server—like in
most MMO RPG games—the only option you have left is to wait until the server is
no longer overcrowded.





MAYBE IT'S YOUR ISP

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has to maintain an enormous region-wide
network, so there's always a small possibility that your local area has been
affected by an internet outage. When this happens, there is not much you can do
other than rule out the possibility that only you are affected. Talk to your
closest neighbors to see if they have the same ISP and whether they're
experiencing any issues and check for any outages on your ISP's status screen.

Another potential issue related to your ISP is that they might throttle your
bandwidth on purpose. This can happen if there is more internet traffic than
usual, so they set a hard cap for every user. While games don't use that much
bandwidth, they still need about 10–25 Mbps download and half as much upload.
Combine the bandwidth limit with a congested network, and you've got yourself a
recipe for a high ping.

The simplest solution is to wait for a couple of hours to see if the issue will
go away on its own. You could also try a VPN, though it's unlikely to help

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Sometimes it doesn't matter how fast your internet connection is, your ping will
be high. If you've ruled out problems on your end, and you've been plagued with
high ping for days, it's best to contact your ISP to see what the issue is. Be
warned that your ISP might advise you to upgrade your internet plan to fix the
issue, at which point you should strongly consider switching to a different ISP.


Readers like you help support How-To Geek. When you make a purchase using links
on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More.


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Related Topics
 * Video Games
 * Internet
 * routers
 * Gaming

About The Author
Ismar Hrnjicevic • Contributor (74 Articles Published)


Ismar is a Contributor at How-To Geek. Ismar worked at several content agencies
as a writer, editor, and manager for three years before joining the How-To Geek
team in September 2023.

Ismar is a true hardware enthusiast; he's been around Windows PCs since the ripe
age of three, which is why his family chose him as the resident tech support.
His favorite projects usually involve a soldering iron, such as upgrading bad
mechanical keyboard and mouse switches to squeeze more life out of his beloved
peripherals.

In addition to tinkering with gadgets, Ismar loves playing video games. While he
has thousands of in-game hours, many of them have been spent on optimizing his
AMD-powered PC to squeeze more performance out of it.

When he's not sitting at his desk, he's probably messing around with other
people's phones to find their quirks and features. Additionally, he follows
cutting-edge tech and is especially interested in the development of advanced AI
and how it's changing our lives.

He started his writing career in 2021, immediately after completing his B.A.
degree in English Language and Literature. To keep up with all this writing
work, he relies on three cups of coffee a day. He loves the beverage so much
that he created a blog about collecting coffee mugs to showcase his favorite
vessels.

He shares his blogging skills with colleagues at Authority Hacker. He also likes
to work on intermittent SEO projects to enhance his clients' search engine
visibility. Prior to this, Ismar helped people find work in the gig economy at
Gigworker. Ismar is a freelance pro who did various odd online jobs during his
studies before settling on writing.

In his free time, Ismar enjoys hitting the gym, playing guitar and bass, cooking
gourmet meals, and traveling. He's also a proud cat owner.


Close



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