How to reduce your ping

Modern online games require a lot of resources from your computer. But sometimes, even if you have an above-average or top-spec machine, it’s still possible to experience ping issues. Ping is measured in milliseconds (ms) and represents the time between when your computer sends a data packet to a server and the server receives it.

When playing online multiplayer games, a decent ping is less than 60 ms, while a ping value of 20 to 30 ms is almost perfect. Unfortunately, there are times when you simply can’t achieve a high enough ping to outperform your opponents. If you can relate, check out the rest of this article to learn how to improve your ping.

How to reduce your ping and improve online gaming

Since there are numerous factors that affect the quality of your connection to the game server, there is a list of things you can do.

• Be sure to disable any updates that may be running in the background. These are the most likely cause of high pings, as they will download without you realizing it, consuming your internet bandwidth. For example you can go to Settings > Update & security > Advanced optionsselect Puse updates and set a value.
• If you are running multiple apps in the background while playing an online game, this can also consume a lot of resources on your device and cause connection issues. The best practice, in this case, is to close all background applications and allow your computer or console to fully dedicate itself to the game you are playing.
• If you are using a Wi-Fi connection, the first thing you should try is to reset your router.
• Next, try moving the router in hopes that your gaming controller will pick up a better signal.
• Sometimes there may be one or two devices nearby that interfere with the Wi-Fi signal. Try moving any suspicious devices to another room, just to make sure they aren’t the ones causing the problem.
• If none of this works, then you need to connect your device directly to the router using an Ethernet cable. This will provide a connection that is much less sensitive to any external interference.
• Finally, check the system requirements for the game you are playing. If your computer fails to process all the information in time, that is when network lag may appear. To resolve this issue, be sure to use the graphics settings that the game automatically recommends. If this does not resolve the high ping, try reducing the screen resolution or the quality of visual details.

If none of these options help you significantly improve your ping, you can try playing with the game settings. Since each game has specific characteristics, the following sections will cover some of the most popular games today.

How to reduce your ping in Roblox

When playing Roblox online, the first thing you should do is check the game’s graphics settings. Depending on your computer configuration, reducing the graphics quality a little could improve your ping.

1. Hit Escape on your keyboard to open the main menu.
   
2. Now click Graphics to open the relevant settings.
   
3. change the sunGraphic mode of Automatic to Manual.
   
4. Now try narrowing down some of the available options and see how well the game plays after that.

Once you find the right balance between appearance and performance, your ping will likely improve.

How to reduce your ping in Fortnite

If you have done everything you can to make the connection to the game server as good as possible, it is time to check out the game options that could help you.

1. While in the game, press the Escape key on your keyboard.
   
2. Then click Settings.
   
3. In the top menu, click on the game settings icon, the one that looks like a gear.
   
4. In it Language and region section, go to the Pairing region option.
   
5. On the right side of the screen, you should see the available regions that you can use. Select the one with the lowest latency: the number in parentheses next to the region name. For example, you might find something like this: NA-WEST (52MS). This relates to the western part of the North America region, which has a decent ping of 52 milliseconds, on average.
   

Once you switch to the region with the lowest ping, simply exit settings and continue playing.

How to reduce your ping on PS4

To quickly improve the ping on your SONY PlayStation 4, do the following:

1. In the start menu, go to Settings.
2. Select Grid.
3. Select Set up your Internet connection.
4. Select Wifi either LAN, depending on the connection you are currently using. To avoid confusion, LAN is the Ethernet cable connection.
5. Choose your router from the list and press the button Option button on the controller. Now you can check if it is operating on a 5GHz or 2.4GHz frequency. If your PS4 is in the same room as your router, choose 5GHz. If not, opt for the 2.4GHz option.
6. Now set the following options like this:
   1. IP Settings: Automatic
   2. DNCP hostname: Do not specify
   3. DNS settings: Manual
7. The next step is to configure the DNS settings. These will depend on your location, so use the following parameters depending on your region:
   1. USA
      1. Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8
      2. Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4
   2. Europe
      1. Primary DNS: 1.1.1.1
      2. Secondary DNS: 1.0.0.1
8. Now save the settings and exit the menu.

If you apply these settings, your ping should improve significantly. Otherwise, see the first section of this article for tips on what to do.

How to reduce your ping on Xbox

After you have tried the steps outlined in the first section of this article and your Xbox is still having ping issues, you may need to force reset your network settings. Here’s how to do this:

1. Go to the Xbox “Network Settings” menu.
   
2. Now, choose the Go offline option.
   
3. Wait until the console disconnects.
4. Once it is disconnected, wait 20 to 30 seconds.
5. Now select go online and wait for your Xbox to reconnect.
   

This will allow the router to assign a new IP address to your console, allowing you to achieve a lower ping.

How to reduce your ping on a PC

Since most of the suggestions in the first section of this article also relate to PCs, you should try them all first. If they don’t help, here’s something else you can try.

Since your computer is probably using some type of firewall or antivirus or even both, it would be wise to add your online games to your whitelists. Thanks to this, the firewall and/or antivirus will treat the communication between the game and its server as normal traffic. This will reduce the amount of security scans, thus avoiding possible drops in connection speed responsible for high pings.

How to reduce your ping in Valorant

If you are experiencing high ping in Valorant, there is not much you can do about it other than the steps you can find in the sections above. Review each of them, especially focusing on connecting to servers that are geographically closest to you.

How to reduce your ping in Minecraft

To resolve lag in your Minecraft session due to high ping, try lowering the game’s graphics settings significantly. If the high ping persists, you will know that it is not the game settings that are causing this.

1. While you are in the game, open the main menu and choose OptionsAnd go to Video settings.
   
2. Place Graphics to Fast.
   
3. Then turn off Soft lighting.
   
4. Significantly reduce Render distance.
   
5. Place Maximum frame rate at 60 fps.
   

If the game no longer lags, you can go back to the video settings and start increasing some of the options until you find the right balance.

Additional FAQs

What does it mean to reduce ping?

Reducing ping means establishing a better quality connection between your computer and the game server you are using.

How can I reduce my ping?

When talking about reducing your ping, this also means that you are trying to improve the speed of your connection. As mentioned above, you can reduce your ping in several ways. If you use Wi-Fi, try moving your router or connecting it to your computer using an Ethernet cable. Also, be sure to connect to servers dedicated to your region or those that are geographically close.

Why is my whistle so loud?

There can be many reasons for this, and the most common ones include poor Wi-Fi reception, network interference from nearby devices, or connecting to a server that is far from you. Additionally, the game’s graphics settings may be too high, causing the game to occasionally lag.

Is a higher ping better than a lower ping?

No, it’s not. A higher ping shows you how long it takes your computer to send a signal to the server. If it takes longer than it should, you will have higher ping values. You want to keep it as low as possible, meaning there is almost no latency in the communication between your computer and the server.

Keep ping low

Hopefully, now you know how to reduce ping when playing video games. Whether it’s an issue with your network settings or something specific to the game you’re playing, you’ll likely be able to resolve the issue.

Just keep in mind that most of the time, ping issues are due to a bad network connection, rather than the game itself. And sometimes, the fault is not yours at all: the server you are on may be experiencing problems at that moment.

Have you managed to lower your ping? Which game have you had the most ping problems with? Share your experiences in the comments section below.