It is a cloudy Saturday evening. You take your gaming console and start playing your favorite Roblox game. It is raining outside and you are thanking the makers of Roblox for blessing you with such a nice piece of entertainment. Just as you are about to make your winning move, the screen freezes, subsequently killing your gaming morale.
Experiencing lag while gaming or streaming a video can be very exasperating. The latency of your internet contributes to the lag you encounter while playing a game. It refers to the speed with which data is transferred from a network to a server. As a result, if your internet has high latency, you will suffer lag for a longer period of time.
This means that even if you press the proper buttons at the appropriate time, you might lose, if your game suffers from network delays. This also implies that for gamers with a weak internet connection, playing games online can be nearly difficult.
Hence, it is very important to have a reliable internet connection that offers high speeds and is easy on your wallet. That is why prominent providers like Grande offer high-speed internet, with no data caps, and that too at affordable rates. They also offer multiple services, for instance, if you want cable TV service at your home, you can sign up for both cable TV and internet services.
Assuming that you have already gotten the most out of what you can afford or obtain in your household, there are several things you can do to improve your current connection. Let us start!
Examine your internet speed and bandwidth
To be able to game without lag, you do not require business-class internet. However, if you want to play games, you will need at least 15-20 Mbps. But you also must consider your bandwidth. If you or other members of your family are conducting other internet-related activities simultaneously, the bandwidth will be strained.
These activities could include streaming movies, TV shows, video calling, and skimming through the web. Activities that demand a lot of data like streaming movies and downloading files are particularly large. If you do not have the bandwidth to support it all, this can substantially slow down your internet and gaming.
Restart your router and modem if necessary
The first thing that you should try is restarting your modem or router. You would be shocked at how often a simple reset and restart will significantly improve your internet speed.
When my grandmother asks me to fix a problem with her computer or phone, I usually restart it, cross my fingers, and the problem disappears. The same goes for your router. Before taking more serious measures, try restarting it.
Make use of an Ethernet cable
If an Ethernet connection is available, it is always preferable to WiFi. Regardless of how efficient your internet connection and device are, a cable connection will repeatedly deliver congruous speeds and lesser latency than a wireless connection.
You will, however, be required to connect your computer or console to the router via an Ethernet wire, putting the ease of a wireless connection on the back burner. If you cannot connect with an Ethernet cable because your router is far away from your PC or gaming console, you can expand your network in a variety of ways.
Powerline adaptors are not always reliable, but they are not always awful. Extenders for WiFi are not acceptable at all. A more current solution is mesh networking. In the recent years, mesh networking technology has improved and become more inexpensive.
Hence, the main idea is that you can only connect to your router via wireless. Check to see if your WiFi signal is as powerful as it can be.
Adjust your router’s location
Physical impediments like walls and floors are one of the reasons for sluggish wireless connection rates. The connection will be affected by the distance between your device and the router, and the number of devices connected to the WiFi network. Place the router in a well-lit area if possible.
Because this is a wireless connection, distance, obstructions, technological interference, and the number of users on the network are things to ponder over. If you just have one router, put it in the middle of your house in a well-lit area.
In order to obtain the best signal possible, it should ideally be placed above most furniture and away from any other electrical equipment that could interfere with it. Another good suggestion is to align the antennas in a perpendicular position; one horizontally oriented whereas the other vertically oriented.
Moreover, when a WiFi equipment’s antenna is placed parallel to the router’s antenna, it functions optimally. This means that one antenna should be pointing up and the other sideways in case you have two.
Choose a low latency option
To begin, let us define network latency. In a network, it essentially is the distance between a source and a destination. This implies that it should be kept to a minimum. If you are playing a game with a lot of latency, it is possible that your character would not move for a few seconds after you order them to. That is why there is a lag. The optimal combination is speedy internet and low latency.
Good latency is defined as ping rates of fewer than 150 milliseconds. A time of 20 milliseconds is regarded as excellent. At this stage, you might be wondering about the causes of latency. The broadband connection is not the only factor that affects latency.
The location of the distant server, the router, and the network gear all have an impact. When data packets move from the source to the destination, instead of taking a direct path, they go through several stops. The delay is increased due to the longer router and more frequent stops. Again, it is also crucial to evaluate the distance between your network and your PC or console.
Upgrade your broadband package
There is no doubt that greater broadband can lead to faster internet speeds and lower gaming latency. You might want to update your broadband plan to one that offers better gaming conditions.
If your WiFi signal is spotty, you might want to consider moving to a broadband provider that might provide a better, connection that is more consistent.
Limit background programs and turn off other devices
If you want to get the most out of your online gaming connection, background processes and programs that waste bandwidth on your computer should be turned off. Also, while playing online, do not download any files.
To go even further, you might choose to disable network connectivity on any devices that share the same connection. While this may be unrealistic, it will improve your online gaming connection speed.
Replace your router
Old routers may harm your connection strength, speed, and authenticity. A gaming optimized router may be the best option. Gameplay routers have unique characteristics that improve all of the necessary gaming conditions. These features include the speed of the internet, ping rates as well as latency.
These options enable you to prioritize internet traffic on your console for the best gaming experience possible.
Final words
Playing games online has become a very popular past time especially after the pandemic. Hence, a lot of people spend a considerable amount of time online to entertain themselves. Because of the popularity of online gaming, it has become very crucial for households to improve their internet speeds so that gamers can have a pleasant gaming experience online.
