You are a fan of online video games but often and not exactly willingly you find yourself having to submit to annoying lags. Talking to a friend about it, you were advised to lower the ping but if you're here now and you're reading these lines, it seems clear to me that in the first place you don't have the slightest idea of what it is and, consequently, you don't even know how to do it. That's it? If so, I'd say you're in just the right place to find the information you need! Before providing them to you, however, let me give you a little more information on the subject.
Acronym for Packet Internet Groper, the ping it essentially consists of a program used to measure the data transmission delay of Internet connections from a fixed location, i.e. the time required to transmit small data to the destination. It is expressed in milliseconds (ms) and, together with download speed and upload speed, it is one of the indicators of Internet access quality. In a nutshell, the lower the ping, the better the performance of an Internet connection is, as the network is able to respond quickly to user requests.
Having understood the importance and reliability of this parameter, the time has come to take action: in the course of this tutorial, I will first of all explain how to measure the ping and, subsequently, how to try to decrease its value (as possible). Happy reading and good work!
Index
How to test ping
To perform this test, all you need to do is appeal to some special tools, some available "standard" on numerous devices and others usable online; the latter category includes websites that allow you to evaluate the speed of Internet connections and platforms dedicated to ping test, i.e. tools specifically designed for the purpose in question. Among them, I recommend the ping test meter.net: very simple to use and works on all operating systems and with all web browsers, regardless of the device from which you run it.
To obtain the most truthful results possible, run the test from a computer or from a console connected to the Internet via cable and when no one else is carrying out particularly demanding download and/or upload operations. If you cannot use the cable connection, locate yourself in an area of the house well covered by the Wi-Fi signal (or by the cellular network signal).
You ask me how he uses Meter.net? It's very easy: connected to this website, press the button Start ping test and wait a while for the service to identify the best reference server to run the test on. Now, wait a few more seconds and that's it: once the test is complete, you will see a graph appear containing the minimum, average and maximum value of your ping during the test phase, together with the final verdict. You can interpret the values obtained from your tests by doing the following.
- A ping between 0 and 30ms is considered excellent.
- A ping between 30 and 50ms is considered very good.
- A ping in 50 60 ms is considered good.
- A ping between 60 and 80ms is considered sufficient.
- A ping between 80 and more ms is considered insufficient.
For more details and insights on the matter, you can refer to my guide on how to test ping, in which I explained the topic in great detail.
Before drawing your conclusions, I advise you to repeat the test several times and at different times, in such a way as to make sure that the value obtained is the one that actually corresponds to your connection. Always consider that 4-5ms difference between one test and another are normal and acceptable values, that fiber connections generally have much lower values in terms of ping than ADSL connections or those based on the 3G/4G network and that the ping values can be influenced to be there distance from the center and the presence of any smart filters on the network. To a minimum, any slowdowns could also depend on the settings of the device used for the test.
How to lower ping: generic solutions
If the value obtained from the previous tests is not satisfactory for you, I advise you to put into practice the precautions that I indicate below, to try to remedy your problem. I certainly can't promise you miracles but, it must certainly be said, sometimes an apparently trivial strategy could prove to be decisive!
Use cable connection
The first strategy to consider is to connect the device of your interest to the modem directly using the Ethernet cable: by doing this, you will eliminate all those natural delays due to the dispersion of the signal in transit via Wi-Fi (especially if you are connected to a network that transmits a 2.4 GHz signal and not a 5 GHz one).
Connecting a device to the router using an Ethernet cable is very simple: first of all you need to get a good quality cable (preferably cat-7 or later), and then insert one end of the cable in question into the appropriate input on the device of your interest and the other, later, on the router.
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The connection should be established automatically, within seconds, with no additional configuration required. If you have a computer without an Ethernet port, you can remedy this by purchasing an special adapter, to be inserted into the USB-A port (the standard one) or USB-C port (the smaller one) of the device.
See offer on Amazon See offer on eBay See offer on Amazon See offer on eBay See offer on Amazon See offer on AmazonOnce the modem and your device are connected to each other via cable, remember to disable the Wi-Fi connection on the latter, to avoid problems, conflicts and further signal dispersion. To find out more about the subject, I refer you to my guide on how to configure an Ethernet network, in which I have provided you with all the details on the matter.
Relocate Wi-Fi devices
If it is not possible for you to put the previous solution into practice, since your real needs prevent you from using an Ethernet cable to establish the connection between the computer, the console or any other device and the network device, I advise you Of bring the device in question closer to the router, in such a way that improve the reception of the Wi-Fi signal and consequently decrease the ping value.
I advise you to also pay attention to other devices placed nearby: to try to get as "clean" a signal as possible, both the router and the device you play on should be far from other electrical appliances, especially if they emit electromagnetic waves (microwave ovens, televisions, Bluetooth devices, etc. ).
Another trick you can take to further improve the situation is to connect to reti Wi-Fi a 5 GHz, if your "operating" device supports this frequency band: if you are near the router, 5 GHz networks guarantee better data transmission, with a consequent decrease in the ping value. If you don't know how to connect to 5 GHz, take a look at the guide I have dedicated to the subject.
If interference cannot be avoided because, for example, you are in a room full of other electronic devices or your building has a large number of Wi-Fi networks, you can try changing the channel in use by your Wi-Fi network. Fi and to use one that is as least congested as possible. If you need further "tips" aimed at improving the quality of the wireless signal, take a look at the thematic tutorial available on my site.
Use Powerline adapters
Another solution that you can adopt if it is not possible for you to use a "direct" connection via cable (if, for example, the router is too far from the device on which to improve the ping) is to use a pair of Powerline adapters.
If you had never heard of them, they are devices generally sold in pairs, which exploit power line carrier technology to spread the Internet signal using electricity cables. In practice, all you have to do is connect the first of the two adapters to the router via Ethernet, plug it into the socket and then repeat the same operation by connecting the second adapter to the device of your interest.
Unfortunately, however, even Powerline adapters are not without problems: the quality of the signal, in fact, could be poor (and consequently negatively affect the ping) if the electrical system is not exactly recent, if the circuit breaker of the electrical system main is on a different floor from the one where the devices involved reside, or if the apartment is too far from the meter.
Having said that, if you are interested in considering a solution of this type, I refer you to reading my in-depth study on how the Powerline works, in which you will find the subject explained in great detail.
Limit downloads
Another good way to go, when you need optimal network performance (and possibly low ping values), is to limit download activity carried out by devices connected to the network: therefore avoid downloading large files from the Internet but, above all, make sure that the computers, consoles, televisions and all other devices connected to the router they are not streaming content over the internet or downloading automatic updates in the background.
To avoid this last type of behavior, you will certainly find it useful to read my guide to blocking automatic updates, in which I explained how to proceed step by step. I recommend, however: updating programs, applications and operating systems is of fundamental importance to maintain the security of your data, therefore remember to restore automatic updates when you no longer need a particularly low ping.
Change DNS servers
Another thing that could affect, albeit not particularly incisively, the possibility of lowering the ping is to use DNS server faster. If you don't know what I'm talking about, DNS are nothing more than those "translators" that allow you to access Internet sites by typing simple text addresses (eg. Google com) instead of very long numerical addresses (e.g. 74.125.224.72) which would then be the real coordinates of the Internet sites. As a result, using fast DNS servers makes connecting to Internet sites faster than using slow DNS servers.
There are several DNS servers that can be more or less suitable and performing based on various factors. Personally I recommend you to use those of CloudFlare (1.1.1.1 e 1.0.0.1), Google (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4) or those of OpenDNS (208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220). To find out how to set them up for your Internet connection, read my article on how to change DNS, in which I proceeded to tell you about the issue in great detail.
Contact your service provider
Have you slavishly followed the instructions I gave you but, after running the ping test again (or any other speed test on the connection) are the results still disappointing? In this case, I invite you to get in touch with the support team of your Internet service provider, in order to understand if the problem you encountered is attributable to your network configuration, or to an actual poor quality of the line.
If you have never requested technical assistance from your manager and you don't know how to proceed, the guides already available on my site will certainly come in handy: how to contact TIM, how to contact Vodafone, how to contact WINDTRE, how to contact Fastweb, how to contact Tiscali and how contact PosteMobile.
If you are unable to improve the situation even after a technical intervention, I advise you to evaluate the possibility of verifying the Internet coverage of competing service providers and to opt for a change of telephone operator: in this regard, I invite you to read the my specific tutorial on the subject.
How to lower ping: specific solutions
If you have carried out all the steps seen in the previous chapter of this guide but, despite this, you continue to experience high ping problems on some of the devices connected to the network, try following the advice below.
How to lower ping on PC
lower ping on PC, first, try not to perform "expensive" operations in terms of system resources (malware scans, video rendering, audio rendering, and so on) while performing those tasks that require a low ping, as even a Hardware response delay can affect generated ping. Furthermore, if it proves appropriate, temporarily disable the automatic updates of Windows and macOS.
In particular, if you are looking to lower ping in fortnite, of lower ping on Warzone or, again, of lower ping on League of Legends, avoid live streaming of game sessions, as the hardware resources and bandwidth required for image transmission could affect the responsiveness of the game, especially if the starting conditions are not exactly optimal.
In general, if you can't solve high ping problems by following the instructions I've given you so far, I suggest you read my tutorial on how to optimize your computer for gaming, in order to get additional information on other possible ways.
How to lower ping on smartphones and tablets
All the advice I have given you previously is certainly valid for lower ping on smartphones and tablets, but be careful: use the cellular network connection, especially if it is not a network 5G (which offers significantly better performance than previous technologies), could greatly affect the ping value and the final performance of certain games.
Therefore, my advice is to prefer the use of Wi-Fi networks, even better if you are near the main router and if the network in use supports 5 GHz frequencies. I discourage you, however, from using public networks or free hotspots, as the performance of connections of this type is almost always disappointing .
Finally, I would like to point out that some devices, such as those Xiaomi, have a special feature (usually called Turbo video games, Game Boost or similar) capable of automatically suspending all active processes during the game session. In this way, albeit temporarily, the activity of the applications will not affect the hardware of the device or the use of the network. To find out more, I refer you to reading my guides on how to optimize Android and how to speed up the Internet on iPhone.
How to lower ps4 ping
If you are looking to lower ps4 ping, you should first set up some DNS adequately fast, connect to the router via cable and, if possible, try to get the NAT 1 (or the NAT 2).
In most cases, intervening on factors of this type (after having also applied the other solutions indicated above) can prove to be a decisive strategy for solving problems relating to high ping: if you need even more precise indications on what to do, I refer you to reading my guides on how to lower the ping on PS4 and, in general, on how to improve the connection on the PlayStation.
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