Why You Lag In Games and How to Fix It

Everyone has encountered a moment where they were playing a game and went through lag. This not only ruins the experience but also harms the image that many games portray. Gamers all around the world share in this frustration. This is especially frowned upon in games where split-second decisions need to be made. There can be many different causes for the online lag in a videogame. 

Many people blame the video game for causing the lag. There could be however many reasons for the lag. These could either be caused by the consumer or the network provider too. The good news is that for most of the reason there is a fix. Given a little bit of effort and research, all of these problems can be fixed. Given below are several reasons why you could lag in games. Their solutions and other tips are also given too. But first, we must understand what lag is. 

What Is Lag?

Lag in simple terms is when you have higher ping than normal when playing multiplayer games. It is the speed at which online data is sent and transmitted to and from others around the world. Lag is when it takes a longer time than usual to transmit this data back and forth. 

Network Provider

A reliable network provider can bring high speeds to your console or PC. These are known as upload and download speeds. They refer to the time taken to download or upload a file in megabytes. When gaming, both of these speeds need to be of an adequate amount. Most video games work fine on a 5MB per second setup. Though there may be some that require lower or higher setups.

Lag can be caused if the service provider fails to give the necessary speed. Fluctuating internet speed can ruin your experience. Internet providers that are not reliable and well known can sacrifice speed significantly. Reliable Internet providers are known to optimize your router for online gaming beforehand. 

Many steps can be taken to fix the lag causes by issues like these. Since they are not directly caused by you, not much can be done. Upgrading your package to a higher speed setup may help but will be costly. Similarly, checking to see if the provider offers gaming services to reduce lag is helpful too. The last resort will be to research other service providers and choose a better one. 

Wifi Usage

A very common issue that many gamers go through is lag while on Wifi. Wirelessly accessing the internet is the normal method of using it. Though this can be an issue for people trying to play online. When using the internet, the speed is shared by the number of devices in use. There is no priority given to any device and they are equally using the internet.

When playing a game on Wifi, other devices can cause lag too. Watching a video on your phone or putting an app on download uses the internet. This then causes less speed to be available for the gaming machine to utilize. Lag is then caused when speed fluctuates or if enough data is not being provided. 

To mitigate this, the best solution would be to purchase a LAN cable. This connects your device directly to your internet router. This means you will be getting the best possible speeds available. Apart from this, priority will also be given to you when using the speed and data available. If a Lan cable is not available, the most you can do is game at a time where the Wifi isn’t being used. 

Location

The biggest factor in controlling your Ping is your location. When gaming online it is a necessity to make sure you are playing on servers near your region. Imagine playing from China but being connected to a server in Australia. This will naturally cause many problems when playing online. Your data has to be sent to Australia and then transmitted back. The longer distance increases ping.

Many games have the option to change your server region to one closer to you. Similarly, games provide a server browser option where you can choose servers in your region.

Furthermore, you can even ask your network provider to optimize the paths of a specific location. This reduces the time taken to send and receive data there thus reducing lag. 

Server Side Issues

One thing that you can do nothing about is when the developer has their issues. This tends to happen when a new game is released. When the online service goes live, many people bombard it with requests to get online. This can prove to be heavy on the servers and cause significant lag for all players. Similarly, some developers plan maintenance hours on their servers during which online play will suffer. 

There is no way for the player to fix these issues however the developer can. Investing in better quality network solutions is needed. Factory grade equipment is to be expected when handling this much data. The servers need to be secure and reliable just like the ones present in many factories that house industrial robots. When it comes to servers they are very sensitive. They can be affected from aspects such as the wiring to even the enclosure box. It is recommended to clean up the wiring and invest in a better network switch enclosure box. 

Conclusion

These are just some of the causes of internet lag. Lag can be extremely frustrating to gamers and ruin their competitiveness. Now that you know the causes of lag we are certain you can do something about it too. While some issues are beyond your control, others can be solved easily. We hope there are better lag-reducing options for gamers in the future.