With millions of gamers from different parts of the globe, if there’s one thing they could agree on is that slow internet connection is their common enemy. Yes, the constant lagging and sudden disconnections in the middle of a match can make you go crazy, especially if you’re a very competitive person. The unfortunate truth is, even though you give your 101% in playing, if your internet acts up, you will lose no matter what. That’s why when you search “internet” and “gaming” on Google, you’ll notice that most of it is about articles solving internet problems or queries from gamers who are experiencing connection problems.
Since you’ve found your way in this post, you’re probably experiencing the same thing, and that’s okay. We’re here to share with you the most common reasons why your internet is so bad when gaming. Even though you have the best satellite internet plan, for example, you could still experience these issues so don’t overthink just yet. Let’s start!
Your network is overloaded.
The most common reason why our internet connection acts up is because of congestion. You’ll notice this when you’re in a crowded place, and when you try to send a message or call someone, you’ll experience an extremely slow data connection. That’s because of the massive number of people that’s connected to the same network.
It’s the same at home. If there are a lot of devices connected to your router, you’ll experience a significant slow down. And sometimes, it will only show once you perform a bandwidth-heavy task like online gaming. This is easy to fix as you only need to take off some of the load by disconnecting unused devices.
You’re too far from your router.
If you’re playing via WiFi, you’re probably a bit far from your router. This is a common issue for those with big houses because they don’t actually realize they’re already far from the router unless they experience connection issues. The solution for this is also simple–move closer to your router or reposition your router in a central area so it can effectively distribute signals throughout your home. However, if your house is too big, you might need to buy a WiFi repeater.
A lot of apps may be running in the background.
More often than not, we open a lot of applications then forget to close it. The next thing we know is all these applications are running in the background without us knowing. Even though you have the fastest fiber internet plan, for example, if you have all these bandwidth-intensive apps running in the background, you’ll experience significant slow down that can affect your gaming—and we all know that feeling sucks. That’s why it’s very important to close all the apps that you don’t need while playing.
Your game’s server might be experiencing some issues.
In some cases, your internet isn’t to blame. The game servers themselves can sometimes be overloaded or malfunctioning, which results in lags, disconnections, and other problems. Game developers often give notice before holding a maintenance, but when it comes to server problems, it can happen anytime. It would be helpful to join gaming communities to stay updated with these issues that happen real time.
Your VPN is slowing your internet down.
If you’re using VPN, it might probably the culprit… probably. There are certain gaming VPNs out there that claim you won’t lag whenever you’re using it, but at the end of the day, VPNs are VPNs, which only means there’s always a chance that your connection will be affected because of the encryption. So if you have your VPN turned on, try turning it off and play again. If you’re not lagging anymore, congrats! But if you still are, there’s probably another factor contributing to your connection issues.
Final Thoughts
Experiencing connection issues while gaming is very common, so don’t worry too much. For the most part, you can fix it on your own. However, it will require a little bit of patience and resourcefulness. But after that, you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite game with your friends in no time. If you’ve done all that you can but it’s still the same, it’s best to reach out to your internet provider for further assistance. Good luck!
