Why Is My Ping So High? (And How to Lower It)

howtogeek.com:

It's Friday evening, and you're struggling to play online games with your friends because your ping is in the three digits. While everyone is focused on the game, you're stuck trying to figure out how to fix your internet connection. Don't worry, I got you.

Someone or Something on Your Network Is Using Up Bandwidth

In terms of your internet connection, the main factor that affects your ping is actually latency rather than bandwidth. I remember playing Call of Duty 2 back in the day with a 100Kbps internet connection, and I still had a ping of under 100ms, even when connecting to a different country.

This is because bandwidth primarily defines the maximum data transfer speed your internet connection can handle, not how quickly your data packet reaches its destination. However, you still need some bandwidth to play games with a low ping.

If you're downloading something while playing a game, the item being downloaded will use up all of your bandwidth and cause ping spikes and packet loss. A simple fix for this is to make sure you don't have any background apps running (especially game launchers) as these programs could be silently downloading data. I have been plagued with this issue several times, as some games and apps love to update in the background without my knowledge.

The same rule applies to all devices on your home network. Shut off any devices you're not using, and kindly ask your family members to take a short break from downloading too much data while you finish your match. They'll understand.

Switch to an Ethernet Cable

While Wi-Fi 7 is impressively fast and low-latency, it's still not as reliable as the humble Ethernet cable, especially if you have several wireless devices on your network. A high-quality Ethernet cable hooked up to your PC or console can transform your online gaming experience, as a wired connection is infinitely more reliable and experiences less latency. If you're already using an Ethernet cable, make sure it's the