We prefer fiber over other internet connections because it has symmetrical speeds. Enter your zip code to find out which options are available to you. As long as your internet connection meets these requirements, you can play games online. However, if you want to have a consistent online experience, we suggest having a slightly better connection.
The Federal Communications Commission FCC defines a broadband connection as having a download speed of 25 Mbps and an upload speed of 3 Mbps—more than enough for you to have several consoles playing online simultaneously. Latency is the amount of time a data packet uses to make its trip to a remote server and back. Picture a racquetball bouncing off a wall—how long does that ball take to come back to you?
For example, you move a mouse and your game reports that movement to a remote server. The server acknowledges the movement and sends a response showing your movements along with all the other player movements.
Your game renders the response, but because your latency is high, your movement appears delayed compared to the other players. There are a number of factors that impact latency.
These include the following:. Games that support co-op and multiplayer use regional servers because geolocation does matter, even if a server is just a few states away. The more hops your signal must traverse, the longer its journey will take—which translates to a higher latency.
Traffic congestion between you and the remote server can also cause a slowdown, too, delaying your controller input. Certain types of internet connections inherently have more latency than others.
Insulated cable connections have lower latency than uninsulated phone lines, while fiber optic cables have lower latency than both.
Keep in mind that the speed at which your signals travel back and forth is different from your download speed or bandwidth. A movie will download at a slower rate over a 5 Mbps DSL connection than it will over a 50 Mbps satellite connection. A fiber-to-the-home or building internet plan from a provider like Google Fiber or Verizon Fios is the best connection for playing games online.
Cable internet comes in at a close second, with some 5G networks also providing stable connections with low latency. Other wired connections generally introduce more latency but are still better for gaming than wireless connections. Consistent and reliable latency data is difficult to come by. The FCC was a source for some of the most comprehensive studies of internet latency. However, the agency has since stopped including latency in its annual broadband reports, so newer technologies like 5G and home 4G LTE are not included.
Although 5G is still an emerging wireless technology —especially its gigabit millimeter-wave connections— it promises to have lower latency than any other wireless connection.
Wireless connections, even fast wireless connections, will add a bit more delay to your connection. Physically plugging into your router with an ethernet cable will bypass this delay, making your connection that much more responsive.
If you must use Wi-Fi, make sure that your computer or gaming device is as close to your Wi-Fi router as possible and that you have a clear line of sight with as few obstructions as possible. Also, be sure to connect your wireless device to the 5 GHz band. Just keep close to the router, as the 5 GHz band has a shorter reach than the 2. With the Nintendo Switch, we recommend playing it docked and using a USB-based Ethernet adapter to connect it to your network.
For an expanded explanation, we pit wired connections against wireless in our Ethernet vs. Wi-Fi comparison. Power cycling your router and modem can sometimes improve their performance. To power cycle, unplug your modem or wireless gateway, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. Do the same with a standalone router when your modem comes back online. Hardware manufacturers are constantly trying to improve the performance of their products, so updating your devices regularly will guarantee the best performance possible.
Updates can also fix bugs and incompatibility issues that could be interrupting your connection. Be sure to do the following:. If your connection is still struggling while playing games online, try to reduce the amount of traffic on your home network.
Distance is one of the biggest factors in latency. Even if every device on your connection is running at peak efficiency, it still takes time for a signal to travel to a remote location and back.
You may need to switch servers if the current one is experiencing issues. While routers typically assign dynamic addresses to your devices which change over time, a static address never changes. When you assign a static IP address, you can tell the router to forward data to that address through specific ports. Gaming networks typically send and receive internet data through specific ports.
To create a static IP address and open ports to that address, you must make the changes in your router or wireless gateway. Port forwarding works with any device—not just gaming consoles. You can allocate more bandwidth to your gaming devices by making a few adjustments in your router or wireless gateway. Malware can be a real abuser of bandwidth.
Unwanted rogue apps could be could be doing almost anything behind your back: sending out thousands of spam emails, or even hacking into Web sites round the world. The other thing to bear in mind is that your neighbors may be affecting your bandwidth. Their game is unlikely to be the true culprit. If you need help to find out more about where your bandwidth is going, we can assist you with tools that monitor your actual usage and identify any problem areas.
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