5 Tips To Improve Your Internet For Gaming

As a gamer who only had time on weekends to defeat his gaming buddies, I couldn’t compromise on a swift connection. If you’re a die-hard gamer, you’d know the stinging pain of losing to your friends, and then waiting for a whole week to avenge the defeat.

Well, losing sometimes is fine, but getting humiliated every week due to a spotty connection just rubs salt to wounds. And, when I was finally tired of being called a “noob” or a “camper”, I decided to fix my internet connection for once and for all.

The process of finding ways to optimize my connection was exhausting. But the hard work finally paid off when I started avenging all the defeats.

Anyway, I’m writing this article to help my fellow gamers who are going through the same problem. Below, I’ll share five tips to improve your internet connection for gaming.

So, let’s dig in:

1. Get a Fiber Internet Connection

In the US, fiber internet is the fastest connection type available today and it exclusively offers symmetrical speeds, i.e., similar download and upload speeds.

This connection type delivers internet service via fiber-optic cables. The internet signals travel at the speed of light through the fiber-optic cable and deliver symmetrical speeds. This way, fiber internet can efficiently address lag, latency, or slow loading times, which most gamers face, especially in multiplayer games.

Also, unlike cable internet, fiber internet providers don’t need to throttle users’ bandwidth during peak hours. However, a key drawback of fiber internet is its nationwide availability.

Fiber internet has only 43% countrywide availability (Source: FCC) and is mostly available in metropolitan areas. That said, if no fiber internet provider operates in your area, then you can go for a cable or 5G home internet.

These connection types don’t offer similar upload and download speeds. However, if you subscribe to one of their high-end plans, then you shouldn’t face connectivity issues while gaming.

2. Reposition Your Router

I never realized how important the placement of a router can be. A router is likely the most important piece of equipment in our home internet setup.

Now, the placement of a router comes into play as it is responsible for delivering the internet signals to our connected devices. However, when it is not placed in an ideal location, it might become ineffective while delivering the internet signals.

The internet signals emitted from the router reach our devices in the form of radio waves. These radio waves are weak in strength and become weaker when they collide with objects like heavy furniture or thick walls.

Even radio waves emitted from other electronic devices, such as baby monitors, security cameras, or sensors, can also interfere with the internet signals. Hence, it becomes extremely important to ideally place the router. So that the internet signals smoothly make their way to our devices and avoid unnecessary interference.

3. Update or Upgrade Your Router

Did you know that routers also receive frequent updates? Technically, routers are electronic devices, and like our smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc, they have software too, which gets updated over time.

These updates are crucial in ensuring that our routers work efficiently. Often, the router updates contain security patches, bug fixes, or new features that enhance its capabilities. And, it’s a must that you update your router on time so it always offers optimal performance.

That said, if your router doesn’t receive any updates, then it’s likely that it has gotten older and needs to be replaced. The average lifespan of a router is around 5 years. And, after that time period, a router might not receive software updates.

If that’s the case with your router, then replace it with a new one. Preferably, buy a router that offers the Quality-of-Service (QoS) feature. With QoS, you can prioritize your network bandwidth for different tasks.

As a gamer, you can easily prioritize your network bandwidth for gaming, and your router will ensure that the chosen task gets priority over other online activities.

4. Opt For a Wired Connection

I never liked the wired connection. For me, cables lying around my room were never a pretty picture. However, using a wired connection has many benefits, especially for gamers.

See, I mentioned above how a router delivers the internet signals through the air and in the form of radio waves. But when you use a wired connection, the cable becomes the medium. While the internet signals moving through the air can collide with heavy objects, they face no interference when they move inside the Ethernet cable.

Hence, the internet signals can move freely to the connected devices, without losing their strength. So, yes, you might need to compromise on your mobility, but with a wired connection, you can easily amp up your internet speeds for gaming.

5. Manage Your Connection’s Bandwidth

Besides my gaming console, I’ve got a smartphone, laptop, and tablet. I always thought that keeping them connected to the internet was no big deal. However, I was wrong as it put a dent on my internet speeds and bandwidth.

What I didn’t know was the fact that connected devices, even if they’re idle, consume the network’s bandwidth. For instance, don’t we still get notifications from social media applications even when we’re not using them?

Similarly, close the background applications because they also use your network’s bandwidth. So, this way, you can save the precious bandwidth and allow your connection to redirect it to more important tasks, in this case, gaming.