What Is the Minimum Upload Speed Necessary for Online Gaming

How Much Speed Do I Demand for Online Gaming?

Mar eighteen, 2022 Share
Brand Guides, Gaming, Cyberspace Speed Guides

Yous don't demand a lot of speed to play games online. Information technology's not a bandwidth-intensive activity, so all you need is a 5 Mbps connection or faster.

But keep in mind that no corporeality of speed is going to terminate your game from lagging if your latency ranges into hundreds of milliseconds. There's a lot more to having a good gaming experience online than signing up for the fastest net programme on the planet.

We've boiled down the most important points of internet speed for gaming online, so yous know exactly what kind of connection you demand to get the most out of your online gameplay.

Looking for the all-time internet provider for gaming?

Verizon Fios has the lowest latency in our tests. If it'due south not in your expanse, see if 1 of our other best net providers for gaming is.

Download speed and upload speed

Playing games like Halo Infinite and Fortnite online doesn't require a lot of bandwidth. Unlike an online video—which is streamed over the cyberspace to your device—the graphics chip in your computer, game console, or mobile device renders (draws) the virtual world locally and displays it on your screen. In fact, very trivial information passes betwixt the gaming server and the gamer. Both sides exchange the following data:

Keyboard input
Mouse input
Controller input
Thespian location (you and anybody else)
The current globe state
Thespian communication
Server notifications (like in-game announcements)

Out of the items on the above list, actor location tin innovate slowdowns, particularly in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. These games can have more real on-screen players than the typical online gaming scenario, causing frame rate drops and "teleporting" players.

Overall, many modern games with high-definition graphics need a download speed of at to the lowest degree 3 Mbps to play online.^1,2,3

Upload speed plays an important role besides

Since games are interactive, you besides have to consider the speed at which information from your computer or panel travels to a remote server. Even a poor connection can usually meet the necessary speeds, which is why upload speed often takes a backseat to more important factors.

The typical game with high-definition graphics needs an upload speed of at least 1–2 Mbps.^i,two,3

Exercise you need a connection with better upload speeds?

We prefer fiber over other internet connections because it has symmetrical speeds. Enter your zip code to observe out which options are available to yous.

Minimum speed requirements across game platforms

* Based on suggestions made by Bungie for Destiny 2 on PC. ^ten

Every bit long every bit your internet connection meets these requirements, you can play games online. Notwithstanding, if you want to take a consistent online experience, we suggest having a slightly better connection.

Our speed recommendations for playing games online

Since the actual speed requirements are and then low, games and game systems often don't give specific recommendations. Instead, they simply require a "broadband internet connection."

The Federal Communications Committee (FCC) defines a broadband connexion as having a download speed of 25 Mbps and an upload speed of 3 Mbps—more enough for you to have several consoles playing online simultaneously.⁵

If you're not sure yous have a broadband connection, you can take a speed test to brand certain. Unfortunately, speed requirements don't bear on the disquisitional question for playing games online: latency.

High latency is your worst enemy

Latency is the amount of time a data package uses to make its trip to a remote server and dorsum. Picture a racquetball bouncing off a wall—how long does that ball accept to come up back to yous?

The ping utility answers this question by throwing a ball of data at a specific destination and recording the entire trip's duration—in other words, it pings the server. Latency is also referred to equally "ping rate."

And so, if your latency gets as well high when you're playing a game online, you lot start to feel lag.

For example, y'all motion a mouse and your game reports that move 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 considering your latency is high, your movement appears delayed compared to the other players.

Factors that affect latency

There are a number of factors that affect latency. These include the post-obit:

The physical distance between you and the server

Games that support co-op and multiplayer utilize regional servers because geolocation does matter, even if a server is just a few states away.

Why? Because y our signal moves through multiple "hops" equally it travels between you and the server. The more hops your point must traverse, the longer its journeying takes—which translates to a college latency. Traffic congestion between you and the remote server tin can also cause a slowdown, besides, delaying your controller input.

Your internet connectedness type

Certain types of internet connections inherently have more latency than others.

For example, satellite internet has the highest latency because it's a wireless transmission that travels int o space and back to attain a remote server. Insulated cable connections have lower latency than uninsulated phone lines, while cobweb optic cables take 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 charge per unit over a five Mbps DSL connection than it will over a 50 Mbps satellite connexion.

When playing games online, however, the DSL connection would exist much more responsive than satellite because the gaming data doesn't launch into space and back. The high latency of the satellite connection would cause then much lag that most fast-paced games wouldn't even be playable online.

The best internet connections for gaming online

A fiber-to-the-home (or building) internet plan from a provider like AT&T, Google Cobweb, or Verizon Fios is the all-time connection for playing games online. Cable net comes in at a close second, with some 5G networks also providing stable connections with low latency. Other wired connections generally innovate more latency only are all the same better for gaming than wireless connections.

Consistent and reliable latency information is difficult to assemble. The FCC was a source for some of the most comprehensive studies of internet latency. Withal, the agency has since stopped including latency in its almanac broadband reports, so newer technologies like 5G and home 4G LTE are not included.

Although 5G is still an emerging wireless engineering science —peculiarly its gigabit millimeter-wave connections— it promises to have lower latency than any other wireless connection . 4G and 4G LTE connections generally have much more lag than wired connections merely are capable of reaching our recommended latency of below 100 ms.

How to reduce lag

If your latency is high enough that you're starting to experience lag when playing games online , you can accept a few steps to help reduce your latency and proceed your game running smoothly.

Don't utilise Wi-Fi if you tin

Wireless connections, even fast ones, will add a fleck more delay to your connexion. Wi-Fi is user-friendly, but it adds an additional translation step between your gaming devices and your internet connection. Plus, you'll come across a delay if there are more than wireless devices connected to your router than it tin handle at once.

To bypass this delay, connect your gaming device to your router using an Ethernet cable. You won't see the latencies associated with Wi-Fi or the dramatic speed fluctuations, making your connection that much more responsive.

If y'all must apply Wi-Fi, connect your wireless device to the 5 GHz band. Information technology has a shorter range than a ii.4 GHz connectedness but is faster and less congested, resulting in reduced latency. Stay close to your Wi-Fi router, too—inside l feet or so, depending on the router—and go on a articulate line of sight to the router with as few obstructions every bit possible for a better connectedness.

With the Nintendo Switch, we recommend playing it docked and using a USB-based Ethernet adapter to connect it to your network. The Nintendo-approved Dual USB Playstand works with the Switch and Switch Lite.

You can use a similar adapter on a notebook or desktop that doesn't have an Ethernet port.

Power cycle network devices

Power cycling your router and modem can sometimes improve their performance. Since very small differences in latency tin brand a large touch on on the corporeality of lag you experience in a game, it's worth restarting your equipment.

To power cycle, unplug your modem or wireless gateway, wait thirty seconds, and plug information technology back in. Practise the same with a standalone router when your modem comes back online.

Update drivers and firmware

Hardware manufacturers release updates to improve device performance. Updates typically include security fixes, code optimizations, improved device compatibility, and increased stability. You should ever continue your firmware and drivers electric current to prevent issues that can slam the brakes on your internet connexion. Be sure to practise the following:

Update your computer's drivers and operating organisation, particularly the graphics drivers
Update your console's operating system
Update the firmware for all controllers and peripherals
Update your router'due south firmware

Turn off unnecessary applications and devices

If your connection still struggles while playing games online, attempt to reduce the amount of traffic on your home network. Make sure that someone isn't streaming 4K video in another room when you're well-nigh to commencement a new lucifer.

You can also prevent other devices from bogging downwardly the network by turning off smart devices and pausing software and OS updates while yous play—just call back to reactivate everything when you're done.

Utilize the closest server

Distance is ane of the biggest factors in latency. Even if every device on your connection is running at top efficiency, it still takes time for a signal to travel to a remote location and back.

Games almost always connect you to the nearest server, merely if y'all're experiencing unexplained latency bug, double-cheque that y'all're not connecting to the European server when y'all're playing in Due north America. You lot may need to switch servers if the current one is experiencing issues.

Use port forwarding

Online gaming networks similar Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network suggest that gamers assign "static" IP addresses to their consoles and road incoming and approachable traffic to those addresses. While routers typically assign dynamic addresses to your devices which alter over time, a static accost never changes.

When yous assign a static IP address, you can tell the router to forrad information to that address through specific ports. A port is merely a "dock" that handles a specific blazon of "ship" (data) arriving to and leaving from your router. Gaming networks typically send and receive net information through specific ports.

To create a static IP accost and open ports to that accost, you must make the changes in your router or wireless gateway. Port forwarding works with any device—not merely gaming consoles.

Use Quality of Service (QoS) controls if available

You may be able to allocate more than bandwidth to your gaming devices by making a few adjustments in your router or wireless gateway. The router will consider this traffic every bit "critical" and will prioritize your gaming data over other applications, similar Netflix and YouTube.

On some routers, you lot can only establish one specific bandwidth amount and listing the devices that tin can use that bandwidth. There are no means to prioritize specific traffic, similar gaming or streaming.

Avoid peak hours

Y'all may meet a slowdown during peak hours when everyone in your abode accesses the internet at the same time. Plus, a router is limited to how many wireless devices it tin can handle simultaneously before slowdowns occur. This heavy load is why we e'er suggest using a router with four or more streams to ameliorate handle decorated homes.

Tiptop hours are also associated with cable internet, but it's no longer the instance now that providers like Spectrum and Xfinity utilise fiber as their network courage. Rural areas that are withal 100% cable may nonetheless experience peak hour slowdowns, however.

We suggest that you play games after in the evening, or upgrade your router if it has less than four streams.

Check your connections

A bad Ethernet cablevision can lead to gaming lag woes, whether it'due south the cable connecting your router to your modem or cobweb ONT, or the one tethering your computer to the network. Also, check your modem's internet connection, as a loose cable volition crusade lag-inducing instability.

Upgrade your internet

If you lot've tried all these steps and are still experiencing more lag than you can tolerate, y'all may need to upgrade to a better internet connection.

Want to meet what providers are available in your area? Enter your zip lawmaking below.

Downloads tin can also strain your connectedness

Playing your games online will push the limits of your internet connection more than any other online activity, simply information technology's not the but way that games tin can put a strain on your connection.

Many modern games take upwardly a lot of storage space on your computer or console . This ways that downloading games from an online distributor like Steam or the Microsoft Store tin take a long time. It can also swallow through monthly data caps in no time flat.

Updates tin be data hogs too. For example, Bethesda's Steel Reign update for Fallout 76 weighs a hefty 15.9 GB when downloaded from the Microsoft Store, and seven.1 GB when downloaded from Steam. ^eight Bethesda'south long-awaited Doom Eternal Update six patch adding ray tracing to the visuals is around iv GB on Steam.

Latency should still be your number-ane priority in choosing an cyberspace plan for playing games online , just choosing a plan with unlimited data volition save you a lot of headaches. Fast download speeds likewise help out with those large new games. Later on all, having extremely long download times on Day One isn't much fun.

Livestreaming

Your internet needs become a chip more complicated if y'all stream your games on Twitch or YouTube. Streaming has all the normal requirements for a low-latency connexion for playing games online, plus the additional upload speed you lot demand to continue a steady bitrate on your livestream.

For more information on what to wait for in an net connection for livestreaming, bank check out our guide to net speed for live video game streaming. Nosotros too provide a guide on how to stream on Twitch that offers all the information y'all need.

Game streaming

Cloud gaming services like Stadia and PlayStation At present store and run their games in a virtual car you stream from their servers. Rather than download and run these games locally on your computer, console, or mobile device, you lot stream them from the deject. This eliminates whatever hardware bottlenecks that could prevent a game from running at its highest quality on your device.

That said, y'all don't need a $4,000 desktop or the latest console to play these games. Instead, you just need a browser or an app, depending on the platform. For example, you can stream Stadia on a low-end Chromebook or a Chromecast—Google's servers exercise all the heavy rendering, not your devices.

The downside to game streaming is that games are rendered on the server and and then streamed across the internet in Full Hard disk drive or 4K resolutions. And because these experiences are interactive and not passive (similar Netflix and Hulu), input latency tin be an result.

To play these services without any major issues, you need a good internet connectedness to support game streaming. Here are the net speed requirements for the 4 major gaming streaming services:

Note that Microsoft suggests an upload speed of at to the lowest degree 4.5 Mbps for Xbox Remote Play. An upload speed of ix Mbps or more is platonic.^nine

What about Steam Remote Play?

Valve Software suggests speeds simply in regards to Steam Remote Play Together. This service allows one Steam gamer to run a purchased multiplayer game locally on a PC and so invite iv or more Steam friends to play remotely. Information technology'due south optimized to stream games to iv other players at 1080p and sixty frames per 2d, and so Valve suggests using a connection of 10–30 Mbps at the to the lowest degree.

This speed proposition probably also applies to Remote Play Together+Anywhere, which still streams the multiplayer game from a PC, but now the game owner is streaming remotely too. Meanwhile, Remote Play Anywhere streams to one client only, so the necessary internet speeds shouldn't need to become across 10 Mbps.

Online games vs. playing games online

We spend a lot of time discussing games you can play online, which are games that target the single-player experience offset and include multiplayer components. Games that autumn under the "play games online" umbrella would include Doom Eternal , Pokemon Sword and Shield , Destiny 2 , and Halo Space . They can experience latency when played in co-op and multiplayer modes, specially when more than than a few players are moving on the screen.

Online games, even so, tin be highly susceptible to latency. These include The Elderberry Scrolls Online , World of Warcraft , and similar MMOs. The actor count is typically high, which means both the server and the client (your game) must keep track of every player. This can be a huge processing load even if you have the best connection available. Your frame charge per unit may drop and your input may feel tedious.

The lesser line: proceed your latency depression

If gaming online is your primary concern when choosing an internet program, choice the ane that gives you the lowest latency, similar Verizon Fios. Merely keep in mind that other online activities like downloading games, livestreaming, or cloud gaming (not to mention things similar watching video, working online, or doing schoolwork) take their ain requirements that you lot should consider.

Sources

Nintendo Customer Support, "Troubleshooting Slow Download and Upload Speeds," Accessed December 3, 2020.
Xbox Back up, "Troubleshoot your network connection speed," Accessed December 4, 2020.
PlayStation Help & Support, "PS4 Mistake Code NP-37667-9," Accessed December iv, 2020.
PlayStation Help & Back up, "PS4 Error Code NP-38497-one," Accessed December 4, 2020.
Federal Communications Commission, "2015 Broadband Progress Study," February four, 2015. Accessed December four, 2020.
Stadia Assist, "Bandwidth, information usage, and stream quality," Accessed December v, 2020.
Federal Communications Commission, "7th Measuring Broadband America Fixed Broadband Written report: Appendix F-1," May 20, 2011, Accessed December xvi, 2020.
Bethesda, " Fallout 76 Update Notes ," July 7, 2021. Accessed July thirteen, 2021.
Microsoft, "Understanding Your Remote Play Setup Test Results," Accessed December 22, 2021.
Bungie, "Network Setup: Wifi vs. Wired Connections," Accessed Dec 22, 2021.

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Writer - Peter Christiansen

Peter Christiansen writes most satellite internet, rural connectivity, livestreaming, and parental controls for HighSpeedInternet.com. Peter holds a PhD in advice from the Academy of Utah and has been working in tech for over fifteen years equally a estimator programmer, game developer, filmmaker, and writer. His writing has been praised by outlets similar Wired, Digital Humanities At present, and the New Statesman.

Editor - Cara Haynes

Cara Haynes has been editing and writing in the digital space for 7 years, and she's edited all things internet for HighSpeedInternet.com for five years. She graduated with a BA in English and a pocket-size in editing from Brigham Immature Academy. When she's not editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands similar Pluralsight. She believes no one should feel lost in internet state and that a good internet connexion significantly extends your life span.

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