Latency
Ping Test
Measure the response time between your device and our test server.
ResultRound-trip time in ms
Guides · Fix
How to Fix High Ping: Causes and Ways to Lower Latency
Ping is the time it takes a small packet of data to travel from your device to a server and back, usually measured in milliseconds (ms). When it’s high, that delay shows up as lag — most noticeable in online games, video calls and anything else that reacts in real time. Run a Ping Test to see your current number, then use this guide to work out why it’s high and what to try first.
Quick answer: To lower high ping, start by testing your connection, switching from WiFi to Ethernet if possible, stopping bandwidth-heavy traffic, restarting and repositioning your router, choosing a closer game or server region, checking for packet loss, and contacting your ISP if the problem persists.
Written by the Pingvero team · Last updated September 11, 2026
Ping Ranges
What Is Considered High Ping?
These ranges are a practical starting point, not a hard rule — your distance to the server, the app you’re using and how stable your connection is all matter as much as the number itself.
| Ping | Typical experience |
|---|---|
| Under 20 ms | Excellent. Very responsive; ideal for competitive gaming and calls. |
| 20–50 ms | Good. Comfortable for gaming, video calls and everyday use. |
| 50–100 ms | Fair. Fine for browsing and streaming; fast-paced games may feel a step behind. |
| 100–150 ms | High. A delay that’s hard to ignore in real-time apps and competitive games. |
| 150+ ms | Very high. Noticeable lag in almost anything that reacts in real time. |
A ping of 80 ms to a server on another continent can be a perfectly normal result of distance, while the same 80 ms to a server in your own country is a sign something is slowing the connection down. Treat these ranges as a general guide, then compare your result with what’s realistic for the server you’re actually connecting to.
Step One
How to Check Your Ping
Before fixing anything, get a real number to work from.
Run our ping test tool to measure the round-trip time between your device and a test server. A single result only tells you so much, though — run it a few times, ideally at different moments, rather than judging your connection on one number. If you can, test on WiFi and then again over an Ethernet cable from the same device; a large gap between the two usually points at WiFi as the source of the delay rather than your Internet connection itself.
It also helps to look beyond ping on its own. A Jitter Test shows how much that ping varies from one moment to the next, and a Packet Loss Test shows whether data is being dropped along the way — both can make a connection feel laggy even when the average ping looks acceptable. For a broader, continuously sampled read on response times, our Latency Test is worth a look too.
Diagnosis
Why Is My Ping So High?
High ping is rarely caused by just one thing. These are the usual suspects, roughly in the order worth checking.
WiFi interference or a weak signal
WiFi ping climbs with distance from the router, with walls and floors in the way, and with interference from microwaves, other routers and neighboring networks. The 2.4 GHz band reaches further but is more crowded and slower to respond; 5 GHz and 6 GHz are faster and less congested at shorter range. In an apartment building with dozens of networks competing for the same channels, that congestion alone can add noticeable delay. See our guide to improving WiFi speed for the details.
Too much network traffic
Large downloads, uploads, video streaming, cloud backups and system updates all compete for the same connection. So does anyone else on your network doing the same thing at the same time. None of this necessarily slows your download speed by much, but it can queue up your small ping packets behind that heavier traffic, adding delay before they even leave your router.
You’re connected to a distant server
Data travels at a finite speed, so physical distance adds real, unavoidable delay — and the more network hops between you and the server, the more that delay can add up. This matters most for online gaming, where the game server’s region often has a bigger effect on ping than anything happening on your own network.
Network congestion
A healthy connection has a fairly steady baseline ping. If that number climbs specifically when your network is busy — more devices active, more traffic moving — that’s a sign of congestion somewhere along the path, whether that’s your own router, your local network, or further along your provider’s infrastructure.
Router or local network problems
A router that has been running for weeks without a restart, out-of-date firmware, a misconfigured setting, or even an aging Ethernet cable can all add latency on their own. This is one of the few causes you can usually rule in or out in a couple of minutes — restart the router and see if anything changes.
ISP or routing issues
Sometimes the problem sits beyond your home network entirely — congestion on your provider’s own infrastructure, or an inefficient route to a particular destination. This isn’t something you can always fix yourself, but it is something you can identify and report, which is why testing and comparing results matters before you get in touch with your ISP.
Packet loss and an unstable connection
Packet loss and high ping are related but not the same problem. Packet loss is data that never arrives at all, and when that happens the connection often has to wait for it to be resent, which can feel exactly like a ping spike even though the underlying cause is different. See our What Is Packet Loss? guide, or check it directly with the Packet Loss Test.
Background applications
Cloud sync tools, auto-updaters, messaging apps and even browser tabs can quietly use your connection without you noticing. Individually they rarely use much bandwidth, but several running at once can add up, especially on a connection that is already close to its limit.
The Fix List
How to Fix High Ping
Work through these roughly in order. None of them is a guaranteed fix on its own — the goal is to narrow down where the delay is actually coming from.
Run a ping test. You need a real baseline before you can tell whether anything you try actually helps. Run the ping test two or three times and note whether the result is consistent or jumping around.
Restart your router and modem. This clears temporary memory and active connections that can slow a router down over time. Power both off for about 30 seconds, turn them back on, wait for a full reconnect, then test again.
Use Ethernet instead of WiFi. A cable removes wireless variability — signal strength, interference, competing networks — from the equation entirely. If your ping drops noticeably over Ethernet, WiFi was likely adding most of the delay.
Move closer to your router. If switching to Ethernet isn’t an option, reducing the distance and the number of walls between your device and the router directly strengthens the signal. Retest from the new spot to see the difference.
Reduce network traffic. Ask anyone else on the network to pause large downloads or streams while you test, since shared traffic can queue your ping packets behind it. If ping improves noticeably, congestion on your own network was a factor.
Stop background downloads and uploads. The same idea applies to your own device: check for updates, cloud backups or sync tools running quietly in the background, and pause them before testing again.
Choose a closer game or server region. Less physical distance generally means fewer network hops and lower ping. Most games and apps let you set or check a preferred server region in their settings.
Restart the game, app or your device. A quick restart can clear a local glitch or memory issue that has nothing to do with your network at all — it costs nothing to rule out.
Update your router firmware and network drivers. Manufacturers occasionally fix performance bugs in updates. Check your router’s admin page for a firmware update, and your device’s network adapter drivers through its operating system.
Check for packet loss and jitter. High ping sometimes travels with a separate problem. Run the Packet Loss Test and Jitter Test to see whether either is part of what you’re experiencing.
Test at different times of day. Congestion, whether on your own network or your ISP’s, often follows a pattern — busy in the evening, quiet overnight. Comparing peak and off-peak results can confirm whether timing is a factor.
Contact your ISP if the problem persists. If ping stays high across several tests, on Ethernet as much as WiFi, and at different times of day, the cause may sit beyond your home network. See When Should You Contact Your ISP? below for what to have ready.
WiFi
How to Lower Ping on WiFi
If you’re staying on WiFi rather than switching to Ethernet, these are the changes that tend to matter most.
- Move your device closer to the router and reduce the number of walls in between.
- Switch to the 5 GHz or 6 GHz band when your device and router both support it.
- Use a wired Ethernet connection for gaming or calls whenever that’s an option.
- Reduce the number of devices actively using the network at the same time.
- Restart your router, especially if it has been running for weeks without one.
- Check for WiFi congestion from neighboring networks sharing your channel.
- Test your WiFi separately from your wider Internet connection to isolate the cause.
Most of these are quick to try and easy to undo, so it’s worth working through them before assuming the problem is your Internet plan itself. For the fuller picture on WiFi performance beyond just ping — signal strength, router placement, channel selection — see our How to Improve WiFi Speed guide.
Gaming
How to Fix High Ping in Online Games
Games are more sensitive to ping than almost anything else you do online, so it’s worth a checklist of its own.
- Choose the closest available server or matchmaking region in the game’s settings.
- Double-check that region setting hasn’t reverted after an update.
- Use Ethernet instead of WiFi if your setup allows it.
- Pause downloads, updates and cloud saves before you start playing.
- Avoid heavy uploads — like game streaming to another platform — while playing competitively.
- Check for packet loss, not just average ping, with the Packet Loss Test.
- Watch for ping spikes rather than judging the connection on one steady number.
- Compare your ping on a different server or region to see how much distance is really costing you.
These principles apply the same way on PC, PlayStation and Xbox — the setting names differ, but network region, wired vs. wireless and background traffic affect ping the same way regardless of platform. If ping is high in one specific game but normal everywhere else, the issue is more likely that game’s server or matchmaking than your own connection.
Speed vs. Latency
Why Is My Ping High but My Internet Is Fast?
Download speed and ping measure two different things, and a connection can be strong in one and weak in the other.
Download speed is about how much data your connection can move per second; ping is about how quickly it responds. A connection can comfortably stream 4K video — a bandwidth-heavy task — while still having a slow response time, because the two depend on different things. High bandwidth mainly needs enough capacity; low ping needs a short, uncongested, well-routed path.
That path is shaped by physical distance to the server, how your traffic is routed along the way, congestion at any point in that route, and the quality of your WiFi if you’re not on Ethernet. Packet loss can also make a fast connection feel laggy even when your download speed test looks perfectly normal.
One less obvious cause is bufferbloat: when a router or modem is moving a lot of data — a large upload or download in progress — it can queue up other traffic, including your ping packets, waiting behind it. The connection isn’t slow, but everything else using it briefly feels delayed until that queue clears. It’s most noticeable as ping spiking specifically while something else on the network is transferring a lot of data.
Terminology
High Ping vs. Jitter vs. Packet Loss
These three numbers are often confused, but each points at a different kind of problem.
| Metric | What it measures | What you may notice |
|---|---|---|
| Ping / latency | How long a round trip to a server takes, in milliseconds. | A consistent delay between an action and its result. |
| Jitter | How much that ping varies from one packet to the next. | Choppy calls, stuttering video, unpredictable in-game lag. |
| Packet loss | The share of packets that never arrive at all. | Freezing video, dropped words in calls, rubber-banding in games. |
A connection can score well on one of these and poorly on another, which is why checking all three gives a much clearer picture than ping alone. Our What Is Ping?, What Is Jitter? and What Is Packet Loss? guides go into each in more depth, and the Latency Test samples continuously rather than taking a single reading.
Diagnostic
How to Find the Cause of High Ping
A few quick comparisons can narrow down where the problem sits. None of these are certain on their own, but each points you in a direction worth checking further.
| If you notice this… | It may indicate… |
|---|---|
| Ping is normal over Ethernet but high over WiFi | A WiFi problem — signal, interference or congestion. |
| Ping is high only to one specific server or game | Distance, routing or an issue with that particular server. |
| Ping rises sharply when another device starts downloading | Local congestion or bufferbloat on your own network. |
| High ping shows up together with packet loss | A broader stability problem, not just delay. |
| Ping is high mainly at certain times of day | Congestion on your network or your ISP’s network. |
Reference
What Ping Is Good for Gaming?
| Ping | Rating |
|---|---|
| Under 20 ms | Excellent — ideal for competitive, fast-paced games. |
| 20–50 ms | Good — responsive for the large majority of online games. |
| 50–100 ms | Fair — fine for most games, noticeable in the fastest ones. |
| 100–150 ms | High — a real disadvantage in competitive play. |
| 150+ ms | Very high — hard to ignore in almost any real-time game. |
These are general reference points, not fixed thresholds. A slower-paced strategy or turn-based game tolerates a much higher ping comfortably, while competitive shooters and fighting games are sensitive to differences of just a few milliseconds. The server you’re matched to matters as much as your own connection.
Next Steps
When Should You Contact Your ISP?
Most causes of high ping can be checked or fixed from your own home, but a few sit beyond your control.
It’s worth contacting your Internet provider once you’ve worked through the fix list above and the problem hasn’t moved. Signs that point toward an issue outside your home network include:
- Ping stays consistently high across multiple tests and days.
- You’re also seeing packet loss, not just a high number.
- The problem shows up over Ethernet, not only on WiFi.
- Multiple devices on the network are affected, not just one.
- It persists at different times of day, not just during peak hours.
- The high ping appears toward several different destinations, not one server.
Having a few concrete details ready makes that conversation shorter and more useful: the approximate time the problem happens, your ping and packet loss results, whether you tested on Ethernet or WiFi, and which destinations or servers were affected. An ISP can act on specifics far more easily than on “the Internet feels slow.”
Keep Diagnosing
More Network Tests
Ping is one piece of the picture. These tests look at the rest of your connection.
Stability
Jitter Test
Measure variations in your network latency.
ResultLatency variation in ms
Reliability
Packet Loss Test
Find out whether data packets are being dropped on their way to the server.
ResultLost packets in %
Latency
Latency Test
Check the delay between sending a request and getting a response back.
ResultDelay in ms
WiFi
WiFi Speed Test
Test the performance of your WiFi connection.
ResultWiFi download & upload in Mbps
Speed
Internet Speed Test
Check your download speed, upload speed and connection latency.
ResultDownload & upload in Mbps, ping in ms
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most about high ping and how to fix it.
Why is my ping so high?
The most common causes are a weak or congested WiFi signal, a server that is physically far away, heavy network traffic (yours or someone else’s on the same connection), an overloaded router, or congestion further along your ISP’s network. Packet loss can also make a connection feel like high ping even when the average number looks fine.
How do I lower my ping?
Start by testing your ping to get a baseline, then work through the usual suspects in order: restart your router, switch from WiFi to Ethernet if you can, pause background downloads and uploads, and move closer to the router if you stay on WiFi. See the full How to Fix High Ping step-by-step list above.
Is 100 ms ping bad?
Not necessarily. 100 ms is on the high side for fast-paced online games, where it can feel like a small but noticeable delay, but it is usually still fine for browsing, streaming and most video calls. Context matters more than the number on its own.
Why is my ping high but my Internet is fast?
Download speed and latency measure different things. A connection can move a lot of data per second and still have a slow response time, because ping depends on distance, routing, congestion and WiFi quality rather than bandwidth. See the section above for the full explanation, including bufferbloat.
Does WiFi increase ping?
Usually, yes, at least a little. WiFi adds an extra wireless hop that a wired connection doesn’t have, and that hop is sensitive to distance, walls and interference. The gap between WiFi and Ethernet ping is normally small, but it can grow a lot on a weak or congested signal.
Does Ethernet lower ping?
Often, yes. A wired connection removes WiFi’s variability — signal strength, interference, other devices on the same radio — so ping over Ethernet is typically lower and more consistent than over WiFi on the same connection. It won’t fix causes that sit outside your home network, like server distance or ISP congestion.
How do I fix high ping in games?
Choose the closest available server or matchmaking region, use Ethernet instead of WiFi where possible, pause downloads and uploads while playing, and check whether packet loss or ping spikes — not just the average ping — are the real issue. See How to Fix High Ping in Online Games above for the full list.
Can a VPN lower ping?
Sometimes, but not reliably. A VPN adds an extra server to the route your data takes, which usually adds latency. Occasionally, if your normal route to a game or service is poorly optimized, a VPN with a well-placed server can route around that and lower ping instead — but that is the exception, not something to expect by default.
Why does my ping keep spiking?
Ping spikes — brief jumps in an otherwise normal ping — are usually caused by momentary congestion: a device on your network starting a download, a burst of WiFi interference, or a busy moment on your ISP’s network. If spikes are frequent, check jitter with our Jitter Test, which measures exactly this kind of variation.
Does restarting the router lower ping?
It can, when the router itself is the problem. Restarting clears its temporary memory and active connections, which sometimes resolves a router that has become slow or unresponsive after a long uptime. It won’t change anything caused by server distance or your ISP’s network, so treat it as a quick, free first step rather than a guaranteed fix.
Can packet loss cause high ping?
They are related but not the same thing. Packet loss is data that never arrives; when it happens, the connection often has to wait for a resend, which can show up as a delay that feels like high ping. Run a Packet Loss Test alongside your ping test to see whether lost packets are part of the problem.
Get started
Check Your Ping Now
Run the free ping test to see your current result, then work through the fix list above.