What should I check first if I see symptoms of high gaming ping?

First, proceed with the ‘Compare by wired connection or close to the router’ step. You can isolate whether it's a Wi-Fi quality issue or a game server issue. We recommend that you avoid changing multiple settings at once and check to see if your symptoms change after each step.

How do I check the possible cause ‘Wi-Fi quality’?

If there is no change in the first step, compare the steps in order, including ‘Ending background download and upload’. If symptoms disappear immediately after certain actions or the conditions for their occurrence change, this can be an important clue in narrowing down the cause.

High ping and heavy gaming lag issues: When do I need a professional inspection?

Even if you follow the above solution steps in order, if the high game ping symptom recurs or hardware abnormal signals such as a burning smell, abnormal noise, overheating, or component recognition failure appear together, we recommend backing up important data and having a professional inspection.

PC FIX

Computer Troubleshooting Guide

Gaming

Problem with high gaming ping and severe lag

This guide is designed to break down things like Wi-Fi quality and background downloads in order of safety for “high gaming ping” situations. Isolate PC, line, and game server problems by checking wired comparison, background traffic, and router status.

Solving Order
We've organized the methods starting with the simplest and least expensive ones. Please check the solutions one by one, starting from the top.

Do you have these symptoms?

High gaming ping
ping 100
game lag
high latency

main causes

Wi-Fi quality
background download
Server path or ISP issue

How to solve

Please check them in order from the top. If the issue is resolved, you do not need to proceed to the next step.

Compare via wired connection or close to the router

You can isolate whether it's a Wi-Fi quality issue or a game server issue.

Difficulty Easy time 10-20 minutes cost 0 won

1If possible, test once with Ethernet.
2If wired is difficult, compare 5GHz or 6GHz near the router.
3Check if the issue occurs on other devices at the same time.

confirmation point

After these steps, see if your “High Game Ping” symptom decreases or disappears. If there is no change, we will also check the possibility of Wi-Fi quality in the next step.

Ending background downloads and uploads

Cloud synchronization, game updates, and broadcast uploads can cause delays and packet loss.

Difficulty Easy time 5 minutes cost 0 won

1Check network usage in Task Manager and Game Launcher.
2OneDrive, torrenting, updates, and broadcasting will be temporarily suspended.

Reboot the modem and router

You can reset temporary NAT/wireless status issues on your router.

Difficulty Easy time 5-10 minutes cost 0 won

1Turn off the modem and router.
2Wait about 30 seconds and turn on the modem.
3After the Internet connection is stable, turn on the router and test again.

Update or reinstall network drivers

Outdated or corrupted network drivers can cause the symptom.

Difficulty Moderate time 10~30 minutes cost 0 won

1Check the device in Device Manager.
2Check your PC or component manufacturer's site for network drivers for your current model.
3If the problem started immediately after an update, consider rolling back to the previous stable version.
4After installing the driver, restart your PC.

Compare paths with other games and servers

Certain game server or ISP path issues may not be resolved through PC settings alone.

Difficulty Moderate time 15-30 minutes cost 0 won

1Check for ping and packet loss in other games and in other server regions as well.
2If the problem persists on a wired connection, request inspection of the router, modem, and ISP.

Frequently Asked Questions

We've put together a list of things we frequently check regarding this issue.

Related issues

If the symptoms do not match exactly, please check the issue below.

Gaming

Game stutters because of packet loss

If “packet loss” is repeated, it is better to narrow the scope to Wi-Fi interference, router/ISP issues rather than changing several settings at once. Isolate PC, line, and game server problems by checking wired comparison, background traffic, and router status.

View solutions →

Gaming

Game crashes or closes unexpectedly

If you are experiencing “game crashing” symptoms, possible causes include game file or driver issues, overlays, or background app conflicts. Check error messages, game files, graphics drivers, overlays and hardware stability in that order.

View solutions →

Gaming

Severe stuttering problem in game due to shader compilation

If you are seeing “shader stutter” symptoms, candidates for the cause include shader cache generation or cache regeneration after a driver or game update. Distinguish between bottlenecks and throttling by performing comparison tests with lowered game settings and checking CPU and GPU usage.

View solutions →

Gaming

Screen goes black and computer reboots while gaming

Among gaming issues, the “black screen reboot while gaming” symptom may be related to GPU driver or power issues, or graphics card overheating. Check error messages, game files, graphics drivers, overlays and hardware stability in that order.

View solutions →

Look for other symptoms too

If you enter the symptoms you are currently seeing in the PC FIX search box, we will find the related problem.

Search for other issues →