Why does my ping spike randomly

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I am on a Gigabit internet plan from Xfinity, with a mesh Wi-Fi network and a pretty high-end modem to boot.

So you would think even with high-end equipment and internet packages, there wouldn’t be any issues, well I did so too.

I had been playing some Call of Duty on my Xbox, and I was having fun when suddenly, the game stopped responding to my inputs.

It got fixed instantly, but the issue came back randomly and often made the game unplayable.

I checked my network, and as I expected, there were obvious signs of lag spikes occurring throughout this time.

I had to find out why it was happening, and get it fixed and resume my relaxing weekend.

To do so, I went to a couple of user forums and my ISP’s support websites, where I was able to understand what my issue was and got it fixed.

I compiled everything that I had found, combined with what worked for other people, to make this guide so that you can fix your internet if you are experiencing a lot of lag spikes.

Internet lag spikes are usually caused by a high bandwidth process that might be running in the background of your game. To fix lag spikes, close these programs and do not stream or download large files while playing.

Read on to find out how to update and reinstall your network drivers, as well as know-how and why you should reset your router if you have really bad lag.

Why Is My Ping Spiking?

Latency or ping is affected by various things, including what you run in the background, how your router is set up, and what your internet plan is, among lots of other things.

Any one of these can go wrong, and as a result, affect your latency negatively, which will show up as lag spikes in your game.

If you’re experiencing lag spikes you might find League of Legends disconnecting, even if your Internet is fine, which is really annoying, especially if you’re in a ranked match.

A slow or congested internet connection is one of the biggest reasons you might be experiencing lag spikes, and after reading this guide, you will know how to fix any issue that might be causing lag spikes in your games.

Close Background Processes

Even if your internet speed is pretty fast, other programs and apps will start to suffer if an application takes up a lot of your bandwidth exclusively for itself.

Case in point, my Adobe Creative Suite started automatically updating, which almost ate up my bandwidth, which had resulted in the ping spikes I had while playing.

To close background processes that might be taking too much bandwidth:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Click the column named Network twice to order processes according to their network usage.
3. Right-click on the process that uses the most network bandwidth, which you don’t need right now, and select End Task.
4. Repeat this for every process that you feel is using more bandwidth than it should be.

After closing all background processes, try playing a game again and see if the lag spikes persist.

Pause Streams or Downloads

This goes in the same vein as I had talked previously about background processes.

Turn off all streams or downloads that you currently have running on any device in your network.

Since streaming and downloading are some of the most bandwidth-intensive tasks out there, your game will begin to suffer if you are active in the background.

Lag spikes will further worsen, which will show up as the player character teleporting everywhere, thanks to consistent packet loss that occurs when there is not enough bandwidth for all the game’s data to get through.

After you turn off the streams and downloads in programs that you are not using while gaming, try and see if the lag spikes come back.

Use a VPN

VPN is sometimes hit or miss when used with games, but it has worked out for many people, so it is worth checking out.

A gaming-focused VPN is not needed, and any VPN will do, like Windscribe or ExpressVPN.

Install the VPN app on your computer, sign up for the service, and connect to a server nearest to you.

Try playing the game to see if the lag spikes are still there.

If yes, try connecting the VPN app to a region closest to the game’s servers.

For example, if you live in the US West region and playing on US East servers, try connecting the VPN to a server in the US East region.

Try the game again and see if the situation has improved.

Use ExitLag

Rather than using a VPN, which is more risky, and can set off the alarm bells in in-game anti-cheat systems, using a purpose built software like ExitLag can keep you on the safe side.

ExitLag is a paid service though, but since it is more effective at routing traffic only from your games, it is better than VPNs when it comes to reducing lag and latency.

The software connects your computer to their servers, which automatically finds the best possible route your connection needs to take to have the least amount of latency.

There is a free plan that will let you try it out and see if it fixes lag, and its $6.50 per month after the trial period ends.

It has a large list of compatible games, from the most popular ones out there to the more obscure titles.

Get the software installed and log in with your account to start making use of its capabilities.

Set the server closest to you under the game you are currently playing, and launch the game.

ExitLag will automatically connect you to the game servers using the shortest path.

Update Network Drivers

Drivers act as the intermediary between your network hardware like a router or a modem and your computer and let them communicate with each other.

As with any software, drivers are also prone to bugs or errors, but you can fix them pretty easily.

You just have to update the drivers that you have or reinstall them.

To update your network drivers:

1. Press Win Key + R to open the run box.
2. Type devmgmt.msc in the text box.
3. When Device Manager opens, expand Network adapters.
4. Right-click your network adapter and select Update Driver Software.
5. From the Driver update wizard, select Search automatically for updated driver software.
6. Follow the rest of the prompts from the wizard to finish updating the driver.
7. Restart your PC after the update finishes.

To reinstall your network drivers:

1. Press Win Key + R to open the run box.
2. Type devmgmt.msc in the text box.
3. When Device Manager opens, expand Network adapters.
4. Right-click your network adapter and select Uninstall device,
5. Confirm the uninstall prompt.
6. To reinstall the driver, click the button labeled Scan for hardware changes from the bar on the top of the screen.
7. The device will automatically be detected, and the drivers will be reinstalled.
8. Restart the computer after the driver finishes reinstalling.

After updating or reinstalling your network drivers, check if the lag spikes are still there in-game.

Restart Your Router

Sometimes, bugs in the router’s software can show up as lag spikes in your game, especially if you are gaming on a Wi-Fi connection.

Fortunately, getting most of these bugs is pretty easy; you just need to restart your router.

To do this, first, turn off the router and unplug it from the wall.

Then wait for at least 15-20 seconds before plugging it back in.

After you restart the router, try playing some games and see if the lag spikes happen again.

Reset Your Router

A router acts as the endpoint for your connection which involves a large route throughout the networks that make up the internet.

The route that the connection between you and the game’s server takes is mostly determined by your ISP, and sometimes it can take a longer route than it needs to.

Resetting your router might reset your connection and give you a more optimum route to the game’s servers.

Each ISP’s router has its own method of reset, so to find out how to reset your router, check its manual or call your ISP to find out how.

Contact Support

If none of these troubleshooting steps worked, there is still the avenue of contacting your ISP’s customer support.

Tell them that you have had lag spikes in-game, and talk to them about what you’ve tried up to this point to get this fixed.

Final Thoughts

There is a multitude of factors that go into having a good ping or latency, and the effect of having a great ping in your games will be the absence of lag.

Try to keep ping low by reducing the bandwidth that other devices and programs use by either turning those devices off or closing those processes.

You can also connect your gaming PC or console to your router with an ethernet cable to have a more reliable network connection since ethernet is always faster than Wi-Fi.

If you have a router that supports Wi-Fi Multimedia, turn the feature off and see if the lag and stuttering goes away.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my ping so high, but my internet is good?

Your ping can go high regardless of your internet speed when any other bandwidth-intensive process is running in the background of your game.

What is internet jitter?

Internet jitter is when the packet that is being sent experiences a time delay.

This is mostly a congestion based issue and can be fixed by either restarting or resetting your router.

Is 0 ping possible?

Zero ping is the ideal scenario for any network, but since data needs to travel across a connection physically, it is impossible in the real world.

Is higher Frames Per Second (FPS) good?

Higher FPS always means the experience you have with a game will be that much smoother, and you should always try to get the most out of your hardware, especially if you are playing a competitive.