Why is My Ping So High All of Sudden? (Reason and Fixes)

Right now, if you are asking yourself this question, “why is my ping so high?” then let us tell you a bit more.

A match with your friends is the most entertaining and happening thing and nothing can spoil it as much as the lag you face in your gaming groove. Many gamers also questioned why my ping is high for no reason. Believe me; it is all due to the problem in the frame per second (fps) waterfall of your game, that your game starts to lag.

Lag or latency can be defined as the amount of time it takes for a signal’s round trip from your system to the internet server and back to your system again.

Highly Recommended Solutions to Fix High Pings in Online Games

Outdated or missing graphics card drivers are one of the most obvious reasons why your ping is so high in Windows 10. In order to solve this problem, you can try to update your graphics driver to its most recent version through an automatic and competent driver updating tool, such as Bit Driver Updater.

You can download and try this tool for free by clicking on the button below.

Few indispensable points we need to understand here are:

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What is Ping?

Ping can be defined as the network latency- the amount of time your computer takes to send and receive a signal from the internet server on the other end of your system. In your case in other words, it is the network latency between your gaming device and the gaming server that leads to high ping for no reason.

Interestingly the term “ping” comes from World War II when sonar signals sent across two submarines were termed as the ping. It was a literally high pitched metallic “ping” sound that was heard when the sonar radiations radiating out of the submarines hit solid objects ahead of them or behind them specially other submarines. Decades later, the term was used again for describing the speed with which the internet from your system sends signals to the server computer and back.

What is high ping and low ping?

Low Ping means when the frame per second is around 20 ms or a little more.
High Ping means a frame per second rate of 150 ms.
Normal Ping means a frame per second that is ideally 75-100 ms in rate.

Top 13 Reasons Why Your Ping is So High:

The major cause behind encountering a lag in your game or a high ping would include one or more of the below mentioned reasons:

Quality and variety of your Internet Service Provider (ISP)
Speed of your internet connection
When your bandwidth is not adequately sufficient.
Firewall configurations
Your server’s and your geographic location for
Distance of your system from the router impact ping
Additional websites running on the background
Number of devices tagged to a single Wi-Fi.
Router Type
Router has ceased functioning
Plan upgradations
Check your Windows connection settings
Excessive heating of the system

Let us further discuss each of the problems a little in-detail and let us also find out a solution to mitigate them, so that your device can run your game smoothly and continuously. If your ping suddenly increased read the following possible reasons and apply the respective solutions for the same to play the game without any interruptions.

Reason 1: Quality and Variety of Your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Reason why your ping is so high, can be the result of your wrong choice of your Internet Service Provider. If you’re a gamer playing for real time money, this could be a reason behind your high pitch on and off, often.

While choosing your service provider, ensure that you have checked with the service provider about the latency and the speed of your internet connection.

Solution: This initial check alone or a switch to a different internet service provider are the only ways in which you can try to fix this issue, if this is the cause behind a high ping.

Reason 2: Internet Connection Speed

Internet Connection Speed is a reason that might give me the answer to the question, “why is my ping so high all of a sudden? Extraordinarily low speed can give you a high ping. If you use a dial up connection, of 56K modem then you might come across a higher ping.

Solution: Thus, using a good broadband connection might help you immensely when your ping is detected to be high.

Also know: How to Fix Steam Games not Launching or Opening on Windows

Reason 3: When Your Bandwidth is Not Adequately Sufficient

Requirement of a perfect bandwidth is not a necessity as are the connections and network efficiencies. However, you may still need to have a particular bandwidth. You need an adequate bandwidth for streaming your games, and also for your upload and downloads. Insufficient bandwidth will cause delays in completing the entire process of sending and receiving signals and thus would raise your ping over the system.

Solution: Arrange for a sufficient bandwidth to rationalize the reason behind a higher ping?

Reason 4: Firewall Configurations

Especially those Firewalls that monitor web traffic directly can cause a greater latency since these Firewalls would be treating the game as an intruder.

Solution: Either switch off your Firewall or make the game an exception to your Firewall. This would ensure that your game is no longer being prevented from sending and receiving signals, to and from the server.

Reason 5: Your Geographical Location as Well as Your Servers Impact Ping

If the distance between you and your server is more, there is a chance of a higher ping. The closer the server is from you, the lower will be your ping.

If your server is in the United States and you are physically located in Russia, there is a higher chance that you would experience a higher ping.

Solution: If there is an opportunity to choose a server that is closer to your location, then you might have a chance to lower the ping of your system.

Reason 6: Distance of Your System from the Router

Higher ping happens also when your gaming device is far from the router. The network speed decrease would lead to a higher ping.

Solution: Play your game near your router. Ensure your router is very close to the place where you are seated. A greater network speed would entail you to experience a smooth running of your device and in return your game would definitely have a standard ping thus ensuring you can move through your game without any interruption.

Reason 7: Additional Websites Running on the Background

When we are playing games, with some programs or softwares running in the background, the ping increases for our games since certain kinds of programs like Netflix and YouTube use a higher bandwidth.

Solution: Close all those programs and websites that are running in the background and that would definitely lower your ping and bring it to normal.

Reason 8: Number of Devices Tagged to a Single Wi-Fi

If there is more number of devices connected to a single Wi-Fi then there are higher chances of experiencing a higher ping.

Solution: In order to ensure a standard ping you must ensure you have connected only your device to the Wi-Fi connection, if possible. This would definitely ensure a good gaming experience on your part.

Also know: How To Fix Rockstar Games Launcher Not Working on Windows

Reason 9: Router Type

There are two types of routers that might be the answer behind your question, “why is my ping so high?”

Wired Router: Wire-connected routers give you high speed and a good network facility. This takes care of your pings.
Wireless router: Wireless routers give you a lower speed and a poorer network facility. With this wireless router, you might experience a higher ping.

Solution: Try to use a wireless router if possible.

Reason 10: Router has Ceased Functioning

Often when you’re using Wi-Fi, the router might stop functioning if you have been using a low-grade router. You have to clean your router and then remove the power cable. You will have to restart the system again.

Solution: Try using a high-quality router so that it can perform ceaselessly.

Reason 11: Plan Up-gradations

If you’re on a lower internet plan that provides less data there is a chance that you will get an erratic speed. When you’re playing games, such kinds of errors can cost you your time and also increase the ping of the game. A lower internet plan can also be a reason behind the query, “why is the ping of my system so high?”

Solution: In order to lower the ping or rather to normalize it- enough for you to have a smooth, uninterrupted service, you might need to upgrade your internet package plan to a medium or higher one, this would smoothen your gaming experience.

Reason 12: Check Your Windows Settings

If you have been using Windows 10, there can be some problems in your network or your connection settings. This can increase the ping of your gaming device and can answer, why is your ping so high?

Solution: In order to ensure that you encounter lesser problems due to your Windows 10 connection settings, you need to reset your network setting every week. This would ensure you experience a lower ping and a smooth gaming experience.

Reason 13: Excessive Heating of the System

Higher ping can be the cause of overheating of your router.

Solution: Try to cool down your system which would ensure a smooth running of your gaming device.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Ping, Latency, and Lag

If you have any doubts related to the sudden high ping in all games then you can shift your focus to the following FAQ section.

Q1. What is latency?

Latency refers to the amount of time it takes for data to be transferred from one network to another. Network latency is marked in milliseconds (ms). Also, lower latency is considered crucial for building a better user experience.

Q2. What does lag mean in gaming?

In gaming, lag refers to a noticeable time delay between the action of online gamers and the reaction of the server on which the game is running. More often than not, a noticeable decrease in the game speed is caused by the high latency (or high ping). In simple words, if you’re having a ping of 150 ms or more (which is deemed ‘high ping’), you can experience lag while gaming.

Q3. How do I lower my ping?

You can try the aforementioned solutions one by one to lower your ping in online games. All the solutions elucidated above are quite effective and helped numerous players around the world get a lower ping and ultimately reduce lag while playing video games.

Q4. How do I fix high ping?

Above, we’ve shared several tried and tested solutions on how to fix sudden high ping problems. Like many online gamers, if you’re wondering ‘why has my ping gotten worse’, then you can try the solutions in the same order as they are listed above for solving the problem.

Q5. Why did my ping suddenly go up?

If your ping suddenly increased there are various possibilities that can lead to this. Refer to the above section to find out the reasons. Go through the list of reasons and apply the solutions to address the problem. Usually, the problem can be an outdated or missing Graphics driver. Download the latest drivers automatically by using the Bit Driver Updater.

Q6. What causes high ping?

The above listed 13 reasons can be the cause of high ping on your Windows device. Try updating system drivers automatically by using the Bit Driver Updater tool. Also bring your router close to your system to avoid any interference. If the distance between your router and your PC is too high it can lead to higher pings.

Q7. Why is my ping bad?

If you are constantly facing the issue of high pings it can be due to network issues. If multiple devices are connected they might hog the connection and increase the lags. Also, update all the system drivers to achieve higher performance of your PC and reduce the high pings problems.

A Close Up: Why is My Ping So High

So now, to end this article we would like to tell you that in this article we have extensively covered 13 reasons as to why your system’s ping may appear to be high whenever you are trying to enjoy your game. We also provided you with suitable solutions that can help you reduce your high ping problem. If you are aware of any other problem that leads to a higher ping, and answers reasons for your ping being high, then please opt for the drop box and please do let us know. Drop your suggestions in the comments below.

Author: Snehil Masih

Snehil Masih is a professional technical writer. He is passionate about new & emerging technology and he keeps abreast with the latest technology trends. When not writing, Snehil is likely to be found listening to music, painting, traveling, or simply excavating into his favourite cuisines.