How to optimize your router settings for gaming

When you’re deep in an online gaming session, nothing is more important than a stable connection. Packet loss, high ping, spotty Wi-Fi or complete dropouts can be the difference between gaining some precious MMR and heartbreak if you take your gaming seriously. Some games are more susceptible to issues with your internet than others (if you’re a full-time Minecraft builder, you probably don’t need sub-10ms ping to every server you use.)

Dealing with bad Wi-Fi or ethernet while gaming can be frustrating, and issues around your internet are often opaque to diagnose. But not all is lost, there are some things you can attempt to improve your connection to your favourite games. These tips below aren’t guaranteed to work, but are a good start for debugging and diagnosing issues with poor connection.

We’ll be focusing on gaming here, but you can checkout other ideas for optimizing your network for streaming.

Setup QoS for your favourite games

Slow down unimportant traffic

If you’re struggling with bandwidth issues, or an overloaded router, something that can help is packet prioritization (or Quality of Service (QoS)). By assigning individual applications, ports or devices a higher priority on your router, you tell your router how to prioritize those packets.

QoS is normally configured on your router, usually under some sort of advanced settings. Not all routers support this though, so you might need to dig around a little bit. QoS configuration can come in many types, but one of the most common is prioritizing either specific devices or applications via a ‘priority’ field, where packets are prioritized depending on their priority value. Note that this is usually different to ‘bandwidth controls’ or similar, which are normally designed to throttle or limit a specific devices’ traffic.

Below is a loose guide to how to set up QoS. This will vary depending on your router:

1. Access your router’s settings (usually at 192.168.1.1 or similar gateway IP).
2. Find the QoS settings, which might be under “Advanced Settings.”
3. Set priorities for devices or applications (gaming consoles, streaming platforms).
4. Save settings and test to see if it improves performance.

Optimize your Wi-Fi channels

While using Wi-Fi for your gaming sessions isn’t ideal, its often the only practical option. If that’s the case, there are several things you can do to help improve your Wi-Fi connectivity for gaming.

Firstly, you’ll want to optimize the channels your Wi-Fi router is using. In a congested environment, routers can end up channel hopping – or repeatedly swapping from one congested channel to another – which can cause instability in your connection. If your router is configured to stay on one busy channel, your traffic might be struggling through congestion.

Your routers settings will contain information on what channel your Wi-Fi networks are configured on. We’d suggest leaving your Wi-Fi on auto to begin with, and setting a static channel if you continue to experience issues. To set a static channel, download a Wi-Fi analyzer app (Network Analyzer is good on iOS, and WiFi Analyzer for Android) for your phone or laptop. This will allow you to scan nearby channels for Wi-Fi SSIDs and their strength, allowing you to check which channels are in use or not. If auto isn’t working, find a relatively quiet channel (as far as possible) and set your Wi-Fi network to that channel.

While you’re in your routers Wi-Fi settings, it’s also a good idea to check for a transmission power setting. If you’re having trouble with the strength of your Wi-Fi network, its worth ensuring that your transmission power is set to maximum. Most countries limit the transmission power available to consumer devices, but some may default to a lower value (as an unnecessarily high transmission power can unsociably disrupt other peoples connections nearby.)

Ensure your devices are using the correct frequency bands

Don’t be caught using the wrong band

This ones a bit easier. You should ensure that your devices are using the 5GHz band if possible (i.e. if they’re close to the router) or the 2.4GHz band if they’re further away (and the 5GHz band isn’t stable enough). These two frequency bands are available on most modern routers, and have different characteristics. The 2.4GHz band has more penetration power, due to its longer wavelength, and will likely provide a slower, but more stable connection for devices on the edge of your Wi-Fi range. The 5GHz band has a lower penetration power, but can provide higher speeds for devices close to the router. The 5GHz band is unlikely to penetrate any thick or supporting walls, whereas the 2.4GHz band will provide the best range for your devices.

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Connecting to each band in the wrong circumstances can hamstring your internet speeds. If your device is close enough to your router to make use of 5Ghz, you may be leaving extra speed on the table by using 2.4GHz. Similarly, if your device is too far, you may experience an unstable connection.

We’d suggest testing both networks out (with a speedtest or network analyzer) nearby where your computer or console is. Exactly how close is ‘close enough’ will depend on your router and house building, so your milage may vary here.

Use ethernet if you can

The old ways are sometimes the best

If you’re having ongoing issues with your Wi-Fi, ultimately the best thing we can suggest is to switch to ethernet. If a direct connection is not an option (consider running a cable around the outside of your property, or into a roof cavity if you can), then you can always resort to a powerline connection.

Powerline has come a long way in the last decade, and is now a high-speed, secure way of bringing internet through your houses electrical wiring to any part of your house. You can get powerlines with multiple ethernet jackets per socket, with gigabit support (though this depends on your house).

If powerline fails you, as it might if you’ve a particularly old house or one that needs its wiring replaced, you can try a Wi-Fi mesh network. This can help you get decent Wi-Fi coverage anywhere in your house, through load-bearing walls and corners. However, this can add extra latency, so isn’t ideal for gaming.