Playing with high ping in League of Legends is as tilting as Teemo’s shrooms, and akin to playing with a constant Nocturne ult on you. Put simply, you’re setting yourself up for failure before you’ve even entered the Rift.
High ping was something that plagued me (and my hard-earned LP) for months on end. I was spending most of my time in-game staring at a grayed-out screen and the garish “Reconnecting…” pop up.
But rest assured that high ping won’t plague you; we’re here with an in-depth guide that covers all the effective fixes. Whether your high ping is caused by a connection issue or firewall issue, you’re sure to find a solution here, and will be back to playing League lag-free in no time.
Restart Your Modem and Router
In many cases, restarting your modem and router will fix your high ping. If you don’t restart your modem and router on a regular basis, it can keep them from running smoothly and bring about a whole host of connectivity issues, including a slow and sluggish connection.
Close Bandwidth-Consuming Applications
Having lots of bandwidth-consuming applications running in the background will drastically slow down your connection speed. Before you play League of Legends, make sure you’ve closed these applications.
To determine which programs are using up all your bandwidth, you will need to access the Task Manager, which you can do by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys simultaneously.
Once the Task Manager pops up, click on the “Network” column header. This will organize active applications by network usage, allowing you to easily see which ones are using up the most bandwidth.
Use an Ethernet Cable
An Ethernet cable is a must-have for gamers, especially those suffering from high ping. It improves the latency between your device and router, and it also makes the connection more stable. This is because unlike wireless connection, your data is transmitted directly via a cable; it isn’t vulnerable to interference from the environment or other electronics.
If you don’t currently own an Ethernet cable, make sure to check out our guide on the 10 best Ethernet cables to buy.
Update Drivers
Out-of-date drivers can drastically slow down your computer’s performance, which will no doubt affect your ping in games. Don’t forget to keep your drivers updated.
Go to Start and look for Device Manager. Update the driver that is causing you problems.
Check Firewall
Although a firewall protects your system from malware and hackers, it can slow down your internet connection and cause high ping (among other connectivity issues), especially if your settings are improperly configured.
To test if your firewall is the culprit behind your high ping, temporarily disable it, then go into a game and check if your ping has improved. If it has, don’t worry – you won’t need to disable your firewall every time you want to play. You can configure its settings to allow League of Legends through.
Use Quality of Service (QoS) Functionality
This is the likely fix for those who live in a multi-person household. QoS is a feature that allows you to set which devices (or programs) your router should prioritize first. In other words, you tell it who and which tasks are most important, and they are then given the most bandwidth and get the best ping.
To enable QoS, follow the step below:
- First find your router’s IP address – go to Command Prompt and type “ipconfig.” Look for the “Default Gateway” IP address.
- Type this address into your web browser. It will bring you to your router’s login page.
- Once you’ve logged in, find the QoS setting. Then, set your PC as the priority, or set League of Legends as a priority in the applications section.
Keep in mind that not every router has this feature; if your router does not have it, you’ll need to buy one which does.
Due to the nature of QoS, make sure to ask permission from everyone in your household before setting it up.
Check You’re on Right Server
You should always play on the server that’s closest to you. The greater distance you are from the servers, the worse your ping will be; your connection will have to travel further to send and retrieve data.
Hextech Repair Tool
Riot has created its own tool to help players identify and resolve issues that are affecting game performance. It’s compatible with both Windows and Mac.
Invest in a New ISP
If all else fails, you might need to invest in a new ISP and/or package. For optimal performance, you need to look for an ISP package that provides a high upload speed (ideally 5 Mbps to 10 Mbps), and a download speed of at least 25 Mbps. If you have fiber optic available in your area, go for this type of connection – it’s faster and more reliable than standard broadband.
Not sure what your current internet speed is? Do this quick speed test to find out.
