How To Optimize Your Gaming Experience
Many gamers know that fast download and upload speeds are the most important factors for smooth, lag-free gaming online. While speed is definitely a factor, and a few of our tips are directly related to this...it's not everything. Don't get us wrong, both PC and console gamers know that the faster and more stable your connection, the better chance you have of coming out victorious. There are other things that come into play however, such as latency, packet loss, and jitter that determine the quality and consistency of your online gaming experience.
TELUS PureFibre is both the fastest and most reliable internet technology for gamers, delivering lower latency, consistent connection quality, symmetrical download and upload speeds, as well as less frequent outages. You can learn more about the super gaming advantages of TELUS PureFibre here!
So let's get to it. Here are a few simple in-home optimizations that you can do to bring your home network and game play to the next level!
Game On A Wired Connection
The simplest and most immediate action you can take to reduce lag, latency, jitter, and packet loss is to use a wired internet connection. Plug your console or PC into your router directly rather than using Wi-Fi. There are all sorts of things that can interfere with a Wi-Fi signal that directly impact gaming performance. We recommend using Cat5e/6 ethernet cabling and a max cable length of 100 meters. Avoid converters that use your home's electric power circuits instead of ethernet cabling, as these can be unreliable and add jitter or packet loss.
Turn Off Bandwidth-Intensive Applications
When gaming, it's best to turn off unnecessary programs that are heavy network users. You may have a very fast network speed but not all applications use the internet the same way and in some cases they can negatively impact each other. If possible, close your browsers, turn off streaming video, stop torrents as well as cloud-sync and any downloads.
Disable Firewalls While Gaming (if possible)
While we recommend enabling firewalls to protect your online security, the filtering process of a firewall hits all outgoing and incoming traffic through your connection. In general, firewalls shouldn't affect latency. If your firewall however is misconfigured, it can noticeably affect game network performance. Please note that the latest firewall options support a "gamer mode" or "full screen mode" that minimizes impact on gaming. Be sure to look in your firewall settings for this, often indicated by a ‘QoS Settings’ option. (Quality of Service). If your firewall doesn't have this feature, you can temporarily pause a firewall's protection while gaming, but remember to turn it back on afterwards.
Optimize Router Placement and Signal
Prefer to game wirelessly, or don't have a choice? You'll want to make sure your gaming device is as close to your router as possible. Keep your router in a central, elevated position off of the floor and out from behind your TV itself. Ensure you're using the 5GHz channel if you have a dual-band gateway, and assign your console or PC to the 5GHz channel and all other traffic to the 2.4GHz channel if possible. Avoid using wireless headsets if possible, especially if you have to use the 2.4GHz channel!
Boost Your Signal Using Wi-Fi Extenders
Wi-Fi extenders, such as TELUS Boost Wi-Fi create a mesh network within the home that ensures your gaming devices are consistently getting the strongest connection. For optimal performance, we also recommend hardwiring each Boost device directly to your TELUS gateway. With TELUS PureFibre + Boost Wi-Fi, you'll enjoy the best internet technology for speed and reliability, with blazing fast Wi-Fi in every corner of your home!
The best gaming internet service is fast, both in download and upload, has a stable low latency, and minimal packet loss. Fibre optic technology such as TELUS PureFibre is the best choice in the market for fast, uninterrupted data transmission.
High download speeds ensure games and patch downloads are finished as quickly as possible. Faster upload speeds deliver a superior experience, insulating you from network congestion. To see if your home is enabled for TELUS PureFibre or to learn more about the superior benefits of gaming on PureFibre, check out our website!