A stable WiFi connection is essential when it comes to gaming. Whether you play First Person Shooter (FPS) or Real Time Strategy (RTS) games, an unreliable WiFi connection will ruin your gaming experience and hamper your chances of winning. What should be a fun and immersive experience turns into a frustrating ordeal. 

If you’re experiencing poor WiFi while gaming, here are some ways in which you can improve your connection. 

Why is strong WiFi important for gaming? 

As aforementioned, video games are fast-paced. A few seconds worth of delay could make the game less immersive or result in you losing. FPS games feature constant action, so a stable WiFi connection is definitely a requirement. 

Even slower-paced games like Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) and RTS demand a strong WiFi connection that doesn’t falter during crucial moments of gameplay. A drop in WiFI could result in you not receiving a key piece of information from a teammate, or missing a vital clue to an oncoming attack. 

This rule extends to all types of online games, including the likes of online casinos. Online poker sites feature live dealers and real opponents and aim to create the most immersive and life-like experience possible. Plus, as Kane Pepi states, casinos that have made the shortlist for 2024 also offer fast withdrawals, meaning you can receive your winnings rapidly. However, with poor WiFi, you may not be able to take advantage of these benefits. 

Overall, strong WiFi is key to creating an enjoyable online gaming experience. 

Top 6 ways to strengthen your WiFi connection: 

Position your router more strategically 

If you’re experiencing slow internet speed, your router may simply be too far away from your computer. Repositioning your WiFi closer to your gaming room could increase your internet speed tenfold. 

To ensure your entire home gets an equal share of WiFi, it would be a good idea to reposition it centrally so that each room can receive a steady internet connection. Or, if your main focus is ensuring that your game room receives optimum WiFi speed, it would be best to position the box inside the room or just outside it. 

When picking a new position, consider all your devices that require a WiFi connection and rank them in order of importance. In this case, your gaming computer is of high priority, so your router should be placed closer to that. On the other hand, your WiFi-connected printer is most likely low priority, so you don’t need to worry about positioning the box as close to it. 

Make sure that no thick walls or large furniture pieces are blocking the distance between your computer and your WiFi box; additionally, ensure that no Bluetooth devices, cordless phones, or any other electronic components are nearby that could interfere with your connection. 

To help your WiFi avoid obstacles, place it on an elevated surface such as a shelf or a furniture piece. 

Invest in a WiFi extender 

If you’ve got a large home, you can broaden your WiFi reach with an extender or by creating a mesh network. Extenders are simple and easy to set up: they plug directly into your wall sockets, connect to your main WiFi box, and extend your WiFi connection further throughout your home. 

WiFi extensions are great if your home suffers from several dead areas that your router cannot reach. While the internet strength won’t be as strong as the signal coming from your main box, it will still help you improve your internet speed throughout your home. You could plug an extender directly into your games room to provide your gaming space with your own private internet connection. 

Similarly, you could set up a mesh network, which involves placing several nodes throughout your home that all connect back to your main WiFi router. A mesh network ensures that your WiFi is more evenly distributed throughout your home which helps it to reach your computer more easily. 

Manage bandwidth 

Review all the devices that are currently connected to your WiFi. By doing so, you may identify items that don’t necessarily need to be connected while you are gaming. While it’s important to keep your computer, phone, and alarm systems connected at all times, it may not be as important to keep your tablet, printer, and smart speaker connected 24/7. 

More connected devices means more bandwidth consumed. Your router becomes overstrained as it attempts to communicate with all devices equally, resulting in slower internet throughout your house. So, by disconnecting several unnecessary devices, you can free up bandwidth for your games console and create a better gaming experience. 

It’s also important to check each connected device for bandwidth usage. Both your computer and your phone will have unnecessary apps running that are using up a massive amount of bandwidth. By pausing such things as streaming and social media apps, you can free up a significant amount of bandwidth. You should also put a hold on security scans and app updates, as these can also eat up a high level of bandwidth. 

Music streaming apps such as Spotify take up a surprisingly significant amount of bandwidth. One hour’s worth of streaming at high quality will use approximately 150 MB, which is a lot. 

Add a password to your WiFi 

There’s a small chance that your gaming could be lagging because unwelcome browsers are surfing on your WiFi. If you haven’t password-protected your WiFi box, anyone can connect to it, including your neighbours and pedestrians who are passing by your home. 

It’s standard practice for most to put a password on their WiFi when setting it up – but not for everyone. If you’re yet to create a password, we’d recommend doing so. You may notice your WiFi speed increasing once you’ve locked out unwanted connectors. Plus, adding a password to your WiFi is recommended from a cybersecurity point of view. 

Ensure that your passwords are strong and not easy to guess – otherwise, unwanted guests may find it easy to crack and start using your WiFi once more. 

If you’re convinced that other people are still using your WiFi but are unsure of what to do about it, you can use an app like Wireless Network Watchers. This will provide you with a list of all the people who are currently using your internet. This app won’t allow you to boot people from your WiFi, but it will provide sufficient indication that it’s time to change your WiFi password to something more complicated. 

Run a speed test 

Your home simply may not be receiving the internet speed it should. It would be a good idea to run a speed test yourself to verify whether or not you’re getting the internet you’re paying for. 

There are plenty of online speed test applications to choose from, including one offered by Google. For best results, it’s recommended that you connect your computer to the Ethernet cable. 

Note down the results of your test and compare them to the speed stated on your internet bill. If it does not match, you should contact your ISP. There may be something wrong with your internet connection that will require you to replace your router or your modem. 

If you notice that the internet plan you’re currently paying for is incredibly slow – i.e., somewhere below 10 Mbps – you should consider shopping for a new plan. For optimum gaming, you should invest in a plan that offers internet upwards of the 120 Mbps mark. The current average internet speed for UK homes is 73.21 Mbps. 

Use Ethernet instead 

WiFi isn’t your only option. If having tried all the suggestions listed above, your computer’s internet connection continues to lag, consider using the Ethernet instead. Sometimes, the newest way isn’t always the best. 

Connecting your computer to the internet via an ether cable may seem old hat, but it is much more reliable and stable than WiFi. The only benefit that WiFi has over ether is that it is wireless and, therefore, more convenient. However, it is far more susceptible to lagging. 

While it may not always be possible to connect your computer to the ether, doing so will eliminate all the problems you experience from poor WiFi. It won’t lag unexpectedly, and it won’t be impacted by thick walls or furniture pieces. 

Plus, Ethernet can transfer data at a much faster rate than WiFi. Generally, Ethernet speed is upwards of 10Gbps, while WiFi speed is rarely above 1Gbps. This makes Ethernet the preferred choice when it comes to games where speed counts, such as racing games or FPSs. 

Final thoughts 

Don’t settle for a poor gaming experience. If you notice that your FPS, RTS, or online casino games are constantly lagging, it’s definitely recommended that you check your internet connection. If you think that the WiFi is the source of your gaming problems, you should try repositioning your router, buying a WiFi extender, managing your bandwidth, and password-protecting your internet. You should also run speed tests regularly and, if all else fails, use your Ethernet cable instead.