High-bandwidth activities like streaming, conferencing, and gaming depend on excellent internet speeds and low latency. This combination gives you the best performance, and you’ll avoid having to experience a lag in data transfer.
Ping rate is another term to know – and something you never want to be too high. Ping rate measures latency, or the speed at which a signal is sent to or from your device. The speed of your internet connection ultimately impacts ping the most, but other factors may be at play, including the amount of data being transferred or the number of devices on a network at once.
In office environments, multiple factors compound ping issues. Your accounting software competing with video conferences, cloud backups running during peak hours, and dozens of devices sharing bandwidth all contribute to latency problems. Our IT team identifies and resolves these conflicts systematically.
High ping means it’s taking longer for a signal to be transmitted and sent back to your computer. This is why lowering ping can help when you’re experiencing a lot of lag, whether you’re trying to communicate virtually from your PC or are playing a video game. Lower ping means reduced lag time.
For businesses, high ping doesn't just mean frustrated gamers - it means dropped video calls with clients, frozen presentations during critical meetings, and cloud applications that crawl. When your team's productivity depends on real-time connectivity, professional network optimization becomes essential.
This guide will walk through factors that impact ping the most and eight steps to lower your ping.
You may think that “high ping” sounds like it should mean fast speed. It is quite the opposite, however. Think of ping as a signal hitting, or pinging, the destination and coming back to the sender.
High ping thus refers to that process taking longer than desired. A few factors impact whether ping is low or high:
The speed of your internet sets the pace for the activities you take part in online. Speed determines how much data the network can carry simultaneously, measured in megabits per second (Mbps).
Business-grade internet requires more than residential speeds. We analyze your actual bandwidth needs based on employee count, cloud service usage, and peak activity patterns - often discovering companies are paying for speed they can't actually access due to network bottlenecks.
A high number of users or devices on the network can impact your internet speed, which can, in turn, make ping higher. Network traffic can be especially high in the middle of the day, when a lot of people are trying to use the internet.
Office networks suffer from invisible congestion: Windows updates downloading simultaneously, cloud storage syncing across departments, and security software scanning during work hours. Our monitoring tools identify these hidden bandwidth hogs and reschedule them intelligently.
The activities you’re trying to do will also give you different ping results. High-bandwidth activities like online gaming and video conferencing are demanding enough that you’ll probably notice if your ping is high.
Modern businesses push massive data loads: QuickBooks files, CAD drawings, video presentations, and constant cloud synchronization. We implement Quality of Service (QoS) rules that prioritize critical business applications over background tasks.
Devices or systems that are outdated, like computers, routers, or software, can also impact ping. Check to see if anything needs to be updated.
That consumer-grade router from 2018 can't handle 30 employees' devices. We assess whether your switches, routers, firewalls, and cabling support your actual needs - often finding companies handicapped by single outdated components.
It can be frustrating to experience lag when you’re trying to talk to someone or complete a task in a game. There are fortunately a few ways to address the issue and lower ping, which could end up smoothing things out quickly.
There are usually simple components you can address to lower ping and reduce lag, ultimately improving your connection. Here are eight steps you can take to fix the problem:
Check to make sure your router’s firmware or computer software is not outdated. Make any updates as needed. You may also need to upgrade the devices themselves to be fully compatible with what you’re trying to do.
Manual updates across dozens of computers waste time and create security gaps. Our managed services automate firmware updates, schedule them after hours, and verify compatibility before deployment.
All you have to do to run a speed test on your internet is type “internet speed test” into your search engine and choose a site that offers the service. Under 25 Mbps is considered low and could be impacting your ping. You may want to do this test a few times throughout one day or week, since network traffic could affect your speed at a given moment.
That being said, consumer speed tests don't reveal business network complexity. We use enterprise monitoring tools that measure speed between departments, to cloud services, and during peak usage - revealing the real bottlenecks affecting your ping.
Do you have lots of apps open on your device? Try closing everything except the one task you’re focused on. This way, more bandwidth can go to that activity.
Teaching employees about resource management helps, but group policies work better. We configure systems to automatically limit non-essential applications during business hours, ensuring bandwidth goes where it's needed.
Your ping will be higher if the server you’re using is physically far away from your device. Some applications, like games, allow you to choose a server closer to you, so try that option.
For businesses using cloud services, server location dramatically impacts performance. We configure your Microsoft 365, AWS, or other cloud platforms to use regional data centers, reducing ping by up to 50%.
Your operating system may be automatically installing updates to your software, which can lead to a high ping rate. Pause or change these update settings when you take on a significant activity that requires lower ping.
Rather than having employees manually pause updates (and forget to resume them), we implement Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) that schedules updates during off-hours across your entire network.
Sometimes a simple reset can work wonders. Try restarting your router, and if that doesn’t work, reboot your computer. While restarting works temporarily, recurring issues indicate deeper problems. Our monitoring catches patterns - if ping spikes every afternoon, we investigate and solve the root cause rather than constantly rebooting.
Wireless internet, while convenient, is not always as reliable as a wired connection. Try connecting your device to the internet with an ethernet cable and see if you get better performance. Wireless convenience shouldn't sacrifice productivity. We design hybrid networks where stationary workstations use ethernet for reliability while mobile devices access properly configured wireless access points with adequate coverage.
The issue may be nothing you can solve on your own, so after you’ve tried these solutions, contact your internet service provider and ask them what else you can do to lower ping or speed up your connection. You may want to tell them what tasks you’re trying to do so they can know how to help you best.
Businesses have leverage individual users lack. We negotiate with ISPs on your behalf, armed with monitoring data proving service level agreement violations. We also manage redundant connections ensuring uptime when primary links fail.
Trial and error may be required for you to learn how to lower ping. It could be a quick fix like making an update or restarting your router. It always helps to know what causes high ping so you can start crossing things off your list of sources.
Consider professional IT support when experiencing:
Understanding how to lower ping helps diagnose problems, but businesses need systematic solutions. High ping costs real money through lost productivity, frustrated clients, and inefficient operations.
Beyond ping optimization, our complete IT management addresses:
Don't let network latency slow your business success. Contact GAM Tech for a comprehensive network assessment. We'll identify what's really causing your ping issues and implement professional solutions that keep your team connected and productive.
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