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What is my internet speed and how to improve it

Phoebe

Internet Speed Improvements and Gaming

Using the internet is an essential part of our daily routines as humans and with a lot more people working from home, the internet speeds to be on top form in order to get said work done.

When it comes to thecasualappgamer.com,we thrive on blazing speeds to make our most casual of winning plays.

You can use internet speed testing websites like Speedcheck.org in order to find out your internet speed. It can seem very overwhelming and intimidating at first so we’re here to break it down for you so you can have the best (and fastest) gaming experience possible!

Why should you test your internet speed?

There are a number of reasons why you would want to test your internet speed but the main reason is to ensure you get what you pay for from your internet service provider. Being a casual gamer means that speed plays an important factor in how quickly we can download, live stream, and of course, play the games!

It’s broken down into three sections:

Download Speed

This is the speed that refers to how many megabits of data per second it takes to download data from a server in the form of videos, images, text, files, and audio. This is important for activities like listening to music on Spotify, streaming movies on Netflix, or downloading large files!

Upload Speed

This is the speed that refers to how many megabits of data per second you can send information from your computer to another device or server on the internet. This is important for playing online games, Zoom calls, and sending emails!

Latency

Latency refers to the time it takes for data to be transferred between its original source and destination. It’s measured in milliseconds. Latency can affect online gaming, so this is an important one for us casual gamers!

How it affects gaming

Forget getting a perfect score on Beatstar, if you have slow internet speed, lagging is going to be your biggest opponent. Most online gaming platforms suggest a minimum connection speed of 3Mbps of download speed and at least 1 Mbps of upload speed. This will depend on the type of game you’re playing, but that’s just a general idea.

Below is a general idea of how each genre needs different internet speeds to work:

First Person Shooters 

Role-playing Games 

Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Real-time Strategy Games

NordVPN dives into the minimum requirements for internet speed for PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

PS4/PS5

Minimum requirements:

Recommended requirements: 

Xbox One

Minimum requirements:

Recommended requirements:

Nintendo Switch

Minimum requirements:

Recommended requirements: 

PC

Minimum requirements: 

Recommended requirements: 

Ways to improve your internet speed

Here are just a few ways you can improve your internet speed:

Restart your router

Before you do anything else, restart your router. A lot of the time, a simple reset and restart can boost your internet speed.

Move your router to a more appropriate location

If you’re on one end of your house playing a game and your router is on the opposite side of your house, there’s a big chance your walls and/or floors are making a barrier between you and your router.

If possible, move your gaming setup closer to your router. However, if this isn’t an option, try moving your router to a more central location in your house. This will distribute the WiFi signal evenly across all rooms in your house.

Use a WiFi Extender

This is a handy inexpensive hack you can use if the suggestion above fails. WiFi Extenders pick up your WiFi signal and broadcast them out again.

Test your internet speed within seconds

Above all, you need to test your internet speed in order to check if your connection speed is good enough for your casual gaming.

If you’re not convinced by your results, try testing at different times of the day. If you’re trying to run a test while everyone in your house is connected to the wifi, there’s a big chance it’s going to be inaccurate. On top of this, try to be in the same room as your router and then do another away from your router to compare for accurate results!

Follow these steps to take the test:

  1. Ensure that no other devices are connected and all other internet browsers are closed before doing the test
  2. Go to a speed test website such as https://www.speedcheck.org
  3. Click ‘Start Test’
  4. Voila! You’ll have your results within a few moments

With the right internet speed, casual gaming can be a fun experience in a short amount of time!  If you happen to be in unfamliar territory, a quick speedcheck can give you a heads on which game to play!  Thankfully thecasualappgamer.com has a building list of some epic casual app reviews.

Happy gaming, and as always, keep it casual!

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