How to Fix High Packet Loss on Xbox

March 4, 2022 By Nick Anderson No Comments 5 minutes

Online multiplayer gaming is stronger than ever. Billions of gamers worldwide enjoy connected online experiences in games such as Minecraft and Call of Duty. A good online experience requires a consistent internet connection. And as such, you need to ensure that your internet connection does not suffer from high packet loss. Are you looking to fix that issue? Here’s how to fix high packet loss on Xbox.

Resolve Xbox High Packet Loss

What is Packet Loss?

Internet communication does not happen in one large chunk but in a series of small packets. A message is broken down into small data packets and transmitted over the network. Packets are numbered and then sent over the network and reassembled once they reach the destination.

In short, every activity you do on the internet, from opening a website or sending an email, is broken down into small data packets before they reach the destination.

Packet loss occurs when some data packets are lost in transmission.

Imagine car parts that were packaged and delivered in different boxes. If even just one part is lost in delivery, it will affect the car’s build.

Latency is a term that describes the distance data has to travel to the destination and then back to the source. High latency means that data is taking longer to complete that journey.

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How Does Packet Loss Affect Gaming?

Online gaming is latency-sensitive. When you are shooting through other players in the virtual world of Call of Duty, performance needs to be optimal so that your input can travel in the shortest amount of time to the game server. As you press to fire the gun, a low latency ensures that the input registers quickly and you emerge victorious in an encounter.

So, how does packet loss affect gaming?

Rubberbanding
Voice disruption
Poor gameplay performance

These are some of the outcomes of high packet loss. Some packet loss may be tolerable, but a high packet loss will make the game unplayable for you, especially during competitive gaming, where reaction and timing are critical for victory.

Rubberbanding refers to the situation where a player or an object suddenly teleports. Imagine a player running in front of you. If the player skips a few steps and jumps to few inches ahead, that’s due to packet loss.

You will experience performance issues if all packets fail to get delivered. You can fix high packet loss on Xbox; we’ll show you how.

How to Check for Packet Loss

You can check for packet loss yourself. Here’s how to do it:

Check Packet Loss on Windows

Click on the Start button and type CMD in search.
Open CMD.
Type tracert www.google.com.
Now, your device will send small data to the webserver and trace the route.
Once it’s done, notice the results. If the trace analysis reveals no errors then there is no packet loss.

Check Packet Loss on macOS

Launch Network Utility.
Go to the Traceroute tab.
Type www.google.com in the field and click on Trace.
Note down the results. If the trace analysis is successful, there is no packet loss on your connection.

How to Fix Packet Loss on Xbox

The causes behind packet loss are pretty simple once you understand how network communication works and what factors affect performance. Once you have them figured out, it’s easy to fix packet loss.

Switch to Wired Connection

Wireless connections are most susceptible to packet loss. Communication using the air is dependent on factors such as distance from the access point and the transmission power.

It’s not always possible to sit close to the Wi-Fi router, which is where things start to dip in the performance department. Distance plays a huge role when connected wirelessly; there is a big margin for error.

The chances of packet loss increase as you introduce more distance between your Xbox console and the Wi-Fi access point.

Switch to a wired connection for the best internet connectivity or sit at an ideal distance to the Wi-Fi access point.

Change Your Ethernet Cable

Packet loss can sometimes occur due to infrastructure. If you are connected using an ethernet cable, try using a higher-quality cable that can support the bandwidth of your internet connection.

Switch to a CAT6 ethernet cable for the best reliability.

Use a Fast VPN

A VPN generally does not help in gaming but it may improve performance if the ISP has suboptimal routing. It may reduce latency which will translate to better online performance.

For the best speeds, connect to the nearest VPN server using FastestVPN. It truly is one of the more affordable and best gaming VPN services around.

Conclusion

If online gaming is an important part of your gaming experience, follow this blog to fix high packet loss on Xbox. Packet loss is likely a result of a wireless connection. A wired connection is ideal and recommended for online gaming. Sit close to the Wi-Fi router and switch to 5GHz for higher bandwidth if the router supports it.