Why do my video calls and games lag?
Lag is caused by latency, jitter, and packet loss rather than a lack of bandwidth — a bigger plan won't fix it, but a wired connection often will.
A video call uses a few Mbps. A competitive game uses less than a streaming show. Buying more bandwidth does nothing for lag, because lag is a different measurement:
- Latency is how long a packet takes to get there and back. It sets the floor on how responsive everything feels.
- Jitter is how much that time varies. Jitter is what makes a voice robotic and a game feel like it's stuttering, even at a good average latency.
- Packet loss is data that never arrives. On a call it's the dropped syllable; in a game it's the rubber-banding.
Why symmetrical upload matters here. On a video call you're not just watching — you're broadcasting. Your camera and microphone go up continuously, and everyone else's experience of you depends on that upstream path. On connections with a small upload channel that's where calls fall apart first. Our plans are symmetrical: 1 Gig down is 1 Gig up, and the upstream has the same room as the downstream.
- Plug in. Ethernet removes jitter that Wi-Fi introduces by design. This is the single biggest improvement for calls and games.
- If you must use Wi-Fi, use 5 or 6 GHz, get closer to the router, and get off 2.4 GHz. Mesh systems that relay over Wi-Fi add a hop and latency with it.
- Look for something saturating your upload. Cloud backup, a photo sync, a large file upload, or security cameras uploading continuously will wreck a call while barely showing up on a speed test.
- Swap the cable. A marginal cable causes packet loss and retransmits, which look exactly like lag.
- Consider the far end. Game server region, the other person's connection, and the call platform itself are all in the path and none of them are your line. Test a different server region or a different call platform to isolate it.
- Measure latency and jitter, not just speed.
If a wired test shows steady high latency or packet loss with nothing else running, that's ours to look at.
Working from home in Brookline? Our WFH guide covers what a home office actually needs from a connection, and where to go locally when you want out of the house.
If Wi-Fi is your only option. Wired is always the better answer, but if the machine genuinely cannot be wired, move it closer to the router, put it on the 5 GHz band, and keep it off a network crowded with streaming devices. See Where should I put my router?
If that didn’t work
Call (617) 693-9434, Mon–Fri 8am–6pm ET, with your wired latency and jitter numbers and the app or game involved.
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Talk to us
Call (617) 693-9434, Monday to Friday 8am–6pm ET, or email [email protected]. We answer within 24 hours, and usually within an hour.
Boston Broadband is a service-area business serving Boston, Brookline and Cambridge, Massachusetts. There is no counter to walk up to — phone, email and your account at myaccount.bostonbroadband.com are the ways in.