Packet loss, ping and jitter guides
Plain explanations with the numbers that matter, and fixes ordered by how often they work. If you have not run a test yet, start with the packet loss test: every guide here is easier to follow with your own result in front of you.
Run a test
The same UDP test, framed for what you want to know. Each page leads with the number that matters for it.
- Ping test Your ping to the nearest edge of the internet, measured 50 times a second, with the spikes left in.
- Jitter test How much your ping swings from one packet to the next, which is what makes calls sound robotic.
- Latency test The delay your connection adds to every packet, and how much of it is fixed and how much is waiting in queues.
- Internet stability test A 60-second run that shows every drop and every spike, because an unstable connection is fine most of the time.
- Internet health check One minute, four measurements, and a plain answer about whether your connection is healthy.
- Packet loss test for gaming A test that sends traffic the way a game does, fifty small UDP packets a second, and tells you what that means for online play.
- VoIP quality test Sends traffic shaped like a voice call and tells you whether your connection will carry one cleanly.
- Zoom and Teams connection test Check the loss, jitter and ping your next video call will get, without joining a call to find out.
Understand packet loss
What packet loss is, where it comes from and how much of it your games, calls and streams can tolerate.
- What is packet loss? Everything online travels in small packets. Packet loss is the share that never arrive, and a little goes a long way.
- What causes packet loss? Eight causes cover nearly every case, and the pattern of the loss usually points to which one you have.
- How much packet loss is acceptable? The short answer is under 1%. The useful answer depends on what you are doing.
- How to check packet loss The fastest way is a browser test. The command line can tell you where along the route the loss happens.
Fix it
Fixes in the order worth trying them, starting with the free two-run check that tells you whether it is your wifi or your provider.
- How to fix packet loss Ten fixes, cheapest and most likely first. Re-test after each one so you know which worked.
- Wifi or Ethernet: where does your packet loss come from? Two test runs, five minutes, and you will know whether to fix the wifi or call the provider.
- Does a VPN fix packet loss? Occasionally, for one specific reason. More often it adds a hop and makes things slightly worse.
- What to do when UDP is blocked If the test could not send a single packet, your network is probably blocking UDP, and that affects far more than this test.
- Packet loss on PS5 and Xbox How to check your console's connection, and the fixes that make a real difference to online play.
- Starlink packet loss Short, regular drops are part of how low-orbit satellite works. Long or frequent ones usually mean an obstruction.
Ping, jitter and lag
Delay rather than loss: what a good ping is, why it spikes, and why a busy line makes it soar.
- What is a good ping? Under 50 ms is good for almost anything. The details depend on what you play and where the server is.
- How to lower your ping Nine changes that genuinely reduce ping, in order of how often they help, and a few popular ones that do not.
- Why does my ping spike? A steady ping that suddenly jumps is one of the most frustrating faults, and the timing of the spikes usually gives the cause away.
- What is jitter? Jitter is how much your ping changes from one packet to the next. It is the reason a fast connection can still make calls sound robotic.
- What is bufferbloat? When your line is busy, packets can end up waiting in an oversized queue. That wait is bufferbloat, and it is fixable.
About the method
How the test sends its packets, how each number is calculated, and what it cannot see.