People perceive these unexpected time delays as “lag.”

Any router eventually bogs down if too many clients use it at the same time.

Similarly, web link contention occurs on a residence’s connection to the internet provider if saturated with traffic.

Computer worker buried in network cables, holding plug

David Samuel Robbins / Getty Images

Depending on thespeed of your connection, avoid too many simultaneous downloads and online sessions to minimize lag.

Don’t use too many applications at once.

If you think you have too many programs open, close a few.

Running applications that don’t generate web connection traffic can introduce lag.

If a program doesn’t respond,force it to close.

Scan and remove malware.

Runningantivirus softwareon devices connected to the internet detects and removes these worms.

Use a wired connection instead of wireless.

How Much Lag Is Too Much?

For internet connections, however, it becomes a factor.

Under perfect conditions, light requires roughly 5 ms to travel 1,000 miles (about 1,600 kilometers).

Data over a fiber optic cable, for example, requires at least 7.5 ms to travel 1,000 miles.

Latency and Bandwidth

Latency andbandwidthare closely related but are two separate terms.

To understand what causes high latency, it’s important to differentiate it from high bandwidth.

Bandwidth is often measured in Mbps.

Latency is a delay, measured in ms.

It’s the time it takes for information to move from one end of the pipe to the other.

It’s also called the ping rate.

The typical latency of an internet connection also varies depending on its jot down.

Fewer delays mean that the connection is experiencing lower latency.

connection lag happens for a few reasons, namely distance and congestion.

Traffic Load

Spikes in internet use during peak usage times of day often cause lag.

The nature of this lag varies by the service provider and the geographic location.

Other than moving locations or changing internet service, an individual user can’t avoid this kind of lag.

Online program Load

Online multiplayer games, websites, and otherclient-server networkapplications use shared internet servers.

If these servers become overloaded with activity, the clients experience lag.

Wireless interference causes connection data to be corrupted in transit, causing lag from re-transmission delays.