Which game servers are closest to you?
Most online games, voice chat and video calls run in a handful of cloud regions. The one you connect to sets a floor on your ping, so picking the closest region is often the biggest lag win in a game's settings.
Thinking of paying for a game VPN or "ping reducer"? They can only help when your provider sends traffic the long way round. The route check compares each ping with the distance and tells you whether that's happening.
Ping to game and call servers
Round trips to the cloud regions where most game, voice and video servers run. Distance sets a floor on your ping that no setting at home can lower, so pick the closest region when a game lets you.
NAT type check
"Strict NAT" stops voice chat and some matches from connecting directly, so they go through relays with more lag. This asks two servers which public port they see for this device.
High ping to every region? Run the Lag Check to see whether the delay starts in your home, or read the game lag guide. Compare with the typical ping for your US state or for your country.
How it works
The first check times small requests from your browser to the major cloud regions where most game, voice and video servers are hosted, several times each, and takes the middle result for every region. The route check then compares your closest result with the distance from your approximate location, which is taken from this visit and never stored: light in fibre needs about 10 ms per 1,000 km there and back, so a ping far above that means a detour. The NAT check asks two public servers which port they see for your device.
Reading your result
- Route direct
- Your ping to the nearest region is close to what the distance allows. Nothing on the route to fix; pick that region in your game.
- Detour found
- Your ping is well above what the distance explains, so your provider is sending traffic the long way round. This is the one case where a different route, such as a VPN, can help.
- The delay is before the route
- Even the nearest region is slow, which points at Wi-Fi or a busy line at home. Run the Lag Check before blaming the route.
- Strict NAT
- Other players can't connect to you directly, so matchmaking is slower and voice may use relays. Turn on UPnP on the router or forward the game's ports.
Questions
How do I find which game server is closest to me?
Run the region check on this page: the region with the lowest round trip is the closest by network, which is what counts. Then choose that region or data centre in the game. The per-game guides say where each game keeps the setting.
Are these my game's real servers?
No. Publishers rarely give out test addresses, so this measures the cloud regions most games are hosted in. Your ping in the game will be close to it when the game uses that region, and different when it runs its own data centres.
Why is my ping high to every region?
Then the delay starts before the route: Wi-Fi, a busy line or the device. The Lag Check shows which, and the game lag guide goes through the fixes.