It’s incredibly frustrating to have your internet connection drop. Sudden disconnects can be even more jarring in the middle of a heated gaming session. This article will list the common causes of sudden internet dropouts during gaming and the simple solutions to fix the issue.
The Simple Correction for Your Gaming Disconnection
So you’re about to win that close match with your online rival, and then – SNAP – your connection suddenly dies! Such occurrences can be maddening. Whether you are blasting aliens on faraway planets or spinning the virtual reels at this site, a connection drop can ruin your fun.
So before you lose more progress, matches, and time, let’s take a look at why your connection cuts out during online games.
Your Internet Connection Drop When Temps Get Too High
Along with dust and water, heat is one of the major killers of electronics. If your computer (or specific components) heat-up too much during a particularly demanding gaming session, anomalies or even permanent damage can occur.
Such temperature rises are more common during processor-intensive tasks, including gaming, video rendering, or CAD (Computer-Aided Design) work.
There are numerous ways to monitor your system components‘ temperature to see if heat is the culprit of your connection dropping. And starting with Windows 10 build 18963, GPU temperature monitoring is built into Task Manager. You will need to consult your system specifications to determine the normal operating temperature for your hardware
How to solve overheating
If you find your system is getting a bit steamy, you can solve it in various ways. Check to ensure your system fans are functioning correctly. Often dirt and debris can partially obstruct the fan blades without notice.
Also, inspect and clean the air vents; you’d be surprised how dirty they can get after a year of use.
You may also want to consider adding additional cooling if you determine that your system is consistently overheating. Keeping your computer cool will significantly extend its lifespan.
Your Configuration Could Be Causing Frustration
If everything looks good from a heat perspective, the next area to check should be your configuration. Most operating systems try to be “smart” when it comes to connection settings, and they try to adapt automatically. This automatic adaptation can cause enough interruption during a fast-paced online game to make your connection to drop out.
The settings of interest here are Automatic Power Management (APM) and Link Speed Adjustment (LSA). Both of these settings are typically set to “Auto” by default, which is usually adequate for web-browsing, but may be causing issues during gaming.
Games tend to require very rapid simultaneous data-throughput, and any delay will typically be a problem. As any gamer knows, latency or “lag” is the ultimate Achilles heel to game-play.
How to check or fix your configuration
The way to change your network settings varies widely based on your operating system, for Windows 10:
- Right-click the network icon in your taskbar, and choose Open Network and Internet settings
- Under “Advanced network settings,” choose Change Adapter options
- Right-click the adapter in the list which you want to modify, and choose Properties
- In the Properties window, under “Connect using:” click the Configure… button
- In the Configuration window, use the “Power Management” and “Link Speed” tabs to make the necessary modifications.
- Click OK when finished.
If You’re a MacGyver, Update the Driver
As with the configuration options above, a slow or glitchy driver can hamper performance, causing disconnects during peak usage. A driver update can be a viable option to correct this particular issue.
Updating drivers is the riskiest option, but also has the potential for the most significant performance improvement. While it doesn’t often happen for network adapters, sometimes a more recent driver will be released to fix bugs and improve reliability or speed.
However, a new driver can also sometimes introduce as many new bugs as it fixes. We recommend that you backup your system and important files before proceeding with any driver updates.
How to update your network drivers
Much like modifying your network adapter configuration above, the steps to perform a driver update vary based on the operating system. On Windows 10, follow these steps:
- Right-click the Windows logo button in your taskbar and select Device Manager
- Click the “View” menu at the top of the Device Manager window, and select View Devices by Type
- In the list of devices, expand the list of Network adapters
- Right-click the network adapter that you use for internet access and choose Update driver
- In the Driver Update Window, select the appropriate option for how you plan to update (“Search automatically” is typically the best option)
- Restart your computer when the update is complete
Stop Getting Wrecked by a Surprise Disconnect
With these tips, you’ll no longer be at the mercy of a faulty connection, and you can enjoy your game without any internet connection drop or any unpleasant surprises!