Having latency issues with World of Warcraft (WoW)? Don’t panic – you’re not alone. In this post, you’ll see 7 fixes that have proved useful to many players. You don’t have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick.
Fix 1: Optimize network for speed
Fix 5: Close bandwidth-hogging apps
Fix 6: Restart your router & modem
Fix 7: Swap Wifi to Ethernet connection
Fix 1: Optimize network for speed
“Optimize Network for Speed” is an in-game feature that you can choose whether to enable or not. If you’ve already enabled this feature and are still having latency issues, then you should disable it and see if that makes a difference; if you haven’t turned it on, then try enabling it instead.
1) Click the Esc key on your keyboard while WoW is open.
2) Select System in the pop-up menu.
3) On the Network tab, check/uncheck the Optimize Network for Speed option based on your situation.
That’s it! Now you should check to see whether you’re still experiencing lag issues in WoW. If the problems persist, then move on to the next fix below.
Fix 2: Use “flushdns” command
This command is pretty useful to solve network-related issues. When you’re having major lag spikes in games or just feel that your network connection is unstable/stops working, you should always give this fix a try.
1) On your taskbar, type command into the search box. Then right-click on the Command Prompt result and select Run as administrator.
Click Yes if you’re prompted about permission.
2) In your command prompt window, enter the following command:
ipconfig /release
Note that there’s a space between “ipconfig” and “/”.
Press Enter on your keyboard and wait till the release process is complete.
3) Then type the following command:
ipconfig /renew
Note that there’s a space between “ipconfig” and “/”.
Press Enter on your keyboard and wait till the renewal process is complete.
4) This time, enter:
ipconfig /flushdns
Note that there’s a space between “ipconfig” and “/”.
Press Enter on your keyboard and wait till the process is complete.
Exit the Command Prompt window. Now check to see if your WoW is still laggy. If it is, proceed to Fix 3.
Fix 3: Update device drivers
As reported by many players, their ping times in WoW have gone back to normal after they updated the device drivers. If you’re not sure whether all your device drivers (especially network card drivers) are up-to-date, you should check.
You can do this in Windows Device Manager, one device at a time. But this takes a lot of time and patience, and if any of your drivers do happen to be out of date, you’ll need to manually update them, which is difficult and risky. If you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to update your device drivers manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy.
Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy takes care of everything.
You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 clicks (and you get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee):
1) Download and install Driver Easy.
2) Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
3) Click the Update button next to a flagged driver to automatically download the correct version of that driver, then you can manually install it (you can do this with the FREE version).
Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. (This requires the Pro version which comes with full support and a 30-day money back guarantee. You’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All.)
If you have any problems using Driver Easy Pro to update your drivers, please feel free to email us at support@drivereasy.com. We are always here to help.
After updating your drivers, check to see whether the latency issues still remain. If they do, try out the next fix below.
Fix 4: Change your DNS server
Try to switch your ISP’s DNS server to the Google Public DNS address. This could improve the resolve time and provide you with more security online. Here’s the procedure:
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog box. Then type in control panel and press Enter.
2) Expand View by: and select Category. Then click View network status and tasks.
3) In the next window, click Change adapter settings.
4) Right-click on your network adapter and select Properties.
5) Double-click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) to view its properties.
6) In the pop-up window, select these two options: Obtain an IP address automatically and Use the following DNS server addresses.
For the Preferred DNS server, enter 8.8.8.8 to replace the initial IP address;for the Alternate DNS server, enter 8.8.4.4. Then click OK to save the changes.
Note: If you want to restore your DNS server addresses, simply change “Use the following DNS server addresses” to “Obtain DNS server address automatically” and then restart your network adapter.
7) Reboot your PC and start WoW. Check your ping times in the game and see whether the problem has been solved.
If this fix didn’t help, read on and try the next one.
Fix 5: Close bandwidth-hogging apps
Bandwidth hogging applications will slow down your network speed and trigger latency issues in WoW. Make sure you shut down all the resource-hungry programs before playing the game. Here’s how:
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run dialog box. Type in resmon and hit Enter.
2) In the Resource Monitor window, on the Network tab, take note of the Total (B/sec) column. In this way, you’ll get an intuitive understanding of what process is now using the most of your bandwidth.
3) Right-click on the application that’s eating up your bandwidth and select End Process.
4) When Windows asks you to confirm, click End process.
Note: Make sure you know what sort of applications you’re closing. DO NOT stop any programs that you’re not familiar with in case you mistakenly end the crucial ones (often related to your system) such as sychost.exe.
5) Your trouble is sometimes caused by interference from antivirus software. To see if that’s the problem for you, temporarily disable your antivirus program and check if the high ping issue reoccurs.
If you no longer have huge lag spikes in WoW after you disable the antivirus, contact the vendor of your antivirus software and ask them for advice, or install a different antivirus solution.
Note: Be extra careful about what sites you visit, what emails you open and what files you download when your antivirus is disabled.
If you find no luck getting closer to the real solution, you should take a stab at Fix 6.
Fix 6: Restart your router & modem
You should restart your modem and router especially if they haven’t been switched off for a long time. Just give them some time to cool off and clear up the cache. Here’s how to do it:
1) Unplug both your router and modem.
2) Wait at least 30 seconds to let the two machines cool down a bit.
3) Plug the modem back in and wait until the indicator lights are back to their normal state.
4) Plug the router back in this time. Likewise, wait until the indicator lights are back to their normal state.
5) Now that your routers and modem have been restarted properly, you can launch WoW again to see if the high ping issue goes away.
In case this fix is to little or no avail, read on and check out the next one.
Fix 7: Swap Wifi to Ethernet connection
If none of the fixes above work out for you, then maybe you should shift your focus to the Wi-Fi signals around (only if you’re a Wi-Fi user). Admittedly, a wireless network is not as stable as a wired one so you’ll get more interruptions for having your computer connected to Wi-Fi. Say, when you’re playing WoW in a room far away from your router, the Wi-Fi signals you receive can be rather weak and hence the reason for high ping.
To clear up this problem, you should swap Wi-Fi to an Ethernet connection but this is not practical for everyone. Alternatively, you can try using a powerline Ethernet adapter which extends the reach of your home network to places with poor wireless coverage.
Also, you should avoid possible wireless interference that weakens your Wi-Fi signals such as cordless phones and microwave ovens. Place them far away from your router, or simply move your laptop to a new location with stronger Wi-Fi signals.
Hopefully this post helped you resolve or at least mitigate the latency issues in WoW. Please feel free to leave a comment below if you have further questions or ideas. Thanks for reading!