Fix Overwatch High Ping and Packet Loss: 3 Proven Steps

Nothing ruins a match faster than shots failing to register or your character rubber-banding across the map because of ping spikes. You are likely dealing with background apps hogging your bandwidth or corrupted network routing tables that are interfering with your connection to the game server.

Why this happens

Most latency issues stem from background processes consuming upload bandwidth or stale network configurations stored in your Windows temporary files.

What you'll need

You will need administrative access to your PC to reset network commands and modify your DNS settings.

Steps

1. 01
   Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, click the Network column to sort by usage, and right-click to End Task on any programs consuming more than 1-2 Mbps while you game.
2. 02
   Press the Windows key, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
3. 03
   Type netsh winsock reset and press Enter to clear your network socket settings.
4. 04
   Type netsh int ip reset and press Enter to reset your TCP/IP stack.
5. 05
   Type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter to clear the resolver cache.
6. 06
   Type ipconfig /release and then ipconfig /renew to refresh your local IP address.
7. 07
   Restart your computer to apply the network stack changes.
8. 08
   To improve DNS routing, go to Settings > Network & internet > Properties of your active connection, click Edit next to DNS server assignment, set it to Manual, and enter 1.1.1.1 as your Preferred and 1.0.0.1 as your Alternate DNS.

Still not working?

If you are still experiencing issues, try connecting via Ethernet if you are currently on Wi-Fi, as wireless interference is a common cause of packet loss. If the problem persists, perform a traceroute to the Overwatch server IP to see if the latency occurs at your ISP level or further down the path to Blizzard's servers.

Frequently asked questions

Will resetting my network stack delete my personal files?

No, these commands only reset your network configuration settings and will not touch your personal data or saved files.

Why does my ping stay high even after changing DNS?

DNS only helps with how quickly your computer finds the server; it does not change your physical distance from the data center. If your base ping remains high, you may be connecting to a server in a different region.