Gaming has never been more popular at home. To ensure a smooth experience, you need a reliable home network. In this guide, we will show you how to build a home network for gaming.
Why You Need a Good Home Network for Gaming?
A good network will be a must-have for any gamer. It will determine your connection speed, latency, and experience in general. Connections that are slow or unstable will ruin your game. You will probably end up experiencing lag or disconnections and poor graphics. A solid home network helps avoid such issues.
7 steps to set up a home network for Gaming
Step 1: Measure Your Internet Speed
Before you start building your network, you will need to check the speed of your internet. You can use websites such as Speedtest.net. For gaming, you’ll want to have at least 25 Mbps download speed. Low latency (ping) is important too. You want to have a ping under 30 ms when playing online.
Choosing the Right Internet Plan
If you are downloading or uploading at a low rate, upgrade your plan. Consult your ISP about setting up a proper plan according to the required gaming speed that you want.
Step 2: Quality Router
Your router is the hub of your home network. Opt for the best quality gaming router in the world, and I’ll mention all the key points related to your router.
- Dual-band support: This allows for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The 5 GHz band is faster and less crowded.
- Quality of Service (QoS): This lets it favor gaming traffic over any other activity.
Speed rating: Look for AC1900 or higher
Recommended Routers
Here are a few to choose from:
- Asus RT-AC86U : A high-end gaming router with exceptional speed and range.
- Netgear Nighthawk XR500: This is one especially made for gamers with pretty great QoS capabilities.
Step 3: Where to Place Your Router
The placement of the router does matter. For best performance, check out these tips:
Central location: Position your router in a central place in your house. That way, it sends its signal in all directions.
Elevate the router: Place it as off the floor as you can on a shelf.
Obstacles away: Avoid mounting your router on the walls, near metals, and near your appliances. These are likely to interrupt your signals.
See also: How To Optimize Wi-Fi For Gaming?
Step 4: Connect Your Devices
Attach devices to your network with either a wired or a wireless connection.
Wired Connections
For the best performance, use a wired connection. You should connect your gaming console or PC directly to your router. This will help reduce lags and increase the speeds.
Wireless Connections
If you don’t have a choice but to use Wi-Fi, here are some quick tips:
- Use the 5 GHz band: this provides higher speeds with lower interference.
- Limit connected devices: too many may be slowing your network down; disconnect unused devices.
Step 5: Optimize Your Network Settings
As you have now set up the entire process, it’s time to optimize your network settings.
Change Your Wi-Fi Channel
Wi-fi channels tend to get choked up, especially in apartment style buildings. Use a wifi analyzer to determine the least cluttered channel. Change your wi-fi channel in the “settings menu.”
Enable QoS Settings
If your router supports QoS, ensure you enable it and also prioritize your gaming device as well. This will therefore ensure that this traffic is given the bandwidth as needed.
Update the Firmware
Update your firmware on the router. Developers update firmware to improve upon performance and security. Normally, these updates are placed in your router settings should they be available.
Step 6: Test Your Network
After all this setup, test your network. Go and play a game, monitoring your connection. Observe the lags and connection breakages. In case of problems, you probably have to troubleshoot your setup.
Troubleshooting Tips
- Restart your router: Most issues are addressed simply by restarting it
- Check for interference: It’s possible that your WiFi is being interfered by devices such as microwaves or cordless phones. Try moving them some distance away from your router.
- Consider a Wi-Fi extender: If you have dead zones in your home, an extender can boost up the signal.
Step 7: Secure Your Network
Security is a must-do for any home network. A secure network will eliminate unauthorized access.
Change Default Password
Change your default admin password on your router. Use a strong password with all letters, numbers, and symbols.
Enable WPA3 Encryption
If your router does support WPA3 encryption, then it is activated in your system. That is the new method of encryption, and it will be safer.
Monitor Network Regularly
Keep noticing which devices are connected through your Wi-Fi. You may catch anything fishy by scanning regularly on unfamiliar devices connected. You should, therefore, change your Wi-Fi password immediately if suspicious activity is detected.
See also: How to Secure Smart Home Devices?
Final Words
A strong setup for home networks can always be seen as a primary boost in your gaming experience because it is going to give you full-speed internet, minimal disconnections, and delaying, along with the capabilities of optimizing the settings for supporting a powerful router.
These steps have given you a more than ideal basis for producing the ideal gaming environment inside your house.
