Best upload speed for gaming. How vital is upload speed for gaming?

Having a fast internet connection is a wish of gamers. Aside from ping ms, another important speed during playing online games they need to take concern is upload speed. Find out the best upload speed for gaming. How vital is upload speed for online gaming? In this article, we will help you understand more this important speed.

The best upload speed for online gaming

What is an upload speed?

Upload speed dedicates how fast you push digital data to the Internet. Download speed works inversely, it refers to how fast you pull digital data from the Internet to your device. Both two specs are measured in megabits per second ( Mbps).

For example, when you send an email attaching a document, that’s uploading. However, when you load a webpage, that’s downloading.

Send an email consumes uploading data

In general, downloading activities dominate almost all online activities, thus most providers offer download speed fast upload speed slow. However, occasionally, some internet service providers offer symmetrical downloads and uploads. 

How vital is upload speed for gaming?

In online gaming, uploading data is used when you constantly send data to the game server. In detail, it can be in-game actions or messages to your teammates or other players during a multiplayer match. 

Moreover, upload speed also matters when players want to stream their gameplay to others all over the world. Not only professional gamers but also many gamers consider gaming stream as their main job. Streaming is sending media material (live or recorded) through the internet to others devices and playing back in real-time. Therefore, this takes up a lot of upload bandwidth. 

Gaming streamers

If you just play online games, upload speed may not impact your gaming experience too much. However, if you play games and stream at the same time, upload speed has become a more pressing concern. 

What upload speed do I need for gaming?

What is a good upload speed for gamers? Although upload speed is more vital to gamers than standard internet users, it doesn’t still require too fast speed. That said, 1 Mbps upload speed is sufficient for online games. Luckily, most ISPs offering fiber connection packages satisfy this minimum rate. Also, you are able to use an upload speed test to check your internet performance.

Upload speed requirements for people who play games online and stream simultaneously are different. Each streaming platform will recommend a different speed to stream smoothly on it, however, your content must be of high quality, consistent as well as reliable to attract viewers. 

For example, for 1080p broadcasting, Twitch recommends a minimum upload speed of 5Mbps. Another common gaming streaming platform is Dacast. It requires at least 25 Mbps to stream 1080p HD video on it. Streaming on Youtube at 1080p with 60 fps, you will need an upload speed of 5.6 Mbps to 11 Mbps. 

Streaming on Twitch 

Depending on some other factors, these recommendations of upload speed can be changed a little bit. Maybe you don’t need upload speed faster than download speed FiOS but your upload rate should be at least 3 Mbps - standard rate according to FCC since 2015. 

What is good internet speed on different consoles?

You should be able to play online if your broadband internet connection reaches these speeds. A faster connection may also be beneficial to avoid buffering or dropping out during a crucial stage of an online tournament or match.

 

System	Min. download speed	Min. upload speed	Max latency
Nintendo Switch	3 Mbps	1 Mbps	N/A
Xbox One	1 Mbps	0.5 Mbps	150ms
PlayStation 4	N/A	2 Mbps	N/A

Improving upload speeds

If your upload speed is not good as expected, you can try some quick tips below:

Reset your devices

Using for a long time, you should reset your devices from your computer, router, modem, mobile phone. It can turn off apps, programs you are not using as well as delete temporary files which reduces internet performance. Besides, this re-establishes connections among network devices.

Switch to Ethernet cable

To experience gameplay seamlessly, it’s better to switch from wireless connection to wired connection. When you plug an Ethernet cable into your device, there is no interference impacting signal transferring. Particularly if your broadband connection isn't as strong or as fast as it could be, this is a good solution.

Using ethernet cords

Change another game server

Whether you're playing Among Us, Fortnite, Fifa, or another game, you may change servers by following the instructions in the game's interface. You'll locate the closest one through trial and error and improve the stability of your game.

Avoid peak hours

If you can avoid playing your game during peak, after-work hours, you may be able to increase the stability and quality of your session. However, that is when everyone wants to play.

If possible, you should avoid playing games on-peak hours 

Replace your router

Weak Wifi signals can be due to the wrong router position. You should place it in the middle of your house, hang it in a high place. At that time, wifi signals can be spread to almost all areas in the house.