The Geo-Filter is a DumaOS feature that gets you the best connection when gaming online. We have made massive improvements to the filtering technology in DumaOS 4, and in this Geo-Filter guide, we'll give you all the information needed to fully optimise your connection.
We'll take you through the initial setup process of the Geo-Filter. Then, how to get the best low ping servers in your favourite online games. Lastly, we'll go through the Geo-Filter settings menu to get the most out of the feature.
By the end of this blog, you'll know how to set the Geo-Filter up to be able to play on the best low ping servers every time when gaming online.
To follow this blog, you'll need to have your R3 and DumaOS 4 connected and set up. If you'd like help with this, we have a setup guide blog that you can find here.
Video version of the Ultimate Geo-Filter Guide
Geo-Filter Setup
When you first open Geo-Filter, you will be prompted to start a feature tour. Feel free to go through this in the software, or you can skip it as we will cover all of the information in this blog.
The first thing you'll want to do is add your device to Geo-Filter. You can do this by clicking one of the "add device" buttons that are located in the top left and right corners of the UI.
Once you've done that, you'll be able to select a connected device to add to Geo-Filter. Select your PC or games console, and then you'll be asked to select a game you would like to filter.
There's a long list of games to choose from here. But, if you don't see the game you want to filter here, we have a workaround for this at the end of the blog.
Geo-Filter supported game list
Now that you have selected a game to filter, you should see your device and game are added to the Geo-Filter side menu. That's the Geo-Filter set up in the most basic sense. Now when you start playing the game you're filtering, you'll only connect to servers inside your filter radius.
Next, we'll tell you how to find the best servers to include within your filter.
How to Find the Best Servers
Even though this is the ultimate Geo-Filter guide, there are some more DumaOS features that we'll be using. The first of them being Ping Heatmap. This is Geo-Filter's trusted sidekick, and provides useful server information for most of the games available in Geo-Filter.
You can select a game from the dropdown list in Ping Heatmap and the server locations will populate the map. Each server is colour-coded based on their ping value. The servers closest to you will give you the lowest ping and should be the ones included in your Geo-Filter radius.
Ping Heatmap showing Call of Duty server locations
Now we know where the best servers are located, we can go back to Geo-Filter. You can adjust your filter radius using the "filter size" slider at the bottom, or you can type a specific value in.
If you want to be as accurate as possible, you can change from "simple" to "custom" mode in the bottom left corner. This removes the filter radius and allows you to draw custom filter shapes around the servers you want to connect to.
Geo-Filter Settings
There are some more things you can experiment with in the Geo-Filter settings menu.
We would always recommend leaving Geo-Latency toggled "on." This is the new technology included within Geo-Filter 2.0 that makes it support even more games than the original Geo-Filter. Geo-Latency also reduces the chances you'll run into issues like being disconnected from the game when filtering.
Ping Assist is another improved setting in Geo-Filter 2.0. It allows you to connect to servers outside of your filter radius, but only if they fall within the ping values you set. Ping Assist has been improved so much that it can now be the main filtering method if you prefer.
To set Ping Assist as the main filtering method, reduce your filter radius to the smallest it can be. Then set minimum and maximum ping values that you would be happy to play on in Ping Assist. Now you will be filtering purely based on ping, rather than location.
Geo-Filter settings menu
Steady Ping
A new addition to DumaOS 4 that is included within the Geo-Filter UI. It's technically its own feature, but we'll cover it here in this guide as it's used in conjunction with Geo-Filter.
You can enable Steady Ping using the button in the top left of the UI. Once enabled, Steady Ping will automatically stabilise your connection by removing jitter. To do this, a buffer will be applied to your ping. This will slightly increase your ping, but it will be able to account for any fluctuations in your ping.
There are two modes for Steady Ping: simple and expert. Simple is the recommended mode and will stabilise your ping based on your connection to the server. Expert mode allows you to stabilise your ping to a target value and will require more experimentation to get the best result.
We have a full video explaining how Steady Ping works and the benefits that come with removing jitter from your connection. You can check it out below.
How to Filter Unsupported Games
The Netduma team always tries to keep the list of games supported in Geo-Filter up to date. But if you are playing a niche game, or we haven't added support for the game yet, there is a way to filter games that aren't included in the list.
If you are gaming on a console, you won't need to do this step. When adding a console to Geo-Filter, it will filter any gaming traffic by default. But if you are gaming on a PC, then you'll need to change your device type to a console in order to filter games that aren't included in the list.
To do this, go to the Device Manager feature. Find your PC and click on it; you'll then get the option to "edit" the device. You can then change the device type from "computer" to any console (PlayStation, Xbox, or just Games Console). Then click "save."
Changing your device type in Device Manager
You will have to re-add your device to Geo-Filter once this is done. Now your PC is categorised as a console, you will be able to filter games that aren't included in the Geo-Filter list.
If there is a game you would like added to the Geo-Filter, you can email us at netduma@netduma.com or message us through Twitter (X) with any game suggestions.
Other DumaOS 4 Features
Geo-Filter is one of many powerful features included within DumaOS. If you would like to learn more about the other features, then check out the rest of our website here. We also have a range of game-specific network optimisation guides on our YouTube channel using the DumaOS features.