It doesn't matter if you're playing Battle Royale, Zero Build, or any other game mode; lag and high ping in Fortnite sucks. Nothing will ruin your aim, movement, and mood more than connection issues in Fortnite, but we're here to help.
The Netduma team have put this blog together to solve any connection issue you may be experiencing so you can get back to earning more Victory Royales.
Check Server Status
Before we make any changes to your settings or network, let's check if the servers are the reason you're lagging.
If a big update has just dropped and a lot of players are online, the Fortnite game servers may run into some issues. These server issues could be causing your connection to suffer and your gameplay to be ruined.
We've included some useful links below to check the status of the Fortnite servers. If you can see they're down, or if other players are reporting problems, you're probably experiencing server issues too.
Fortnite Server Status (Twitter/ X)
Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do to help with server issues, as it's down to Epic Games to push a fix or update to get the servers working properly again.
If the servers are up and running, but you're still stuck with high ping, then carry on reading to learn how to fix your connection.
Fortnite Dedicated Server Locations 2024
Useful In-Game Settings
Fortnite has some helpful network statistic settings that will show you the type of connection lag you are experiencing. You can enable this by going into the Settings Menu, then Game UI, then set Net Debug Stats to Enabled and hit Apply.
Now this setting is turned on, you will be able to see your network statistics whilst you are in-game. These could include high base ping, an unstable ping, or packet loss.
If you are only seeing a specific connection issue here, you can look below in the rest of the blog to find the solution. We've got a solution for each network issue, so no matter what one you're experiencing - it'll be fixed in this blog.
Another useful setting can be found in Settings, then Game, then Language and Region, then Matchmaking Region. By setting this to Auto, you will connect to the best available server when matchmaking.
You can also manually set your matchmaking region to the region of the world you live in. This will give you the best chance to get into a low ping game. We have a tip later on in the blog that guarantees you low ping games every time.
Use a Wired Connection
A quick and easy network change that we would always suggest when gaming online is to use a wired (ethernet) connection.
This will provide a much faster and stable connection compared to using Wi-Fi. This is important because stability in your connection is the most important thing when it comes to smooth gameplay.
Wi-Fi is a very convenient way to connect your PC or console to the internet, but it's not ideal for gaming. As the Wi-Fi signals need to travel from your router to your PC or console, they may face interference. This can lead to a slowdown in your connection, or even packet loss.
A common reason why people don't use a wired connection is the distance between their router and PC or console. If that is the case for you, we would recommend looking into Powerline Adapters. This piece of tech can carry an ethernet-style connection through your home's existing electrical wiring.
Use DumaOS
If the game servers are good and you're using a wired connection but still lagging, it's time to use DumaOS to fix your connection. DumaOS is a set of powerful tools that completely optimise your network for online gaming.
We'll be telling you how the DumaOS 4 features can fix your Fortnite high ping and network issues in this blog. If you have a previous generation DumaOS router (3.0 or 3.3), we have a separate blog for those features that can be found here.
Geo-Filter
The Geo-Filter allows you to choose what servers you play on in Fortnite. By creating a custom filter radius around your location, the Geo-Filter ensures you only connect to servers within your radius.
The servers closest to you will give you the best connection quality and lowest ping. By using the Geo-Filter to force connection to nearby servers, you will always have low ping in Fortnite.
To get the Geo-Filter set up, simply add your device you are gaming on and select Fortnite as the game to filter. It's as simple as that. You can use another DumaOS feature, Ping Heatmap, to find the location of the best Fortnite servers. These can then be included in your filter radius.
Steady Ping
You can further enhance your gaming connection by using Steady Ping. This feature is included within the Geo-Filter and gives you an insanely stable connection, which is perfect for Fortnite.
Playing on a jittery connection can make your movement and building feel unresponsive. Steady Ping removes jitter in your connection, which results in a completely stabilised connection.
Steady Ping works by applying a buffer to your connection. This buffer can account for the constant changes in your ping, so now you'll be playing on an almost perfectly stable ping. We show Steady Ping in action in the video below if you want to see it for yourself.
SmartBOOST
Gaming on a busy network is never ideal, but SmartBOOST will stop other people and applications from ruining your connection in Fortnite. Whether people are streaming 4K video or downloading files, SmartBOOST will manage your bandwidth to always keep gaming as the top priority.
You can directly set "Gaming" as the top priority on your network in SmartBOOST. This ensures that your gaming traffic will always be prioritised and sent first on your network. SmartBOOST also stops bandwidth-intensive applications like 4K streaming services and file downloads from taking more bandwidth than they need.
This frees up a lot of bandwidth on your network, which will reduce congestion and stop queuing on your network. SmartBOOST is a lot more than just a gaming priority feature; it can optimise your whole network. Find out more in the video below.
Thanks For Reading
That wraps up the blog. By following the tips and tricks in this blog, you should be playing with a stable, low ping in every game of Fortnite.
If you want to learn more about DumaOS 4, you can check out the rest of our website here.
If you want to get your hands on the powerful features included in DumaOS, then check out our new Netduma R3 Gaming Router. It's our most powerful router yet and comes with DumaOS 4 pre-installed.
As a thank you for reading the whole blog, we're also offering a discount code for the R3 if you are interested in buying one.
Use code: FORTNITEBLOG
for 10% off your Netduma R3 purchase