What is Packet Loss?

Have you ever thrown a ball, and it fell short of the person you were throwing to? Yeah, us neither... But that's basically what packet loss is. Your data didn't make it wherever it was going.

High packet loss will cause everything to feel slow because you computer has to keep resending data until it gets through.

Why is measuring packet loss important?

Speed tests are only part of the picture of your network performance. Sure, high packet loss can show up as slow internet speeds, but it is often intermittent, so a speed test won't always show it. You need to continuously monitor with a service like, let's say, Latency Llama (we try to keep you on your toes) to get a better understanding of if there is an internet issue and where it might be.

What happens if you have packet loss? Freezing. Yup, that's basically it. Games, movies, video chats, web browsing, they'll all freeze on you.

The worst are small amounts of packet loss. Just enough to notice, but small enough that you're not 100% sure. That's why you should continuously monitor your network. Then you'll know.

How do you reduce packet loss?

First of all, you need to know there is a network or internet issue. We recommend using Latency Llama (shocker!). We continuously monitor your packet loss (and latency) so that you both know there is a problem and have some details to help you track down where the issue may be.

You're going to start with the basics, restarting: modem, router, network switches, computers, etc.

If it is a WAN issue, i.e. upstream of your router (we'll help you figure that out), then it's time to call your ISP (sigh...).

If the issue is inside your network, a switch, router, or modem may be bad or simply overloaded. We've also seen bad network cables (for some reason kids can't resist stepping on them, which will break them eventually). You'll need to experiment a little to figure out where the issue is.

For more troubleshooting steps, check out 13 ways to fix your internet issues.