The first question that gamers ask when looking to switch to Starlink is, ” Is Starlink good for gaming?
While the answer will mostly depend on the time of the game, Starlink generally provides fast and reliable internet for gaming.
With Starlink, you can confidently enjoy games with very little or no lagging, for the most part, even in remote areas.
We all know that gamers make split-second moves and decisions that can affect game progress in real-time. This is why you may want to be extra sure about Starlink.
If you’re a gamer looking to switch to Starlink, this article will help answer any questions about its suitability.
Starlink For Gaming
The quality of your gaming experience with Starlink’s internet service will depend mostly on what type of game you’re playing.
Starlink’s satellite service can go from comfortable to tolerable and an outright chore, depending on how competitive your game is.
You can experience the various sides of Starlink gaming, as discussed below.
The Good
One of the biggest advantages of gaming with Starlink is that you can play your games anytime and anywhere.
Starlink boasts decent coverage in remote places where you cannot enjoy regular fiber or cable internet.
Other than that, Starlink does just fine with regular lightweight games, including Role-player(RPG) and Real-time strategy (RTC) games.
While you won’t hit record speeds while playing these types of games with Starlink, you can be sure of uninterrupted gaming.
Another area where Starlink shines is in its upload and download speeds for gaming.
If you need to download any files, updates, patches, or skins while gaming, Starlink will work satisfactorily.
Its average download speed can go from 80 Mbps during peak hours to 130 Mbps during off-peak hours.
This is more than enough for most gamers. It is also considerably higher than what you get from other satellite options like Hughes.Net and Viasat.
(A man installing a satellite dish)
The Bad
As we’ve said earlier, Starlink’s performance is more suited to certain games than others.
With FPS, MOBA, and MMO games, you may not have the most enjoyable gaming experience.
The problems will come in lags and occasional stuttering in your gameplay due to latency and signal drops.
Latency
Latency is a big deal in online gaming. It relates to the time data takes to move back and forth between your game and your game server.
You can expect anything between 50-90 ms from your Starlink regarding latency while gaming.
While this isn’t a particularly bad score, it could make a difference in some MOBA or FPS games.
A high latency will result in lags while gaming and it could affect your real-time moves and responses while playing.
Signal Drops
You will likely experience occasional signal drops while gaming on the Starlink network.
While these drops should last for a short while, mostly 15 seconds max, they are enough to cause serious problems.
It might be enough to lose your game progress and be booted off your game lobby.
This is especially true for FPS and MOBA games, where the gaming action moves at breakneck speed.
Bad weather can worsen the frequency and duration of these signal drops.
( A satellite dish shown on a rooftop at night)
How To Fix Gaming Issues On Starlink
Your Starlink internet service will not always be working at its desirable best when you’re gaming.
Those occasional fits of lag, stutter, and outright outages can dampen your gaming experience. Thankfully, you can fix these problems using the few tips below.
Remove any obstructions to the dish.
Obstructions to your Starlink satellite dish, such as a swaying tree or an overhang, could be behind your struggling internet.
These obstructions can prevent your dish from enjoying a clear view of the sky above.
This is the only way it can communicate with low earth orbiting satellites above.
To fix this problem, clear your dish area of any obstruction. Also, use your Starlink app to scan your home for where your dish will meet with the least obstruction.
Mount The Dish Properly
A properly mounted dish gives you better chances of enjoying a better internet for your gaming.
While mounting your dish, consider the mounting surface and how much stability you can achieve there.
Ensure the dish is tightly fastened or clamped to the mounting spot. Secure it tightly against the swaying action of high wind.
Also, ensure that you only ever use the right accessories.
(A woman spotted beside a roof-mounted starlink dish)
Use Ethernet
Ethernet provides a more consistent, reliable, and high-performing alternative to Wi-Fi for all your gaming needs.
It relies on a physical cable to transfer data. As a result, it can bring about reduced interference and congestion in comparison to Wi-Fi-based connections.
This allows you to experience fewer lags and jitters, making for smoother, more enjoyable gameplay.
Game During Non-peak Hours
While this might look extreme, gaming during non-peak hours is one way to fix your service problems.
By playing during non-peak hours, you can enjoy faster, more stable, low-latency internet browsing.
This is due to the reduced demand on the Starlink network, resulting in less congestion and packet loss.
(A group of satellites shown in low-earth orbit)
Use A better router with QoS Management.
A router with QoS management capacity will help your gaming in many ways. It can help to identify and prioritize gaming traffic on your Starlink network.
This will help you enjoy smoother, sustained gameplay, even during peak hours when Starlink deprioritizes heavy data users on its network.
Avoid Gaming in bad weather.
It is no secret that bad weather affects the quality of Starlink’s service, especially for certain tasks. Gaming is a latency-sensitive activity, and bad weather can cause latency issues that affect your gaming experience.
High winds and storms can impact your dish, resulting in lags and stuttering or outages at worst. If you can, only resume gaming when the storm or bad weather has passed.
Starlink vs Other Internet Options For Gaming
It is important to know how other internet options compare to Starlink if you are considering them for your gaming.
Fixed Broadband
Fixed Broadband internet options include fiber, cable, DSL, and other wired connection options.
They generally offer faster speeds and pose reduced latency issues. With fiber, you can enjoy the fastest speed and lowest latency in addition to symmetrical upload and download speeds.
Cable internet also fares better in speed and latency compared to Satellite.
With DSL, proximity to the provider hub and interference on the DSL Lines will affect your browsing experience.
You can generally expect 14 ms latency with DSL. Other metrics include upload and download speeds of 22 Mbps and 150 Mbps, respectively, with fixed broadband while gaming.
Wireless
Wireless internet options include 4G and 5G internet service providers, available via home internet, mobile or dedicated hotspot, tethering, etc.
With wireless, you can expect decent browsing speeds above 100 Mbps, ideally, around 190 Mbps for T-mobile 5G.
Latency will depend on how congested the network is, but it should be comfortable enough for gaming.
The downside of using Wireless internet while gaming is the data cap of speed throttling issue.
If you use data beyond certain limits, your browsing speed may reduce and thus affect your gaming experience.
( A Starlink dish on the ground)
Conclusion
Starlink offers the advantage of providing internet in the most remote locations.
Beyond that, it can also get you fast and reliable satellite internet for the most part, and this is vital for gaming.
While Starlink’s internet puts up a strong showing during gaming, it also brings up certain issues.
It fares better in certain games than in others, and you may experience latency issues at the height of your gaming.
Thankfully, you can fix these issues with the tips provided here and get back to enjoying your gaming.