Twitch is an awesome streaming service that allows people to live stream. The website is primarily used to stream games. These includes Fortnite, Valorant, League of Legends, Call of Duty, and many more popular titles. The streamers can be vary their content. They chill and talk to viewers, watch videos, run charity events, and Twitch Plays. Esports players are often practicing, while on the website. Watching them is normally entertaining and educational as they will give advice to new players. Twitch is one of the most popular streaming services for both watching and creating gaming related content. Lag can ruin your time when watching your favorite streamers. While some of this is coming from the server, the majority of the lag is caused by your own connection to Twitch. In this post we will teach you how to fix lag with a VPN. We will provide suggestions for PC, Mac, iOS, Android, PS4, and Xbox One.
How to Fix Lag Spikes in Twitch
Here is the quickest way to improve Twitch lag on PC, Mac, iOS, and Android.
- Sign up for ExpressVPN (includes a 30-day money back guarantee)
- Download the ExpressVPN app and connect to a server in the region you wish to play in.
- Test to see if your ping has lowered from your normal response time.
- Launch Twitch and enjoy!
Want to fix lag spikes on Xbox One or PS4? If so follow these instructions.
- Sign up for ExpressVPN (includes a 30-day money back guarantee)
- Log into Expressvpn.com and go to the “DNS Settings” tab.
- Click the button to register your IP address.
- You can also set dynamic DNS (more technical users)
- Click on the “Dashboard” tab
- Look for the “Set up on all your devices” section and click on the “see all devices” link.
- Click on the set up guide for your console. ExpressVPN MediaStreamer supports PS4, PS3, Xbox One, and Xbox 360.
- Make note of the IP address given in the set up box to the right of the screen.
- Set the DNS on your console to the IP given on the ExpressVPN site.
Why Does Twitch Lag?
If you plan to live stream your games via Twitch then we highly recommend connecting to your network with a LAN cable. This is normally much faster than WiFi. If that isn’t possible you may can set up a separate WiFi network and prioritize the traffic. Want to see if the Twitch servers are down or others are having issues? You can look at Downdetector to see if others are having issues connecting to Twitch servers. For more specific news you can check out the Twitch server status page.
The popularity of Twitch is both a blessing and a curse. As we mentioned, you will watching with users with differing Internet connection speeds. If you have performance issues when using the Internet in general then you can expect lag spikes when streaming games on Twitch. The two main considerations for lag are your Internet speed and hardware. PC gamers will want to focus on CPU, memory, and graphics card. Everyone needs a fast Internet connection.
More Tips to Fix Lag Spikes in Twitch
Let’s start by looking at the best way to increase your Internet speed and lower ping times. In doing so you can expect less lag and a better gaming experience. We recommend testing a VPN to improve ping and reduce your lag. The key is to find a better route between your system and the game server. Your ISP isn’t focused on this issue as much as VPN providers. They know that it’s a competitive advantage if they can offer you a faster router to key locations. Most of the game developers host regional game servers in the same locations. This allows VPNs to offer better routes and will give you a boost in performance.
Twitch Server Locations
Twitch is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This is great as AWS servers are located very close to ExpressVPN’s servers.
Here is a list of the recommended VPN server locations for each region.
- United States – Washington DC and Seattle
- Europe – London, Frankfurt, Stockholm
- Asia Pacific – Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney
- South America – Sao Paulo
- China – Hong Kong
Here is a little more information on using a VPN for streaming.
How to Stream Twitch with ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is our choice for fixing lag. All you will have to do is connect to a server location close to where the game is hosted. ExpressVPN has 160 server locations throughout the world for you to choose from. Gaming companies like Electronic Arts, Bethseda, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo use similar hosts. Some of the most popular hosts are Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). ExpressVPN has servers located close to these data centers. This will give you a closer connection to the game and improve your experience. You will be able to reduce ping and fix lag by using ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN has an exciting exclusive discount of 49% off a year subscription of VPN with an extra 3 months for all our readers. You can play online with less lag and improved privacy. Take advantage of regional exclusives and play with friends internationally through the over 160 server locations. It is easy to use and available across a variety of devices. ExpressVPN offers a 30 day money back guarantee. This gives you a full month to see how a VPN can help your gaming experience.
