Gaming on your phone: what your connection really needs

When a game stutters, people blame their internet speed. Often the bigger culprit is latency (how long a signal takes to make a round trip) and how steady it is.

Three numbers to look at

• Download speed: matters for installing and updating games, less for playing most of them.
• Latency (ping): lower is better. Fast-paced online games feel it most.
• Jitter: how much latency jumps around. Spiky connections feel worse than slow-but-steady ones.

Quick fixes

1. Move closer to the router, or switch to its 5 GHz network if you're in the same room.
2. Pause big downloads and video streams on other devices while you play.
3. Close background apps on the phone.
4. For offline games, turn on airplane mode: fewer interruptions and better battery.