Are you an avid gamer who enjoys playing Apex Legends on your Windows 11 PC? Do you find that your gameplay is constantly interrupted by network lag, high ping, and stuttering? If so, you're not alone. These issues can be frustrating and can greatly affect your gaming experience. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to fix these problems and get back to enjoying the game you love. In this article, we'll explore some solutions to help you fix network lag, high ping, and stuttering on Apex Legends for Windows 11. From adjusting your settings to updating your drivers, we'll cover everything you need to know to optimize your gameplay and get the most out of your gaming experience.

Verify the Apex Legends Server Status

Verify the Apex Legends and Steam server status page to ensure your network issues are unrelated to the server you are playing on. On the page, you can preview server issues for Apex Legends on different servers, for the Lobby and Matchmaking servers, for Origin logins, as well as EA accounts and PSN and Xbox. Below, check out the Live Outage map to see where reports are coming from. If these reports are in your region, you might want to change your in-game server region for the time being.

apex legends server status page.jpg — Apex Legends Server Status

Test your Internet Connection Speed & Latency

If you feel like the issue is related to your network connection, then make sure to test your connection by visiting Speedtest.net. A normal Up & Download speed, without interruption, is important for a stable gaming experience. Especially your ping should remain below 100ms.

Account for any VPN service running on your system. Or turn off your VPN while in-game. Make sure to use an ethernet cable to ensure the best possible connection. If you have to use a Wifi connection, then restart your router or modem if you haven't done this in a while, and reduce the number of devices connected to the same network.

speed test network connection — Test your average internet speed to the closest server

End Network-Intensive Processes

Open your Task Manager by searching for it in your Start Menu search. In the Performance tab, click on Open Resource Monitor. In the Network tab, open the Processes with network activity, and after a few seconds, you will see every process using your network connection. This might be your browser running in the background, steam or a download bottlenecking your connection. I suggest you only end the processes you know won't break your operating system.

resource monitor network activity — Resource Monitor > Network > Processes with Network Activity

Command Prompt

Next, open up your Command Prompt, by searching for CMD and hitting enter. Use the following commands:

ping google.com

This command will check your latency and packet loss to google's servers. If your ping is higher than 100ms, or if you encounter any packet loss, make a few changes to your connection, and follow the next tweaks.

ipconfig /flushdns

This will flush and reset the content of your DNS resolver cache. Using this command can fix network-related issues with Valorant. In case you still have latency and lag issues, then you should verify your connection to your ISP and make sure that you are using a decent data plan. You can troubleshoot this step by switching your connection to your hotspot.

Change the DNS Server Addresses

Change your DNS server address if your connection still causes the Apex Legends network problem. Open your Control Panel by searching for it in your start menu search. View by: Category, and click on Network and Internet. Click on Network and Sharing Center, and select your connection. This will open up this window containing general information about your connection.

Navigate to Properties, and lastly, double-click the Internet Protocol Version 4. Select to Use the following DNS server addresses option, and as your Preferred DNS server, use: 8.8.8.8. As your Alternate DNS server, use: 8.8.4.4. This will fix network-related issues when playing Apex Legends, as these are the official public DNS server addresses from Google, which are safe to use.

change DNS settings wifi properties — Resource Monitor > Network > Processes with Network Activity

Update Network Adapter

We suggest updating your Network Adapter’s driver to further troubleshoot network-related problems. To do so, search for Device Manager in your start menu search to open it up. Expand your Network Adapters, right-click the one you are using, and select Update Driver. Finally, click on Search automatically for drivers. This will take a second to download and install the latest Network Adapter driver.

network adapters device manager.jpg — Device Manager > Network Adapters > Update Driver

Windows Operating System Update

Ensure your Windows 11 version is up to date. Search for Update to open up your Search for Updates system settings window. Your Settings will open up. Click on Check for Updates, Download or Install Now, and restart your PC after making all these changes to your OS.

Windows Update.jpg — Device Manager > Network Adapters > Update Driver

Close 3rd-Party Applications

If you still get network-related issues, you most likely have software running on your system, hindering you from playing the game. To fix this, we suggest ending processes from running in your Task Manager of recently installed programs that can change your files or use up your available resources, such as OBS, Shadowplay, CCleaner, or Adobe applications, to troubleshoot which program is causing the issue.