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How to Check Latency on PC?

Published in Network Latency Check 3 mins read

Checking latency on your PC typically involves performing a ping test to a specific server or website.

Latency, often referred to as "ping," is the time it takes for a small data packet to travel from your computer to a server on the internet and back. A lower latency value (measured in milliseconds, or ms) indicates a faster connection response time.

Performing a Ping Test

One of the most common methods to check network latency from your PC is by using the Command Prompt to run a ping command.

According to Ubisoft Help, performing a ping test involves these steps:

  1. Open the Start Menu: Click the Windows icon or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
  2. Search for 'cmd': Type cmd in the search bar.
  3. Open the Command Prompt: Click on the "Command Prompt" application that appears in the search results.
  4. Type the ping command: When the Command Prompt window opens, type ping followed by a space and the URL or IP address you want to test. For example, to test the latency to Google's website, you would type: ping google.com
  5. Press Enter: Hit the Enter key to execute the command.

The Command Prompt will then send several packets to the specified address and report the time it takes for each packet to receive a reply.

Understanding Ping Test Results

After running the ping command, you will see output similar to this (the exact numbers will vary):

Pinging google.com [142.250.189.238] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 142.250.189.238: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=117
Reply from 142.250.189.238: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=117
Reply from 142.250.189.238: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=117
Reply from 142.250.189.238: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=117

Ping statistics for 142.250.189.238:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 14ms, Maximum = 16ms, Average = 15ms

Key metrics to look at are:

  • Time: This value, shown in milliseconds (ms), represents the round-trip time for each packet. This is your latency.
  • Lost: The number and percentage of packets that did not receive a reply. Packet loss can indicate connection instability.
  • Average: The average round-trip time for all successful packets sent. This is often the most representative number for your current latency to the target.

Interpreting Latency Values

What constitutes "good" latency depends on the application:

  • < 50 ms: Generally considered good for online gaming and smooth browsing.
  • 50 ms - 100 ms: Acceptable for browsing and streaming, but may cause slight delays in real-time applications like online gaming or video calls.
  • > 100 ms: Can result in noticeable delays, lag in games, buffering during streaming, and choppy voice/video calls.

Checking latency with the ping command helps diagnose network connectivity issues and understand the responsiveness of your internet connection to specific destinations.

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