Why Is Warzone so Laggy – How to Fix It?

Call of Duty is one of the most popular multiplayer online games. However, this also means that servers are overcrowded. So you’ll experience Warzone lagging, crashes, and even disconnects. Even worse, these might affect the match’s outcome, so it’s pretty annoying when that happens. 

Also, lags and stuttering might happen because you have high ping, which means the connection to the server is slow. This happens when your ISP throttles your internet speeds so you won’t consume too much data. 

A VPN can help you with these situations, it can lower your ping and fix Warzone lag. So, in this article, we’ll talk about how you can fix Warzone lag depending on the device you’re using. Also, since your ISP is exposed on Warzone’s servers, we’ll show how you can protect your identity using a VPN. 

Without further ado, let’s see how you can improve your Warzone connection and play safe! 

How to Fix Warzone Lag with a VPN

Warzone has 300,000+ players, so it’s really hard to find a nearby game server that’s not overcrowded. The good news is that a VPN can help you with this problem by letting you connect to a game server with fewer players. Here’s how you can it: 

1. Get a trustworthy VPN with a large server network (we recommend ExpressVPN). 
2. Download the VPN app and install it on your device or on your router. 
3. Log into the VPN app and search for a server from a country with few Warzone players. 
4. Connect to that server and launch Warzone. 

However, keep in mind that many Reddit users complained that Warzone’s European servers are almost at full capacity. So, if possible, try to avoid these servers. If you’re interested in connecting to Warzone servers with easier lobbies, you can try Hawaii, Argentina, and Egypt. Players from those zones aren’t that skilled, so even if you have a higher ping, you can still win the match. 

Why Is Warzone So Laggy? 

Warzone server lag because you have a high ping. 

If you don’t know what ping is, here’s a quick explanation. When you connect to a server, thousands of data packets travel constantly from the server to your device and back to your server. And ping is exactly this: how milliseconds it takes for your data to travel constantly from your device to the server and back to your device. 

The most common problems you might experience if you have high ping include: 

• Lagging and stuttering
• Random teleporting around the map
• Frequent server disconnects
• Chat messages take long to load

Also, here are a few reasons why you have high ping and can’t play Warzones on your device smoothly: 

• Overcrowded servers. Popular servers like the ones in Europe or Asia where players are skilled tend to be overcrowded. In comparison, servers located in Africa or South America are not at maximum capacity. 
• ISP throttling. When you’re gaming, your device is constantly exchanging data packets with the server. Because you consume too much data, your internet service provider might intentionally slow down your internet speeds to discourage you from playing.
• Slow routers. Unfortunately, you might experience Warzone lagging even if you have a good device, but a slow router. This happens because the router is far away from you or you didn’t reboot it for a long time. Also, we recommend you to prune unnecessary router connections —  especially the devices you don’t use at all when you’re gaming. 
• Hardware specs. Make sure that your device can support Warzone. For example, you should have 8-16 GB RAM. Also, you should have at least a Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5 processor. Anything below this will make your game lag. 

How Can a VPN Help You Fix Warzone Lag?

Firstly, a VPN encrypts your traffic so no one can see what you’re doing online — not even your ISP. Because of this, your ISP won’t be able to intentionally slow down your internet speed.

Even if they were to check, all they could see is that you were connected to a VPN. After that, all your traffic is like random strings made out of numbers, letters, and special characters. 

Secondly, a VPN hides your IP address when you are connected to a game server and replaces it with another one. This way, possible malicious actors can’t see your real IP address, so they can’t target you with DDoS attacks. 

Thirdly, a VPN helps you connect to different Warzone locations with fewer players available. By changing your IP address, you can access servers all around the world that are not overcrowded. So you’ll have a better gaming experience. 

Last but not least, a VPN might re-route your internet data through countries with faster internet speeds than your ISP. Your ISP might send your internet data through countries with very slow internet speeds (like Venezuela or Pakistan). Also, your ISP might send your data though more countries than normal (like your data is traveling through 5 countries instead of 2). Unfortunately, you can’t know for sure how your data is routed unless you ask them directly. But even then, there are still low chances they will answer you exactly. 

By using a VPN, there's a chance that you’ll have better speeds. That’s because the VPN provider provides a better route for your data than your ISP. This way, you can get a lower ping, and your game won’t stutter anymore. 

However, there are thousands of VPNs on the market. To save you some time, our team performed tests on 65+ VPN services and made a compilation of our results. If you’re interested to see them check our in-depth article about the best Warzone VPN. 

Our speed and leak tests show that the best VPN service for Warzone is ExpressVPN. It’s very secure and has a large server network in 90+ countries. Also, it has minimal slowdown on both distant and nearby servers, so we could play Warzone with low ping. If you want to know how you can set it up and use it, check out our complete ExpressVPN Warzone article. 

How to Stop Lagging in Warzone?

Lagging happens for a ton of different reasons. So, to fix it, you need to see what kind of problems you have and use an adequate solution. Here’s what you can do, based on the problem you’re dealing with: 

Hide Your Traffic from Your ISP 

Warzone might lag because your ISP might throttle your internet speeds to the game servers. The best way to prevent this from happening is to use a VPN. Since the VPN encrypts your traffic, it will make it unreadable for anyone who’s trying to see your online activity. Since the ISP can’t see what sites you’re accessing, they can’t selectively throttle your connection to the Warzone server. 

Connect to a Warzone Server with Fewer Players

Top VPN providers have a large server fleet, so you can access tons of other servers from all around the world. This way, you can access a Warzone server that’s not overcrowded. In addition, you can connect to a server located closer to your real location than normal. This way, you can lower your ping and have a better gaming experience. 

Fix Your Router or Connectivity Issues

If you're experiencing technical issues that aren’t necessarily related to game connectivity, here’s what you can do: 

• Close background apps you don’t use while gaming. Social media apps, Chrome, and Skype, can eat a lot of bandwidth. So, make sure they’re not running in the background while you’re gaming. 
• Use an ethernet cable. WiFi connection is not that stable compared to a device that’s directly connected to a router. Even if your device is not in the same room with the router, you can still get an ethernet cable up to 100m (328 feet) without losing internet speed. 
• Restart your router. Your router cache needs constant restarts to clear its cache and fix memory leaks. IT specialists recommend restarting your router every couple of months. 

Why Is My Warzone Lagging On Different Devices?

Warzone needs specific requirements and optimization for different devices to run smoothly. To make things easier, we will address the issues users face on each device type. 

Why Is Warzone Lagging on My PC, Windows laptop, or Mac?

Here are the main reasons why Warzone is lagging on your Windows device or PC: 

• Your ISP is throttling your Warzone connection — hide your online activity with a VPN with strong encryption and safe protocols. 
• You have high ping — Boost your internet speeds by using some of your recommendations mentioned above. 
• Your PC or Windows device doesn’t have the right specs — upgrade its hardware. 
• You connect only to overcrowded servers — use a VPN to connect to a different server than you normally do. With a VPN, you can connect either to a nearby server, or to another one that’s not crowded. 

Warzone lagging on Mac is out of the question because the game is not supported on this platform in the first place. 

Why Is Warzone Lagging on My Xbox or PS Console?

Playing Warzone on your console is definitely a funnier and more active experience. Here are the most common problems that make your Warzone lag on the console and how you can get rid of them: 

• Server connectivity issues — use a VPN to change your server. 
• Slow internet seeds — restart your router every couple of months. Also, make sure there are no huge obstacles between your device and the router, like thick walls, electronic devices that also use WiFi, and so on. 
• ISP internet issues — get a VPN that makes your online activity unreadable. 
• Your Warzone version is outdated — always make sure you have the latest version of the game. Plus, upgrading to a newer version can also eliminate different bugs. 

However, keep in mind that consoles and portable devices (like Nintendo Switch) don’t support VPNs. So you have to install it on your router manually. 

Fortunately, ExpressVPN has router apps, so the setup is very easy and can be installed in just a few minutes. Also, the router app looks very similar to the desktop/mobile VPN apps, so it’s very intuitive to use. 

Why Is Warzone Lagging on My Android, iOS, or Tablet?

Playing Warzone on your Android or tablet is more convenient since you can do it pretty much anywhere. Here are the most common issues and the best fixes for them: 

• Unstable internet connection — if possible, switch from mobile data to WiFi. If you're using an unsecure WiFi (like the public library, coffee shops, and hotels), use a VPN to encrypt your data and keep it safe.
• Tons of apps running in the background — make sure you close all apps that drain your battery and hog your bandwidth. 
• Old Warzone version — regularly check if new updates are available. 

On iOS, Warzone has not been released yet, so you can’t play it. 

Final Thoughts

CoD Warzone is definitely one of the most popular online games, and its number of players that are constantly rising confirms it. But many users experience lagging very often, which is very annoying. 

The reasons that make Warzone lag can be different — ISP throttling, overcrowded servers, poor internet connection, and clogged routers. Fortunately, most of these problems have one solution — installing a VPN. This way, you can hide your online activity from your ISP, change Warzone servers, and solve specific internet connectivity issues. 

In our tests, ExpressVPN had blazing-fast speeds, so we could play Warzone without difficulties. The game and chat messages load fast, and we kept lagging to a minimum. Also, our IP address never leaked, so the ISP couldn’t monitor our online activity.  

Here are the most common questions people ask about playing COD Warzone: