Short answer: packet loss is data that never arrives; jitter is variation in how long data takes to arrive. Games and calls need very little of either. As a benchmark, Microsoft’s targets for Teams calls are packet loss under 1% and jitter under 30 ms, measured from your device including Wi-Fi. To find the cause, run a long ping test to your router and to a site on the internet, wired and on Wi-Fi: where the losses start tells you whether to fix your Wi-Fi, your home network or call your provider.
What they are
Data travels in small packets. Microsoft defines packet loss as packets that don’t reach their destination at all, and points out that loss and delay make real-time calls worse even on a fast, high-bandwidth connection. A game or call can’t wait for a lost packet to be sent again, so the gap shows up as a stutter.
Jitter is how much the delay varies from one packet to the next. The internet standard for real-time media measures it as the average deviation in the spacing between packets when they arrive, compared with when they were sent. Steady 60 ms delay is playable; delay that swings between 20 and 120 ms is not.
What it feels like: in games, rubber-banding, teleporting players and hits that don’t register; on calls, Microsoft lists static, audio that cuts out and robotic-sounding voices as possible signs of jitter or packet loss.
How much is too much
There’s no single standard for games, but Microsoft’s published targets for Teams calls make a useful benchmark for anything real-time. Measured from the device, including Wi-Fi and the home network:
| Measure | Microsoft’s target (device to Microsoft’s network) |
|---|---|
| Packet loss | Under 1% in any 15 seconds |
| Jitter | Under 30 ms in any 15 seconds |
| Round-trip latency | Under 100 ms |
How to test
The simplest tool is ping, which every computer has. On Windows, ping sends four test packets by default; add /n 100 to send a hundred, or /t to keep sending until you press Ctrl+C. At the end it reports how many replies came back and the delay of each, which gives you both the loss and a feel for the jitter.
Run it twice, to two targets:
- Your router’s address (how to log in to your router shows how to find it). This tests only your Wi-Fi or home network.
- A well-known site on the internet. This tests the whole path, including your provider.
Then repeat on a wired connection if you were testing on Wi-Fi.
Run the test again while someone else is streaming or downloading. If delay and jitter jump only when the connection is busy, the cause is likely bufferbloat (below).
How to fix it
On Wi-Fi
Start with Wi-Fi. Play or call on a cable if you can; otherwise move closer to the router, or out of the way of walls and other electronics. Reduce ping for gaming starts with exactly that, and Wi-Fi channels covers interference from neighbours’ networks. If the connection also drops, see Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting.
When the connection is busy
If jitter and delay spike only while others are using the internet, that’s bufferbloat: the router lets queues build up, and real-time traffic waits behind downloads. Bufferbloat.net describes exactly this: too much buffering adds delay under load, and calls and games suffer. The fix is smart queue management; bufferbloat explained shows how to test and turn it on.
Beyond your router
If wired tests to your router are clean but tests to the internet lose packets, restart the modem, then contact your provider with your results: when it happens, how much loss, and that a wired connection shows the same. Loss that starts outside your home is something only the provider can fix.
A new router won’t fix loss on the provider’s line, though it can help with Wi-Fi and bufferbloat; do you need a gaming router? covers what actually makes a difference.