A lot of users are having some weird issues with Steam Link. According to them, the gaming platform lags a lot making it frustrating to run any title. Well! This can not continue anymore. In this post, we are going to show you how to Improve Quality and Reduce Lag on Steam Link.
Tips to Improve Quality and Reduce Input Lag on Steam Link
To Improve Quality and Reduce Input Lag on Steam Link, try the following methods.
- Make sure that your Internet Connection is not slow
- Try using Ethernet and not a WiFi
- Use a 5 GHz network
- Enable Hardware Encoding
- Configure Steam Link
Let us go into the detail and talk about them each one of them.
1] Make sure that your Internet Connection is not slow
First up, you need to make sure that your Internet Connection is fast enough to handle the high bandwidth tasks you are throwing at it. For that, you can use any of the mentioned Internet Speed testers. In case, bandwidth is low, restart your router and if that doesn’t work, contact your ISP.
2] Try using Ethernet and not a WiFi
It is well known that wired devices perform better than wireless ones in a gaming scenario. That is one of the reasons why you may see professional gamers using wired controllers instead of wireless ones all the time. The wired devices, no matter how good they are, will have some degree of lag. This lag gets emphasized in a multiplayer scenario or where there are a lot of players in one single frame. Long story short, you need to use an Ethernet connection if you want to reduce Input lag on Steam Link because no matter how fast your WiFi is, it will lag.
3] Use a 5 GHz network
If you can not get an ethernet cable, the next best thing is to use a 5 GHz network. Most routers and laptops have this option and when enabled can do wonders for you. 5 GHz WiFi is the more advanced version of the standard 2.4 GHz. It not increases your bandwidth but will also make your connection stable. If you can not find it yourself, ask your ISP to set up the 5 GHz network. Once the network is set up, you can connect it to your Steam Link and start playing. Hopefully, there will be little to no lag.
4] Enable Hardware Encoding
Some Steam users were able to resolve the issue by enabling Hardware Encoding in the Steam Client app. We should try to do the same and see if it works. Follow the prescribed steps to do the same.
- Open Steam on your computer.
- Click on Steam from the top-right corner of the window and select the Settings option when it appears.
- Now, go to Remote Play > Advanced Host Options.
- Tick on Enable hardware encoding options.
- Click Ok.
Finally, check if Steam Link still lags. Hopefully, this will do the trick for you.
5] Configure Steam Link
We should also configure the Steam Link settings to make sure that it’s not misconfigured. To do the same, open Steam Link and click on the cog button to go to Settings. Then, go to Streaming, and select Fast for Video. It will be set to Balanced by default, which is always a recommended option, but since you face the lag issue, tinkering with the settings slightly can do the job. Once you have changed the settings, see if there is any lag. This should do the job for you.
That’s it!
Read: No host computers found in Steam Link Setup
How do I fix the input lag on Steam Link?
To fix Input Lag on Steam Link and to improve the quality, you should try the tips mentioned in this post. This won’t only help if your Steam Link is lagging, but will also improve it even further. So, scroll up, and start executing from the first solution. Hopefully, your issue will be resolved.
How do I get better quality on Steam Link?
To get better quality on Steam Link, make sure that there is no lag and the ping is not too high. For that, you need to make sure that your Internet connection is not fluctuating and that you are constantly getting high bandwidth. If you want to improve your Steam Link even further and make sure that there is no lag, check the tips and tricks mentioned here.
