How To Fix COD Mobile Lag & Make It Run Smoothly
Call of Duty is arguably one of the most iconic shooter franchises in the history of gaming. Stories branching across modern and historic military history and fast-paced team-based gunplay make each installment unforgettable.
COD is known for its ability to bring gamers together. It’s certainly done so on mobile devices. With over 6 million daily players, it remains a mainstay of gamers across the world. This isn’t to say that everything is perfect in this iconic shooter.
On the negative side, COD is known for its intensity when it comes to file sizes and demands on processing power. COD can be a metaphorical landmine when it comes to lag issues, and COD Mobile is no exception.
Thankfully, there are plenty of solutions to lag. In the middle of a firefight, a split-second delay can be the difference between life and death. Eliminate lag — and crush the competition — with the guide below from WTFast.
Basic Needs for Playing COD Mobile
Before we get into playing the game, we need to highlight the minimum needs in order to play COD Mobile. These differ slightly depending on whether you are an Android or iPhone user.
Android users should have 2GB of RAM and be running Android 5.1 or up. Apple users can access COD Mobile on devices with 2GB of RAM and iOS 9.0 or later. The app is also fairly storage-intensive, using 5.5GB of storage. Compared to some mobile games, that’s small — but it’s not an exceptionally small amount of storage space.
Data consumption for COD Mobile is also fairly small, especially compared to other games. Self-reported metrics from players suggest the app uses roughly 35MB per hour. That adds up to just a little over a GB a month if you play an hour every day.
If the app had been released when the iPhone 7 was launched in 2016, these would be some imposing numbers. Today, pretty much any mid-range device released in the last five years is capable of running COD Mobile without issue.
If you do have issues stemming from hardware problems, there may be little you can do aside from upgrades. Most smaller devices cannot be as easily manufactured as a gaming PC. Regardless, for any other issue, the below guide can help.
Fixing Performance From Your Phone
Our first batch of fixes will be ones you can perform right from your phone, in order of immediacy.
The first thing you should do before loading up the game is close every other app that’s running. Every little bit adds up and takes up more of your RAM. Especially if you have other games running in the background, your COD performance will be reduced.
Your next step should be to optimize your in-game graphics. You’ll want to navigate to Sound and Graphics in the Settings menu, then click on graphics. Set graphics and framerate to low, and turn off depth of field, bloom, ragdoll, and real-time shadows. This should go a long way to running more smoothly, though you will have fewer frames.
You’ll also want to install updates the moment that you can, both for the app and your primary device. Sometimes, restarting your device or deleting and redownloading the app can also help with some issues.
If your wi-fi isn’t especially fast, it can be tempting to switch over to data. However, cellular data is sometimes inconsistent when compared to wi-fi. The key to keeping COD running smoothly is to ensure that your connection is not only satisfactory but also consistent. Wi-fi connections are crucial to making this happen.
You’ll also want to turn off Power Saving Mode or Low-Power mode, depending on your device. These modes lower system processes to extend battery life. These are great for daily use, but not as much when gaming. You can generally find these modes in the settings of your particular device.
Our last on-board suggestion is this: Delete the apps you don’t use. If you’re using every bit of storage you have, it may impact your speed. Otherwise, look at our countless other fixes.
Fixing Performance in Your Home
Above we stated that the best way to play COD Mobile is over a wi-fi connection. There are plenty of ways that your secondary devices can impact your experience playing the game.
You’ll first want to reduce the number of barriers between your phone and your router. Every wall or barrier between you and your router will slow down your signal, subtly. This can be the case as many older homes use materials that are unfriendly to modern wi-fi signals. Electronic appliances like microwaves between you and the device are also a major source of interference.
Secondly, you may want to simply reset the router. Clearing its cache by performing a hard reset can alleviate any problems, especially if you’ve been having overall internet issues.
If you primarily use a mobile device for gaming, you may even consider using a gaming router. These routers prioritize particular devices, whereas traditional routers usually share data equally across devices. This helps you highlight what matters most, ensuring lag will never ruin another game.
You can otherwise have an enhanced gaming experience by using an ethernet cable to connect your mobile device. Adaptors exist to easily connect most devices directly to routers. A wired connection is faster, which is more stable and therefore phenomenal.
Every step of the way, or at least periodically, you should perform internet speed tests. This will let you know what is helping you most as you troubleshoot lag problems.
The Ultimate Approach To Reducing Lag
At this point, you’ve done everything you can to make the game run better. You’ve sacrificed graphics, framerate, and more, and you’ve practically fused your mobile device into the router. Still, lag persists.
Alternatively, you want to be able to enjoy the game without having to sacrifice its appearance for a team victory.
You need something more powerful than a simple tinkering with menus can provide. For the ultimate in eliminating lag at its source, we suggest WTFast’s route optimizer.
All online communication, from the slightest button press, relies on data transmission. Data packets go from the client to the server and back to the client. Game developers take care of the server, and in turn, players take care of everything client-side. The responsibility of who takes charge of the middle — AKA, the route that data takes — is a bit of a muddle.
For the most part, the internet server provider bounces data in whatever way is most convenient. Everyone needs to traffick their data, and the ability to traffick as much general data as possible is prioritized. Worse is that many private internet providers offer slower services than municipal internet services.
This is fine for widespread social infrastructure, but less so for your gaming. WTFast uses private data pathways to ensure your data is transferred as quickly as possible.
Getting Instant Reactivity in COD Mobile
To think about the way your data is transferred, think about cars. With a standard network, you are traveling with an economical vehicle during rush hour traffic. You’ll get where you need to be, but it may take you a while to get there. On the way, you might encounter lag, ping spikes, and more to make your commute a little less pleasant.
With our Gamers Private Network, you can travel in luxury on a wide, empty road. There’s no need to be concerned about peak times or your overall bandwidth. Your data packets reach the destination faster, with fewer spikes and stops along the way.
Utilizing traceroute functions and machine learning, we can pinpoint the exact path your data takes from server and client. WTFast then optimizes and controls your route for the best gaming experience possible. It also provides real-time analytics, so you can control how other processes and graphics you use affect gameplay.
We understand that, just as some games are better played than streamed, so two are some services better when experienced. For that reason, our route optimizer is available as a free trial before committing to a full subscription.
The Future of Mobile Gaming
For decades, handheld gaming played second fiddle to consoles. The Gameboy, DS, and PSP all had their gems, but rarely had the same curated experience afforded to console players.
We’re glad to say that that’s no longer the case. Mobile devices are now legitimate ways to play complex, heavy-hitting games.
With this in mind, it's time to upgrade your setup so you can meet the standards of modern mobile gaming. We’ve covered the basics, from graphical tweaks to careful on-board vigilance. We’ve covered the advanced world of route optimizers and more. All that’s left is to gather your squad and settle in for a night of low-lag, high-stakes gaming.
Once you’ve had your fill of COD, check out any of the countless other games WTFast is built to enhance.
Sources:
Call of Duty: Mobile Live Player Count and Statistics I Active Player
Wi-Fi Won't Travel Through Your House? It Might Be The Wire In The Walls I The Guardian
The Cost of Connectivity 2020: Focus on the United States I New America
