Trying to fix lag in Minecraft can feel like an endless battle—just when you think everything’s working, your game stutters, mobs glitch out, or blocks stop breaking.
Whether you’re in the middle of a heated PvP fight or just trying to chill and build with friends, lag ruins the vibe fast.
But don’t worry—you’re not alone, and more importantly, there are real fixes.
This 2025 guide is all about helping you cut through the frustration and actually get results. We’ll break down the most effective ways to fix lag, improve your settings, and understand what’s really going on behind the scenes.
If you play Minecraft online—on public servers, Realms, or even private multiplayer worlds—this one’s for you.
9 Ways to Fix Lag in Minecraft
Let’s dive right into it. These tips apply mostly to the PC version of Minecraft, but several of them also help on other platforms like mobile or console.
We’re focusing mainly on online multiplayer situations, which are usually the most lag-prone.
1. Check Your Internet Connection First
If you’re lagging in multiplayer, there’s a good chance it’s not your computer—it’s your connection. Try this:
- Connect with an Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi (if possible)
- Move closer to your router
- Close other bandwidth-heavy apps like YouTube, Netflix, or downloads
- Restart your router and modem
Also, test your connection with a speed test. A ping under 50ms is ideal for online gaming. Over 100ms? That’s when issues start becoming noticeable.
2. Use NoPing
Sometimes, lag comes from the route your connection takes to the server—not just your speed.
NoPing can re-route your traffic to be faster and more direct.
It is especially useful if:
- The server you play on is far away (like different continent far)
- You get random lag spikes or rubberbanding
- You’re playing on public servers with players from all over the world
3. Pick the Right Server
Not all Minecraft servers are created equal. Some are overloaded, poorly maintained, or hosted far from where you live.
- Look for servers in your region (US, EU, SA, etc.)
- Avoid servers with more than 80% of max players online
- Try pinging the server IP before joining (you can do this via command prompt: ping [IP])
A well-hosted server with good uptime and low ping makes all the difference.
Source: Minecraft Wiki
4. Reduce View Distance (Server and Client)
In Minecraft settings, both the client (you) and the server have view distance settings. A lower view distance means fewer chunks are loaded around you—this reduces both visual lag and network traffic.
- In your own game, go to Video Settings > Render Distance and reduce it to 8 or less
- On your own server, edit server.properties and lower view-distance to something like 6
This can massively reduce the strain on your system and internet.
Source: Sportskeeda
5. Optimize Your Java Settings
Minecraft: Java Edition can be pretty memory-hungry. But giving it too much memory can also backfire. Here’s what you can do:
- Allocate 4GB of RAM (not more unless you’re running lots of mods)
- Use the latest version of Java
- Add JVM arguments if you’re comfortable (many launchers like CurseForge or Prism make this easy)
You can also use launchers like Prism, GDLauncher, or ATLauncher to tweak Java settings more easily.
6. Update Everything
This might sound obvious, but it matters:
- Update Minecraft to the latest version
- Update your graphics drivers (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel)
- Update Java (for Java Edition)
- Make sure your OS is not doing updates in the background while you play
Outdated drivers are a common culprit for FPS drops and microstutter.
7. Try OptiFine or Sodium (for Java Players)
If you’re playing Java Edition, installing OptiFine (or Sodium for Fabric users) is a game-changer.
These mods:
- Optimize how Minecraft handles graphics
- Add extra settings to help reduce lag
- Can double your FPS in some cases
OptiFine works best with vanilla or light modpacks. Sodium works great for Fabric-based modpacks.
8. Lower Resource Pack and Shader Demands
High-res resource packs and shaders look great, but they’re brutal on performance. If you’re lagging:
- Switch to lower resolution resource packs (16x or 32x instead of 128x)
- Disable shaders temporarily
- Use performance-optimized packs like Faithful 32x or Bare Bones
Or just go full classic and use default Minecraft textures.
9. Don’t Run Heavy Apps in the Background
If your PC isn’t top-tier, every bit of RAM and CPU counts.
- Close Chrome or any other RAM-heavy browser
- Pause game launchers like Steam or Battle.net
- Stop background updaters like Dropbox or OneDrive
- Open Task Manager and kill unnecessary tasks
You’d be surprised how much smoother things run when your computer isn’t juggling 12 background apps.
Best Settings to Fix Lag in Minecraft and Boost FPS
Let’s talk settings. These tweaks are mostly for Java Edition on PC, but a few also apply to Bedrock Edition on mobile or console.
Here’s a quick rundown of the best settings you can change inside Minecraft to help reduce lag:
Video Settings (Java Edition)
- Graphics: Fast
- Render Distance: 6-8 chunks
- Smooth Lighting: Off
- Max Framerate: Set to your monitor’s refresh rate (usually 60 or 144)
- V-Sync: Off (unless you have screen tearing)
- Particles: Minimal
- Clouds: Off
- Entity Shadows: Off
Other Tips:
- Turn off Fullscreen if you’re multitasking
- Enable “Use VBOs” if available (helps with rendering efficiency)
- In modpacks, check for performance mod options—some include toggles for features that eat resources
Remember: every PC is different. Start with the lowest settings and raise them one by one until you find the sweet spot between visuals and performance.
What Causes Lag in Minecraft?
Okay, now that we’ve covered how to fix lag, let’s break down what’s actually causing it.
There are two main types of lag in Minecraft: FPS lag and network lag.
FPS Lag (Client-Side)
This is what happens when your computer can’t keep up. Symptoms include:
- Low frames per second (stuttery gameplay)
- Slow chunk loading
- Delayed animations
Causes:
- Weak graphics card or CPU
- Too many chunks/entities loaded
- High-res textures or shaders
- Poorly optimized mods or modpacks
- Background processes eating up resources
Network Lag (Server or Internet Lag)
This happens when the connection between your device and the server isn’t good. Symptoms include:
- Rubberbanding (you get pulled back to where you were)
- Delayed mob/player movement
- Chat messages arriving late
- Blocks breaking and reappearing
Causes:
- High ping to the server
- Packet loss or jitter
- Wi-Fi instability
- Overloaded or distant server
- Internet congestion
Knowing which type of lag you’re dealing with helps you choose the right fix. If everything runs smoothly in singleplayer but not online, it’s probably your internet connection—not your computer.
Fixing lag in Minecraft doesn’t always require buying a new computer or switching to singleplayer forever. In fact, most lag issues—especially in online play—can be solved with smart settings, connection tweaks, and a few helpful tools like ping reducers.
Now that you know how to fix lag in Minecraft, you can spend less time rubberbanding and more time building, mining, and slaying Ender Dragons with your friends.
