GeForce NOW games are running from the cloud, which means they are running on a server in a data center, not directly from your GeForce NOW app.
Our latest app has a built-in network test that quickly assesses your network and helps you optimize it for cloud gaming. The network test will automatically run the first time you play a game. You can also test your network under settings.
NOTE: GeForce NOW’s network test is different from Speedtest or other internet speed test websites. Our network test runs on GeForce NOW servers and tests the performance from your device to our data centers. Speedtest runs on different servers which do not reflect your network performance from a GeForce NOW data center.
After the test completes, you may get a warning message in red or yellow. If the message is red, you do not meet one of GeForce NOW for Mac or PC's minimum requirements. If the message is in yellow, you meet the minimum, but not the recommended requirements for best user experience.
Please use the following steps to help improve your home network, based upon the error message you have received:
You are connected to a 2.4GHz network. 5GHz is recommended
- Connect to a 5GHz Wi-Fi channel on your router, or purchase a new 5GHz router.
- Use Wi-Fi Analyzer apps to find and configure your router to a channel with no or least interference from other routers in your area.
- If you are using a Google Wi-Fi 5GHz router, please read this Google Wi-Fi help article.
- If 5GHz is not an option in your router or your home network, please be aware the 2.4GHz channel can be negatively affected by other consumer electronics, such as baby monitors or microwaves.
Low bandwidth
- Upgrade your internet service provider download speed. GeForce NOW requires a minimum 15mbps. We recommend 50Mbps for 1080p, 64Mbps for 1440p and 75Mbps for 4k streaming.
- Limit other network traffic in your home while using GeForce NOW, such as video streaming, downloading large files, Twitch broadcasting or uploading files or photos. These can reduce your total available bandwidth.
- Move closer to your Wi-Fi router, especially if you are using a 5GHz channel.
- If you are using mobile data, try to switch your connection to Ethernet or 5G Wifi. Alternatively, you can use 5G cellular data if coverage is available in your area.
If you are experiencing stutter or high latencyGeForce NOW Ports
- Use the AWDL Control utility to disable Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL) during GeForce NOW streaming. Note that this will temporarily disable certain features in the Apple ecosystem (AirDrop, Universal Clipboard etc.).
- Disable AirDrop and related background services. If you are not actively using AirDrop or continuity features while gaming, temporarily disabling them can help reduce background network interference.
- Disable Location Services. We have found that macOS location services can interfere with your network quality. For now, we recommend turning off location services when you use GeForce NOW. Please view this page for more details on location services.
- Switch to a wired Ethernet connection. If your Mac doesn’t have an Ethernet port, use one of our recommended Ethernet dongles.
- Update to a 5GHz Wi-Fi channel on your router, or purchase a new 5GHz router.
- Move closer to your Wi-Fi router, especially if you are using a 5GHz channel. If you are far away, network packets may need to be resent multiple times, which results in stutter.
- Use a Wi-Fi analyzer to find a clean channel. There are free ones available on the Android or iTunes app stores.
- If your router supports QoS, try turning it off. We have found that QoS has a negative impact on gaming performance on GeForce NOW with some routers, such as the Netgear Nighthawk X6.
- Try rebooting your router. Like other electronic components, routers sometimes need to be reset.
- Limit other network traffic in your home while using GeForce NOW, such as video streaming, downloading large files or uploading files. More network traffic in your home can cause stutter.
- Try testing at non-peak streaming hours to see if your experience improves. Some Internet service providers may have congestion at peak streaming hours between 8PM-10PM.
- Turn off any Virtual Private Networks (VPN) you are using. VPNs can cause many problems including higher latency, more stutters, or you will connect to the wrong GeForce NOW data center.
- Use a USB wired or wireless gaming mouse, such as those from Razer or Logitech. These products will provide reduced latency, higher sensitivity and a tactile scroll wheel.
- Turn off any network firewalls. Some Firewalls can affect performance or even prevent you from connecting to our data centers.
GeForce NOW Ports
The GeForce NOW native apps use fixed ports for streaming games, but this does not apply when using a web browser for streaming.
In order to further improve streaming quality when using our native apps, we suggest using GeForce NOW Recommended Routers or engaging your existing router QoS by adding GeForce NOW app ports to the active router’s QoS profile. Here are the ports to add:
- 49003 – UDP Inbound AUDIO
- 49004 – UDP Outbound AUDIO
- 49005 – UDP Inbound VIDEO
- 49006 – TCP/UDP Outbound/Inbound Remote Input
If GeForce NOW is running behind a corporate or school firewall, the firewall should allow traffic to/from GeForce NOW servers’ originating from UDP port 5004 and between ports 10000 - 20000.
If you are not using GeForce NOW Recommended Routers, please consult with the technical support page for your router how to configure the router QoS engine to improve your gaming experience.
If your router QoS supports port based prioritization, you may consider creating custom router QoS rules based on the port information provided above.