Want to know how to fix Minecraft lag? Here’s our simple guide

Why is Minecraft so laggy?

Game lag is the noticeable delay between the player’s actions and the events on the screen. It can make any gaming experience terrible and unsatisfying. If you’re experiencing lags in your Minecraft game, here are some possible causes:

• The video settings aren’t optimal for your computer.
• Your internet connection is faulty.
• You have many applications running in the background using up RAM.
• You are playing online on a server too far from your location.
• You are running too many Minecraft worlds simultaneously.
• You have too many plugins or mods installed.
• Your drivers are out of date.

As you can see, the causes of lag in Minecraft can vary. For example, in the case of online play, Minecraft lags can be the result of a bad internet connection, while for single-player worlds, lag can occur for many other reasons.

Below, you’ll find a guide to all the most common causes of laggy Minecraft and how to fix them.

How to fix Minecraft lag

Since Minecraft lag can occur for many reasons, you can fix it by dealing with the causes. If you want to reduce lag and enjoy a smooth Minecraft session, follow these steps:

1. Reinstall Minecraft

Uninstalling a program and installing it again is the first thing you can do to try to fix any problems that have occurred. Just remember that if you do this with a copy of Minecraft, you will delete all saved data, including worlds and installed mods. Make sure you back up everything you don’t want to lose before reinstalling.

To back up Minecraft data on a Windows or Mac computer:

1. 1.Launch Minecraft normally.
2. 2.Select the single-player mode and choose the world you want to back up.
3. 3.Don’t load the world. Click the “Edit” button instead.
4. 4.Select “Open world folder.”

You’ll see a folder containing all the data associated with your world. If you go one layer higher to the “Saves” folder, you’ll see all your saved worlds, which you can now copy and paste elsewhere for future restoration.

If you go one more layer up to the “.minecraft” folder, you can back up mods and screenshots, which are stored in folders with corresponding names.

To reinstall Minecraft:

First, uninstall Minecraft from your computer.

1. 1.On a Windows PC, select “Start” and search for the Control Panel using the search bar.
   • Select “Programs” > “Programs and features.”
   • Find Minecraft on the list of apps.
   • Right-click Minecraft and select “Uninstall.” Follow the instructions.
2. 2.On a Mac computer, open the Finder by clicking its icon on the Dock.
   • Find Minecraft in your apps, click and hold, and drag the icon to the Bin.
   • Choose “Finder” > “Empty Bin.”

To install Minecraft again, download the launcher from the official Minecraft site, run it, and follow the instructions. Make sure you use the official site and not a scam site impersonating Minecraft.

2. Change video settings

The graphics settings in Minecraft are highly customizable and offer many different options for you to change. If you’re experiencing lag, it could be because your computer isn’t powerful enough to run the game. Lowering the graphics settings can help solve the problem.

Here’s how to lower your video settings:

1. 1.Launch Minecraft normally and go to “Options.”
2. 2.Select “Video settings.”

Here are the options you can play with to make Minecraft run smoother. We encourage you to experiment with them to find the right balance between looks and performance.

• Resolution. The resolution determines the number of pixels rendered in the game. High resolution looks better but can slow down performance.
• Graphics. Three options are available: Fast, Fancy, and Fabulous. Choose the first one to get the best performance. The last one makes the game look more detailed and generally better, but it costs performance.
• Render distance. The larger the render distance, the more of the world is visible during gameplay, but it’s harder to render on the computer. The default value is 12 chunks. Setting the render distance to a smaller value can help reduce lag.
• Smooth lighting. Enabling this option makes the lighting in the game look better at the expense of performance. For a smoother experience, disable this setting.
• VSync. VSync limits the number of frames per second (FPS) to the screen refresh rate, fixing potential tearing. Disabling this setting can help with lag.
• Clouds. Clouds can be set to Off, Fast, and Fancy. If you still want to see the clouds in your Minecraft world but make the game less laggy, set the clouds to Fast. This will cause them to be rendered flat instead of in 3D.
• Particles. Particles are small cosmetic elements that appear in the game. They don’t change the gameplay but make Minecraft’s worlds look alive and detailed. You can turn them off completely or decrease them to make it easier for your computer to render the game.
• Mipmap levels. This setting is responsible for texture smoothing. Lowering it can positively affect the performance of the game.

3. Shut down unnecessary apps running in the background

Your computer has limited resources, so naturally, if other applications are running at the same time as Minecraft, the game may lag. Make sure there are no unnecessary applications running while you play. Close all web browsers and other programs.

If you aren’t sure if an application is running in the background on Windows, open Task Manager and check which processes are currently active. Right-click on unnecessary ones and select “End task” to get rid of them.

On a Mac, open the Activity Monitor (Applications folder) and see all currently running processes. To close unnecessary ones, click on them and select "X" on the Activity Monitor toolbar.

4. Prioritize Java

Minecraft is written in a programming language called Java, and to run it, you must install the Java Runtime Environment on your computer. If you’ve played Minecraft, you probably already have the JRE installed – the game wouldn’t run without it and would ask you to download the JRE first.

Forcing your computer to prioritize Java before other applications can help fix lag in Minecraft, but keep in mind that it may reduce the performance of other apps.

To change Java’s priority on Windows:

1. 1.Open the Task Manager by right-clicking on the taskbar (bottom of the screen) and selecting “Task Manager.”
2. 2.Open the “Details” tab.
3. 3.Search for a process called java.exe, right-click, and select “Set priority” > “High.”

To change Java’s priority on Mac:

1. 1.Launch the Terminal and type in: ps -ef
2. 2.Press Enter. This command will cause the Terminal to display all running processes and their corresponding process IDs (PIDs). Find the Java process and remember its PID.
3. 3.Type the following command and press Enter: ps -fl -C [your PID]. You will see a good deal of cryptic information about the process. You’re only interested in the value displayed under the “NI” column. This is the current priority of the process. On Macs, process priority is described with integers from -20 to 20. The lower the number, the higher the priority, so if you want the Java process to be prioritized, you need to set the “NI” value to lower than it currently is.
4. 4.Now, to adjust the priority, type in the following command: sudo renice -n [value] -p [your PID]. In the place of [value], type in the priority you want to set. Remember, the priority is described with integers from -20 to 20, and the lower the number, the higher the priority.
5. 5.Press “Enter.” Type in your password if prompted.

5. Allocate more RAM to Minecraft

RAM stands for random access memory and allows the computer to quickly write and read data that is currently being used by the processor. Running out of RAM causes lag in games and other applications. Usually, computers automatically allocate enough RAM to programs, but sometimes, a little manual adjustment can make the game perform better.

To allocate more RAM:

1. 1.Open the Minecraft Launcher.
2. 2.Select the “Installations” tab.
3. 3.Pick your Minecraft installation, select the three dots next to it, and choose “Edit.”
4. 4.Select “More options.”
5. 5.In the JVM arguments bar, search for "-Xmx#G.” The number before the "G" refers to the number of gigabytes of RAM allocated to a Minecraft installation. Change the number to something higher, for example, 4, to allocate 4 GB of RAM. If the text is not there, add it at the beginning of the line.

Disclaimer: When allocating more RAM to Minecraft, make sure that your computer actually has that amount of memory to utilize. We also don’t recommend allocating more than 75% of your computer’s total RAM to Minecraft. Doing so could slow down your computer because essential programs running in the background also need memory.

6. Update your drivers and OS

Device drivers are software components that enable communication between the operating system (OS) and computer hardware components. Manufacturers regularly release updated drivers to fix known problems and ensure that their components work well with newer versions of operating systems, so an outdated driver can cause problems.

When it comes to games, GPU (graphics processing unit) drivers are the most important. To update GPU drivers, use the update software provided by the manufacturer. Alternatively, download them manually from the manufacturer’s website, but make sure it’s an official site and not a scam.

As for updates, make sure your operating system is also up to date. Download and install updates you may have previously ignored.

7. Try a different server or wait

If you’re experiencing Minecraft lagging on a powerful PC and playing online, the problem most likely lies with the server or your internet connection.

As for the servers, there’s not much you can do if you’re not the owner. Perhaps the server is having problems. Possibly, too many people are trying to play simultaneously, or a hardware failure has occurred. This can be especially true if the Minecraft server is timing out and lagging.

If you suspect the server is at fault, choose a different one or try again later. Lags can also be caused by long distances. If you connect to a server on the other side of the Earth, you may experience some delays due to the distance that the data must overcome.

Before you give up, make sure you’ve entered the correct server IP address. It sounds trivial, but it’s easy to make a typo or copy the address with an error. Minecraft dedicated IP servers are less problematic in this regard because their names are usually words, but numeric IP addresses can easily be entered incorrectly.

8. Fix your internet issues

If you’re still experiencing lag or can’t connect to a Minecraft server, your internet connection may be the cause. Try to reduce traffic by closing all applications that use the internet. For example, refrain from using streaming services while playing the game online. You can also connect directly via Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi and update your router software to the latest version.

Another possible reason for the inability to connect to a server is the firewall and antivirus settings. They may be blocking the connection. This could also be the case if your copy of Minecraft can’t join a LAN server. Check your firewall and antivirus settings and make sure the game is not simply blocked from connecting to the outside world.

If all else fails, contacting your ISP never hurts. It may be that the problem is caused by the internet company. Talking to an agent may reveal the culprit.

How to fix Minecraft single-player lag

Minecraft is a game that can be enjoyed both alone and with others. If you’re playing in a single-player world and experiencing annoying lag, the first and easiest solution you can try is to fiddle with the video settings. Finding the optimal settings for your setup may significantly reduce Minecraft lag, however, at the cost of the game looking somewhat worse. We also recommend allocating more RAM to Minecraft, as described in the “allocate more RAM” section.

If you have mods installed, consider deleting them or decreasing their number. Certain mods can significantly change Minecraft’s gameplay experience and be resource intensive. If you’re using shaders or high-resolution resource packs, also consider disabling them and switching to vanilla Minecraft.