How to Check Ping in "Minecraft"
By Shea Laverty
Updated September 22, 2017
Like any online game, smooth operation in "Minecraft" depends on two factors: hardware and network latency. While your hardware's performance will generally be consistent, latency can change depending on network conditions and the status of the server to which you're connecting. You can test how bad latency will be on a server by "pinging" the server, which determines how long it takes for the server to receive a message and respond. You can ping Minecraft servers in two ways: through the Command Prompt and through your Minecraft client.
Command Prompt
Press "Windows-X" to open the power user menu, and select "Command Prompt" from the list. Pinging a server doesn't require administrator access, so you can ping Minecraft servers from any user account on your computer.
Use the ping command, followed by the server's address. An example would look like this:
ping example.minecraftserver.com
The ping may take a second or two to complete, at which point the screen will display several reply results from the ping test.
Look for the average time; it should be the last piece of information displayed on the screen. The average represents the most likely ping time for your server latency, measured in milliseconds. While it may not be reflective of your exact latency at any given time while connected, it's a solid measure of what you can expect.
Minecraft Client
Launch your Minecraft game client and open the multiplayer server list. This menu is where you add servers, and the best place to test latency within Minecraft itself.
Click the "Add Server" button and add the server to which you want to connect. If you've already added the server in the past, you can skip this step; servers already on the list can be tested right away.
Click the "Refresh" button and wait for a few seconds while the client pings the server. The amount of time you'll have to wait depends on how much latency there is between you and the server. The server connection icon will indicate whether or not the test is still running; it displays green and gray when connected, has an "X" when not connected, or shows the bars scrolling blue while the test is running.
Hover your mouse over the icon once the test has completed. It should display your latency in milliseconds, such as "44ms." Much like the Command Prompt test, this is the average result of several ping tests.
Tips
Server latency measures how long it takes for the server to answer a request, so a higher result means a longer wait time. A longer wait means slowdown, as your Minecraft session has to wait for data to be transferred to and from the server. If your ping testing reveals a high result, you'll want to use a different server or try again at a different time. Generally you shouldn't have trouble if your latency is below 190ms.
Typically, the further away a server is from your physical location, the greater latency will be. The best way to minimize latency is to find a server near your location. If you have only a limited number of servers to choose from, you can ping test each one and select the one with the lowest latency.
If both ping rests reveal no results, the server may be offline or otherwise unavailable. Use a different server or try again later, as the server likely won't be useable anyway.