Lag is a pause, not a slow line.
Games send small packets many times a second. When the stream pauses for a fraction of a second, you feel it: a late hit, a jump back. Speed tests average that away. Pulse imitates a game and listens for the pauses.
What happens during a test
Your browser
Times what arrives from the server. A gap here is a download freeze.
Pulse server
Times what arrives from you. A gap here is an upload freeze.
- 1
A steady stream, both ways
Small packets at a game’s rate, in both directions, for minutes. Long enough to catch problems that come every few seconds.
- 2
Each side times what arrives
No clock syncing needed: the side that receives notices the gap. That is how Pulse tells upload freezes from download freezes.
- 3
Patterns, not averages
Freezes that return on a beat point to something on a timer. Pulse checks the beat is clearly more regular than chance, and tolerates skipped beats.
- 4
Your device is checked too
Each packet carries when it was meant to leave. If your browser or device hiccuped, Pulse says so instead of blaming the network.
Reading your result
fine worth a look: something here can cause lag
Pulse and the LagScope app
Pulse tests the connection from any device, with nothing to install. The free LagScope app for Windows records while you play and sees much more.
| Feature | Pulse | LagScope app |
|---|---|---|
| Install | None, any device | Windows app |
| Freezes, per direction | Yes | Yes |
| Freezes on a timer | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi signal and channel | No | Yes |
| PC: frames, drivers, CPU, GPU | No | Yes |
| The game’s own traffic | No | Yes |