Getting Started with Shadow PC Gaming

Getting Started with Shadow PC Enterprise

Minimum System Requirements and FAQs

Introduction with Shadow PC Enterprise

Getting Started with your Shadow Business Manager

Exploiting the full potential of your Shadow

Getting Started with Shadow Drive

Account Management

Contact Support

How to troubleshoot your internet connection

Updated 

If you've encountered a problem with Shadow, try troubleshooting your internet connection with a Speedtest. An unstable internet connection can cause latency and input lag*1 as well as problems with the quality of your pictures and sounds.

*1 Input lag: The lapse of time between the moment the GPU renders one’s input and the moment it actually appears on the screen.

In this article, we'll show you how to test your internet connection, see if your connection meets our internet requirements and how to improve it.

If your internet connection appears to be working properly, please check:

We recommend connecting your device to the internet via an Ethernet cable or a 5GHz Wi-Fi channel. Ethernet and 5GHz Wi-Fi channels are typically much faster and more stable than 2.4GHz or 4G LTE Wi-Fi channels. Shadow can be used on 4G LTE and 5G cellular networks, but a wired connection is generally more reliable than a wireless one.

The purpose of the Speedtest is to determine the effectiveness of your internet connection between your device and the data center.
This speedtest will analyze your internet connection's download, upload, ping, and jitter over time from your location.

Follow the steps below to run a speedtest on your local device:

  1. Close Shadow if it is currently running and open a browser on your local device.

    For accurate results, run the speedtests provided in this article from your local device. These speedtests must send data between your local connection and Shadow's datacenters.

  2. Find your datacenter in the list below, then click on the corresponding name under "Location". The Speedtest will open in a new tab.

    If you're not sure where your Shadow is located, or you don't have an active Shadow account, choose the data center most relevant to your location.

    Location

    Data Center

    Available Offer(s)

    FRDUN02

    Standard Enterprise, Advanced Enterprise

    DEFRA01

    Standard Enterprise, Advanced Enterprise

    FRSBG01

    Standard Enterprise, Advanced Enterprise

    USWDC01

    Standard Enterprise, Advanced Enterprise

    DFR1

    Extended Enterprise, Expert Enterprise

    TX1
    Standard Enterprise
    USPOR01
    Standard Enterprise, Advanced Enterprise
    CAMTL01
    Advanced enterprise

  3. Click on Run Speedtest, then wait until the download, upload, ping, and jitter tests have finished.

    While the test is running, it will display your connection as a graph. This will help you determine whether you have a constant connection over a long time period.

    Please wait until the graph has been completely charted before exiting or aborting the test. The "Abort" mention must not be visible.
    Let your window opened in front of you so that the test runs trouble-free.

    Here's what your Speedtest is supposed to look like at the end:

    speedtest_test.png

For the best experience on Shadow, the four variants (upload, download, ping, jitter) on your graph should meet the following requirements:

  1. Download: a download speed of at least 15Mb/s or more. If your download speed falls below 15Mb/s, the connection is unstable, or there's packet loss on your connection, this will cause issues with your stream.

  2. Upload: an upload speed should be 5Mb/s or higher. An upload speed of 5Mb/s is enough to use a basic mouse, keyboard, and controller.

    More bandwidth-heavy devices like webcams, microphones, external storage drives, racing wheels, and other gamepads require a faster upload speed as high as 100Mb/s.

  3. Ping: a connection that has a 30ms ping or less. Ping (or latency) is the amount of time it takes your internet to communicate with a server. If your ping is low, Shadow can send and receive data between the server and your device at a much more efficient rate. The image, sound, and input from your USB devices will become delayed or distorted if your ping is too high.

  4. Jitter: little to no jitter. Jitter is when there is a time delay in sending data over your network connection. Also, look for signs of packet loss. Packet loss occurs when data fails to reach its destination. You'll see packet loss on a speed test when there are "gaps" or "breaks" in the graph, as shown below. This can make the stream stutter and even lose connection.

Your test results are based on the connection provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and your distance from the data center. If the results are not suitable, we suggest you take a look at the list of tips below in order to reduce latency:

  1. Power-cycle your modem/router. Power cycle your modem and router to reset and re-establish a connection to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Shut down your computer and unplug your modem/router. Plug them back in after 60 seconds and watch the lights on your modem/router. Once the lights are on, start your computer.

  2. Keep all your local components up-to-date. Check that your modem/router and your local device are totally up-to-date. That includes the operating system and driver updates.

  3. Disconnect/turn off any devices that are not in use. Some devices could be using bandwidth while on standby. Gaming consoles, for example, might download and install updates. Turn off these devices to keep your bandwidth free.

  4. Use an Ethernet cable. Using a wired Ethernet connection will make your connection more stable and eliminate additional latency compared to a wireless connection.

  5. Change your Wi-Fi configuration. If a wired Ethernet connection is not possible or your device requires a wireless connection:

    • Connect to a 5GHz network. Some routers offer both 2.4GHz connections and 5GHz.

    • Place your devices closer to your router.

Open the Shadow launcher on your device to modify the following settings:

  1. Lower your maximum bit rate.
    The maximum bit rate is the amount of bandwidth Shadow can use on your connection.
    We recommend setting Shadow's bit rate to 10Mb/s less than your current internet speeds, which you can assess with the Shadow Speedtest.
    For example, if your lowest speeds are 42Mb/s, Shadow's maximum bit rate should be about 30Mb/s.

    You can change this one of two ways:

    • Let Shadow choose your bit rate:

      • To do so, go into your launcher settings "icons8-settings-24.png" > "Network" and click on "Auto detect"/"Custom" to change modes.

      • Then, restart auto-detection to have Shadow test your connection.

    • Choose your own maximum bit rate using the slider:

      • To do so, go into your launcher settings "icons8-settings-24.png" > "Network" and click on "Auto detect"/"Custom" to change modes.

      • Then, use the slider to allocate the bandwidth to your liking.

        You can also first assess your connection by allocating 5Mb/s to your bandwidth, then progressively increase it until you find a good balance between stability and video quality.

  2. Change Streaming Preferences to prefer reliability.
    To do so, go into your launcher settings "icons8-settings-24.png" > "Network" > "Advanced Settings" and click on "Prefer speed (UDP)"/"Prefer reliability (TCP)" to change protocols.

  3. Enable High Efficiency Video Coding (H265).
    If your internet connection is not very fast, we suggest you enable this setting.
    To do so, go into your launcher settings "icons8-settings-24.png" > "Video & Display" > "Advanced Settings" and click on the button right to "High Efficiency Video Coding (H.265)".

    If your device was made before 2014, it may not support H.265 encoding and must be disabled.

The Quick Menu is only available for the following applications: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Android TV, iOS, and Apple TV.
To open the Quick Menu, once Shadow has started, click on the Shadow logo quickmenu.png located at the top of the screen, or press the Quick Menu shortcut:
Windows: ALT + WIN + O
macOS: ALT + CMD + O
Linux: ALT + SUPER + O

On your Quick Menu, you will be able to change the following settings:

  1. Lower your maximum bit rate.
    The maximum bit rate is the amount of bandwidth Shadow can use on your connection.
    We recommend setting Shadow's bit rate to 10Mb/s less than your current internet speeds, which you can assess with the Shadow Speedtest.
    For example, if your lowest speeds are 42Mb/s, Shadow's maximum bit rate should be about 30Mb/s.

    To lower your maximum bit rate, go into the "Network" section and use the slider to allocate the bandwidth to your liking.

    You can also first assess your connection by allocating 5Mb/s to your bandwidth, then progressively increase it until you find a good balance between stability and video quality.

  2. Change Streaming Preferences to prefer reliability.
    In the Quick Menu, go into the "Network" section and click on "Prefer speed (UDP)"/"Prefer reliability (TCP)" to change protocols

  3. Enable High Efficiency Video Coding (H265).
    If your internet connection is not very fast, we suggest you enable this setting.
    To do so, go into the "Video and Display" section and click on the button right to "High Efficiency Video Coding (H.265)".

    If your device was made before 2014, it may not support H.265 encoding and must be disabled.

Still have questions after reading this article?

Feel free to check out our other articles.

You can also contact Shadow support via our form.