Known Lag Problems
These problems are reported by real players. If your region or ISP is listed, a network optimizer is likely to help.
Australia / New Zealand
150-300ms to US/EU hosted sessions- No official Satisfactory servers — AU players join friends' sessions wherever those friends are hosted
- Playing in a session hosted by a friend in the US or EU means 150-300ms latency for AU players
- Dedicated servers rented in AU solve this, but require self-setup
Southeast Asia
100-250ms depending on host location- No dedicated Satisfactory servers in SEA — players depend on friend-hosted sessions
- Sessions hosted in the US mean 180-250ms for SEA players — rubber-banding is constant
- EOS TURN relay sometimes routes through non-optimal paths in SEA
What players commonly report
- Rubber-banding in co-op sessions, especially on large factories
- 10+ second lag freezes when host saves the game on large saves
- Network Quality setting defaulting to Low/Medium instead of Ultra
- Co-op sessions breaking down as factory grows more complex
- EOS NAT traversal failing on Strict NAT configurations
How to Fix It
Try these first — they're free and solve the problem for most people.
01 Check your in-game ping
1. Join your co-op session or dedicated server 2. Press Escape to open the pause menu 3. Go to Options → Gameplay → Network 4. Enable the network statistics overlay if available 5. Alternatively: use the dedicated server admin panel to check connected player pings 6. For a direct test, open Command Prompt (Win+R → cmd) and type: ping [host-IP-address] — replace with your host's IP or server address 7. Ping below 80ms = smooth co-op. 80-150ms = visible rubber-banding. 150ms+ = building placement errors start appearing
Identifies whether your co-op issues are network (high ping) or host performance (factory too complex for CPU). Essential first step before changing anything.
02 Set Network Quality to Ultra for everyone
1. Every player in the session (including the host) must do this 2. Press Escape → Options → Gameplay → scroll to Network Quality 3. Change from Medium (default) to Ultra 4. The host must also change this — host setting controls sync frequency for all clients 5. For dedicated servers: in the server manager web UI, set Network Quality to Ultra (value: 3) — the default is Low (0) which causes rubber-banding regardless of ping 6. All players rejoin after the host changes the setting
The single most effective free fix. Satisfactory defaults to suboptimal network sync frequency — Ultra syncs more often and nearly eliminates rubber-banding at the cost of slightly higher bandwidth. Every guide for Satisfactory co-op lag lists this first.
03 Switch to a wired Ethernet connection
1. Get a Cat5e or Cat6 Ethernet cable 2. Plug one end into your PC, the other into your router 3. In Windows: open Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi → turn off Wi-Fi 4. Your PC switches to the wired connection automatically 5. Launch Satisfactory and check if rubber-banding improves in co-op
WiFi adds 5-30ms of jitter — that unpredictable variation causes rubber-banding even when average ping looks fine. Wired connections have near-zero jitter. This is especially important for the session host, whose jitter affects all connected players.
04 Close background bandwidth consumers before playing
1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc → Task Manager → Performance tab → Open Resource Monitor 2. Click the Network tab — sort by 'Total (B/sec)' to see what's using bandwidth 3. Common culprits: Windows Update (pause in Settings → Windows Update → Pause 7 days), cloud backup (OneDrive, Google Drive), torrents, Spotify, Discord video calls 4. The host especially needs to do this — host uploads game state to all connected players continuously 5. Close or pause everything non-essential before launching a co-op session
Satisfactory with 4 players uses 20+ Mbps upload from the host. Any background download competing for that bandwidth creates packet loss and ping spikes for all guests. Hosts feel nothing — but their co-op partners rubber-band.
05 Boost network config via Engine.ini (advanced)
1. Navigate to: C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\FactoryGame\Saved\Config\Windows\ 2. Open Engine.ini in a text editor 3. Add under [/Script/Engine.GameNetworkManager]: TotalNetBandwidth=104857600 MaxDynamicBandwidth=104857600 MinDynamicBandwidth=10485760 4. Save the file and launch the game 5. Every player should apply this, including the host 6. Note: this does not override Network Quality — also set that to Ultra (see tip above)
Raises the default bandwidth cap from ~64 KB/s to 100 MB/s per client, allowing the game to send state updates as fast as your connection supports. Community tested — reduces rubber-banding significantly on sessions with stable connections. Only helps if your connection can handle the increased traffic.
General network tips (not Satisfactory-specific)
06 Use a dedicated server instead of player-hosted
1. Install the Satisfactory Dedicated Server from Steam (search 'Satisfactory Dedicated Server', App ID 1690800 — it's free) 2. Run it on a PC that stays on, or rent a server from a hosting provider (Shockbyte, Nodecraft, etc.) 3. Minimum for early-game: quad-core CPU at 3.4 GHz+, 12 GB RAM, 20 Mbps upload 4. For late-game mega-factories: 16-32 GB RAM, 6+ cores recommended 5. Connect all players to the dedicated server IP instead of hosting from someone's game client
Eliminates the biggest source of Satisfactory co-op lag: save-file write freezes (10+ second pauses on large saves in player-hosted mode). A dedicated server runs continuously, handles all simulation independently of any player's hardware, and doesn't freeze when saving.
Regions with good connectivity
Players in these regions likely won't benefit much from a network optimizer.
- Western Europe — Large Satisfactory playerbase — friend groups mostly host sessions within the same region. EU→EU sessions typically 10-50ms. Dedicated server providers widely available.
- North America (US / Canada) — Largest playerbase by Steam charts. US→US friend sessions typically 10-80ms. Many affordable dedicated server providers in NA region.
Still lagging? The problem is likely your ISP's routing to the game servers.
PingAim detects Satisfactory automatically
No manual config. PingAim identifies Satisfactory by process name and routes it through your fastest connection using a kernel-level WFP driver.