- Your internet connection or the server's internet connection is having problems.
- Your connection is overloaded, for example running a peer-to-peer file sharing application in the background.
- There are other computers on your local network using your internet connection.
- The server you are on has its network connection overloaded.
- You are running on a wireless connection with a poor or inconsistent signal.
- You have a Virus or Trojan or Internet Worm infection that is generating traffic.
- You are connected to the internet using a dial-up or other low-speed connection.
- You have your rate or cl_updaterate or cl_cmdrate settings too fast for your internet connection.
You can help to identify and eliminate the source of your problem by:
- Shut down all unnecessary programs on your computer before playing.
- Disconnect all other computers in your household to see if they are causing the problem.
- Scan all computers on your home network for virus/trojan and spyware.
- If you are running on a wireless network, try connecting using a direct ethernet cable and see if the problem goes away. You will probably have to disable the "Wireless Zero Configuration" service while you are playing as well.
- Safe rates for dial-up connections are typically around 3500-5000, while broadband connections should be able to safely run 30000 or better. You set this in your game console (~ typically) by entering: rate <value>.
- The default cl_updaterate is 20, setting the value to a higher number increases the download demand on your connection. Set this in your console: cl_updaterate 20.
- The default cl_cmdrate is 30, setting the cale to a higher number increases the upload demoand on your internet connection. Set this in your console: cl_cmdrate 30.