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Mobile data or Wi-Fi for mobile games

Your phone reaches the game over Wi-Fi through your home provider, or over mobile data through your carrier. Two networks, two routes, and neither one wins everywhere. Two runs of the test show which one wins on your line.

Updated

Run the ping test

Two connections, two routes

On Wi-Fi, your phone talks to the router over radio, and the router sends the traffic out through your home provider. On mobile data, the phone talks to a cell tower, and your carrier sends the traffic out on its own network. The two lines can reach the same server region on different paths, with different distances to cover inside each network.

Run 1 on Wi-FiPhoneRouterProviderCell towerCarrierRegionRun 2 on mobile data
One phone, two ways out. Wi-Fi leaves through the home provider, mobile data through the carrier. Run the test once on each.

Each line has its own weak spot. Wi-Fi suffers from distance to the router, walls and a busy home line; the Ethernet or Wi-Fi guide covers those. Mobile data suffers from a weak signal and a crowded cell.

What publishers advise

Mobile game publishers' own advice on Wi-Fi and mobile data
GamePublisherAdvice
Free FireGarenaRestart the phone, then switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data and back to see which works better. On Wi-Fi, move closer to the router and restart it. Source
Call of Duty: MobileActivisionA strong Wi-Fi connection is recommended. Restart the router if Wi-Fi gives trouble, and restart the phone. Source
Genshin ImpactHoYoverseCheck that the network is stable and try switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data. Source
PUBG MOBILEProxima Beta (PUBG MOBILE support)Pick the server with the lower latency to avoid lag. You can switch server once every 7 days. Source

Garena also gives a figure for Free Fire: a ping of 150 ms or less is the ideal, and lower is better. The Free Fire page prints it next to our bands.

Test both lines

  1. Stand where you usually play. Open the full test, pick your game and the region you play on, and set Connection to Wi-Fi. Run it.
  2. Turn Wi-Fi off in the phone's settings so the browser cannot fall back to it, set Connection to Mobile data, and run again.
  3. Compare the same region in both runs: the median first, then the spread and the lost requests.
  • A lower median on one line means that line has the shorter route to the region. Use it for that game.
  • A spread over 20 ms or 2 or more lost requests on Wi-Fi only points at the radio link or the home line. On mobile data only, it points at the signal or a busy cell; Garena suggests moving, for example outdoors, and checking the signal again.
  • A high median on both lines, with small spreads, means distance or a long route that both networks share. The route guide covers what is left to try.

The verdict follows the same rules on every connection. On mobile data the result adds a note that suggests a second run on Wi-Fi to compare. One run sends 253 small requests, so a test on mobile data uses little of a data plan.

Questions about mobile data and Wi-Fi

Is mobile data or Wi-Fi better for mobile games?
It depends on the line. Activision recommends a strong Wi-Fi connection for Call of Duty: Mobile, while Garena suggests trying both for Free Fire. Two test runs, one on each, show which one has the lower and steadier time to your region.
Why does the result mention mobile data?
When the connection setting says Mobile data, the result adds a reminder to run again on Wi-Fi, because the two lines can take different routes. The verdict itself does not change.
How much data does one test use?
One run sends a warm-up and 10 small requests to each of the 23 test points, 253 requests in all. Each answer is one short line of text, under 50 bytes from our server in Germany, so the run uses little data.

Sources