How to fix Packet Loss and Packet Burst issues in Modern Warfare 3

Updated on May 17, 12:30 p.m. (GMT+8): Added Modern Warfare 3 guides.

If you are playing Modern Warfare 3 and are facing screen tearing, performance and network-related issues, you must know how to fix Packet Loss and Packet Burst.

In this ONE Esports guide, we provide you with effective fixes to these problems so you can jump back into the battlefield.

What are Packet Loss and Packet Burst in MW3

Packet Loss, also known as Latency Variation, and the infamous Packet Burst, are two common issues that MW3 players encounter whenever they try to play the game. 

While Packet Loss causes delayed actions, Packet Burst worsens things by impacting the game’s performance, causing constant stutters and graphics-related issues like screen tearing. 

That said, identifying whether you are affected by the issues is easy as they appear on the top left side of the game screen, similar to other error pop-ups. 

Here’s how to fix Packet Loss and Packet Burst in MW3

Even though Packet Loss and Packet Burst are two significant issues that have plagued the past few Call of Duty games, there’s no official fix from Activision as the player’s internet connection mostly inculpates it.

That being said, before we move to the fix and talk about how you can fix Packet Loss and Packet Burst issues in MW3, here are pre-checks that you must do:

• Check your internet connection.
• Check the game server status.
• Test your internet’s download and upload speed.
• Ensure Shaders-Preloading is completed.

Assuming your internet is working fine, you have a great connection with high download and upload speed, and even the game servers are up, and you are still facing Packet Loss and Packet Burst issues in MW3, we recommend implementing the following fixes:

Disable On-Demand Texture Streaming

While the On-Demand Texture Streaming feature is a decent graphics option that doesn’t burden your CPU or GPU, it affects your Bandwidth, mainly resulting in high latency and Packet Burst issues. 

Moreover, even if enabled, the visual impact is insignificant compared to the performance trade-off. So, follow the below steps to turn off the On-Demand Texture Streaming graphic setting:

1. Open Modern Warfare 3.
2. Click on the ⚙️ icon for the Settings menu.
3. Select “Graphics” option.
4. Go to the “Quality” tab.
5. Scroll down until you find the “On-Demand Texture Streaming” option.
6. Disable it by clicking on the slider on the right side.

Enable Nvidia Reflex Low Latency

If you are using an Nvidia GPU, you can also use the “Nvidia Reflex Low Latency” graphic setting, as it optimizes the latency in the game.

To enable it, go to the “Graphics” menu and scroll down until you locate it. 

Switch to ethernet cable and static IP

No matter how good of a gaming router you have, a wired connection will always prevail as it provides a stable internet connection, which you can further improve by having the right DNS settings and a Static IP.

So, switch to an ethernet connection and set a Static IP if you haven’t already. 

Disable crossplay

While we haven’t particularly seen any benefits of turning off the crossplay feature in fixing the Packet Loss and Packet Burst issue, many say they managed to resolve their issue to some extent by turning off crossplay. 

That sums up everything you need to know about how to fix Packet Loss and Packet Burst issues in MW3.

READ MORE: Best Akimbo loadouts in MW3 Season 3 Reloaded — meta class setups