Tears of the Kingdom lag and stuttering – how to fix low FPS?

For anyone wondering how to fix lag, stuttering, and low FPS in Tears of the Kingdom, don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place.

Tears of the Kingdom is the latest release from Nintendo in the Legend of Zelda series. It follows on from Breath of the Wild, but with all new maps, abilities (Ultrahand and Fuse, anyone?) and adventures to have, this is certainly no Breath of the Wild DLC – Nintendo have seemingly worked their magic again. However, the last thing you want when exploring a new game is to be held up by lag and stuttering. So – can you fix it?

Let’s get into it.

How to fix lag, stuttering, and low FPS in Tears of the Kingdom

As there has been no official reason given for why some gamers may experience lag, stuttering or low FPS, there may be several reasons why this issue may occur. As such, we’ve found a few different “hacks” that may help alleviate the problems.

1. Check Internet connectivity
2. Play in Airplane Mode
3. Play in docked mode
4. While docked, lower the graphics settings
5. Install the game on a high-speed SD card
6. Turn it off and on again

Check Internet connectivity

The issue may be due to your Internet connectivity. Check that you are connected to the Internet and that there are no issues with your Wi-Fi. Remove as many electrical devices from near your Wi-Fi router as this can disrupt the signal. It also may be worth moving closer to the Wi-Fi router.

Play in Airplane Mode

If the issue is related to your internet connectivity then it may be worth playing in Airplane Mode to see if that reduces lag. Fortunately, enabling Airplane Mode is an easy process.

1. Navigate to the Home Screen and select System settings.
2. From the tab on the left, scroll down to Airplane Mode.
3. Select Airplane Mode in the panel on the right.
4. Press A.

Please bear in mind that if you activate Airplane Mode with the Joy-Con detached form the console, then please follow these steps:

1. Tap the console screen.
2. Navigate to System settings > Airplane Mode > Controller Connection (Bluetooth).
3. Enable Bluetooth communication.

Play in docked mode

Our next suggestion is to play in docked mode. If you dock your Switch, then the device does not have to rely solely on it’s own battery power to run smoothy. As such, by connecting to a separate power supply, you may find that gameplay is smoother as you have taken the pressure off the device itself. (Please note that you can’t play in Airplane Mode while docked).

While docked, lower the graphics settings

If the issue has still not been resolved, our next suggestion is to lower the graphics settings while docked. Running Tears of the Kingdom will take a lot of processing power from your device, so lowering the settings will alleviate the pressure somewhat and allow the device to run the game without lag, stuttering, or stalling. Fortunately, lowering the graphics settings is easy. Simply:

1. Navigate to the Home Screen.
2. Hit System Settings.
3. Scroll down to TV Output.
4. Select TV resolution.
5. Reduce the resolution to to a lower setting (this will in-turn increase the FPS).
6. Press A.

Install the game on a high-speed SD card

You may be experiencing lag, stuttering and low FPS with Tears of the Kingdom because you don’t have enough storage on your device or SD card. If this is the case, it may be worth installing the game on a high-speed SD card such as a microSD card. If you’re unfamiliar with one of these, head over to our guide to the best microSDXC card for Switch to get an idea of the lay of the land.

Turn it off and on again

Our final suggestion is an oldie but a goldie. Make sure to save your progress and switch off your Nintendo Switch. Wait a few seconds to a minute, then switch the console back on and reload the game.

We’re going to be keeping a close eye on this and will update the page as new information comes in. Make sure to check back in periodically so you don’t miss anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

We know that many people will have questions that they want answers to. With that in mind, we’ve done our best here to answer some of your most pressing questions.

How much storage do you need to run Tears of the Kingdom without lag or stuttering?

Tears of the Kingdom is roughly 16.68GB in download size. You will need at least this amount of storage space available to play it without experiencing adverse affects to your gameplay.

What resolution should you play Tears of the Kingdom at in docked mode to increase FPS?

This will vary depending on the device and screen in question. However, we would generally recommend a lower screen resolution around the 720p or even the 480p mark to have the best chance of increasing FPS.