---
title: "NetworkThrottlingIndex: what it actually throttles, and why the advice is usually wrong"
description: "The NetworkThrottlingIndex default value is 10. What it throttles, what ffffffff does on Windows 11, and an honest look at whether changing it helps gaming."
url: https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/network-throttling-index
author: Frost LIVE, Founder of Frozen Tweaks
published: 2026-08-30
updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Network"
source: Frozen Tweaks (https://frozentweaks.com)
---

# NetworkThrottlingIndex: what it actually throttles, and why the advice is usually wrong

**Short answer:** NetworkThrottlingIndex lives under SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile and limits non-multimedia network packet processing to roughly 10 packets per millisecond by default. Setting it to 0xFFFFFFFF disables that limit. The honest assessment: it can help on very high-throughput connections and does close to nothing for a typical game's traffic, which is nowhere near the throttle ceiling.

## In the app

- Switch: Disable Network Throttling (Network, Pro, Advanced)
- Undo: Yes. Switching it off sets a standard Windows value, which may not be exactly how you had it.
- Game profiles that switch it on: Apex Legends, ARC Raiders, Battlefield 6 and 18 more
- Catalog row: https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks#t-1025

## What it does

The throttle exists so that heavy network traffic cannot starve audio and video playback of CPU time. It caps packet processing for non-multimedia traffic.

A competitive game sends small packets at a modest rate, typically well under the throttle threshold, which is why the theoretical benefit rarely materialises.

## When it helps

- Measurable on connections doing sustained high-throughput transfer alongside gaming.
- Can help when streaming and gaming simultaneously on the same machine.

## When it hurts

- Removes a protection designed to keep audio playback smooth under network load. On a machine that streams, that protection may have been doing its job.
- For most players the change is unmeasurable, and it is frequently sold as a large FPS win. It is not one.

## What it writes

Read from the app's source. "Switching it off" is what the app writes when you turn the tweak off again.

Registry values:

| Key | Value | With the tweak | Switching it off | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile` | `NetworkThrottlingIndex` | `0xFFFFFFFF` | 10 | Caps how many non-multimedia network packets Windows processes per millisecond while multimedia plays. 0xFFFFFFFF removes the cap; 10 is the Windows default. |

Source: Tweaks/network_throttling.hpp in the app's source, app 2.0.0, checked 2026-10-08.

## The same change by hand

Run in a Command Prompt opened as administrator. Make a restore point first.

```bat
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile" /v "NetworkThrottlingIndex" /t REG_DWORD /d 0xFFFFFFFF /f
```

Put it back:

```bat
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile" /v "NetworkThrottlingIndex" /t REG_DWORD /d 10 /f
```

See what it is set to now:

```bat
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile" /v "NetworkThrottlingIndex"
```

## How to undo it

Delete the value to return to the Windows default, or set it back to 10 (0xA). Switching it off in Frozen Tweaks sets it to 10, the Windows default.

## Verdict

Low risk, low reward. We include it because it is genuinely part of the latency picture on some systems, but anyone claiming it is a major FPS tweak is repeating folklore.

## Related guides

- [How to Reduce Input Lag on PC: The Whole Latency Chain](https://frozentweaks.com/guides/reduce-input-lag)
- [How to Increase FPS on PC: The Complete 2026 Guide](https://frozentweaks.com/guides/how-to-increase-fps-on-pc)

## More tweak explainers

- [Nagle's algorithm](https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/disable-nagle-algorithm)
- [Delivery Optimization](https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/disable-delivery-optimization)
- [NDU (Network Data Usage)](https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/disable-ndu-service)

---
Written by Frost LIVE, founder of Frozen Tweaks. Canonical version: https://frozentweaks.com/tweaks/network-throttling-index