You’re mid-run. Your Gold Ship is finally cooperating, the stats are looking incredible, and you’re about to hit that crucial URA Finals race. Then, it happens. The dreaded spinning circle. The "Connecting..." message that stays on screen just a second too long. It’s infuriating. When Uma Musume connection slow issues strike, it doesn't just ruin the vibe—it can actually lead to dropped sessions or missed rewards if the server decides you've timed out.
Honestly, Cygames has built a masterpiece with Uma Musume Pretty Derby, but it is notoriously picky about network stability. Because the game is constantly communicating with servers in Japan to verify every single RNG roll, even a tiny flicker in your ping can cause the whole thing to chug. You aren't imagining it. The game is heavy. It's asset-dense. And if you’re playing outside of Japan, you’re already fighting an uphill battle against physical distance and routing hurdles.
The Real Reason Uma Musume Connection Slow Problems Happen
Most players assume it's just "bad internet." It's usually more specific than that. Since the game hasn't seen a global English release, most of us are accessing the Japanese or Korean/Taiwanese servers. This means your data packets are traveling thousands of miles across undersea cables. If your ISP has poor peering with Japanese backbone providers like NTT, your connection is going to feel like it’s running through mud.
There’s also the "Asset Load" factor. Every time a new banner drops or a story event starts, the game tries to pull huge chunks of data. If your cache is fragmented or your storage is nearly full, the game struggles to handshake with the server. It’s a bottleneck. Sometimes the Uma Musume connection slow notification is actually your phone struggling to process the incoming data rather than the data not arriving at all.
I’ve seen people blame the servers during the Champions Meeting. While traffic spikes do happen, Cygames is actually pretty good at scaling. Usually, the "slowness" is a combination of your local DNS settings and how your specific device handles high-frequency pings. If your DNS is stuck on a slow local provider, every single "Next" button click has to wait for a resolution. It adds up. Fast.
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The VPN Tax on Speed
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: VPNs. Unless you are in a region where the game is natively supported, you’re likely using a tunnel. Every VPN adds latency. Cheap or free VPNs are the primary cause of the Uma Musume connection slow error. They hop through overcrowded servers. Your data is literally waiting in line behind a thousand other people trying to watch Netflix.
If you must use one, protocol matters. OpenVPN is secure but slow. WireGuard is significantly snappier for gaming. If your VPN doesn't let you switch protocols, that's your first red flag. You want the shortest path to Tokyo. Anything else is just adding lag to your training sessions.
Troubleshooting Your Connection Without Losing Your Mind
First, stop restarting the app every five minutes. It doesn't help as much as you think. Instead, try toggling your Airplane Mode. It sounds old-school, but it forces your device to re-handshake with the nearest tower or router, often clearing out a "stuck" IP lease that was causing micro-stutters.
Change Your DNS Right Now
This is the single most effective "pro-tip" for mobile gamers. By default, your phone uses your ISP’s DNS. These are often garbage. Switching to Google DNS ($8.8.8.8$ and $8.8.4.4$) or Cloudflare ($1.1.1.1$) can shave 50-100ms off your request times. In a game like Uma Musume, where every menu transition is a server request, this makes the UI feel infinitely more responsive.
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- On Android: Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Private DNS.
- On iOS: Go to Wi-Fi > Tap the "i" next to your network > Configure DNS > Manual.
The Batch Download Secret
There is a button on the title screen. It’s small. It says "Menu" and then "Batch Download." Use it. Many people experience Uma Musume connection slow because the game is trying to download voice lines and 3D assets on the fly while you play. If you have a 10GB game that is only 4GB on your disk, the other 6GB is being pulled over the air constantly. Sit down, hit Batch Download on a stable Wi-Fi connection, and let it finish. Your future self will thank you when the menus stop hanging.
When the PC Client (DMM) Goes Turtle Mode
The DMM version is generally more stable, but it has its own quirks. If the PC version is lagging, it’s almost always a hardware acceleration issue or a Windows Firewall conflict. Sometimes, the DMM Game Player itself needs an update that doesn't trigger automatically.
Check your "Proxy" settings in Windows. If you have "Automatically detect settings" turned on, Windows sometimes pauses to scan for a proxy every time the game tries to call home. Turn that off. It’s a relic of office networks and has no business being on a gaming rig.
Also, look at your CPU usage. Uma Musume is surprisingly demanding on a single core. If you have a bunch of Chrome tabs open in the background, the game’s "communication" thread might be getting deprioritized. It sounds wild, but closing a few tabs can actually fix a "connection" issue because it allows the CPU to process the encrypted packets faster.
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Surprising Culprits: IPv6 and Router Buffers
Sometimes the problem isn't the distance to Japan. It’s your own router. Modern routers try to be smart with "Bufferbloat." When your housemate starts a 4K stream, your router might be delaying your tiny game packets to make room for the big video chunks. This is death for Uma Musume connection slow issues.
Try disabling IPv6 on your router if you’re tech-savvy enough. The game’s infrastructure is heavily optimized for IPv4. I've encountered numerous reports from the community where disabling IPv6 suddenly cleared up the constant "Retrying" pop-ups. It’s not a universal fix, but it’s a strong candidate if you’ve tried everything else.
The "Game Mode" Myth
Don't rely on your phone's "Gaming Mode" to fix connection issues. Most of those just clear RAM or block notifications. They don't actually prioritize network packets. If you want real priority, you need a router with QoS (Quality of Service) settings where you can manually tag your gaming device as the "VIP."
Actionable Steps to Kill the Lag
Stop chasing ghosts and follow this specific sequence to get your speed back. Do not skip the cache step; it’s the most common failure point for long-term players.
- Clear the Game Cache (Title Screen): This does NOT delete your account. It clears the temporary manifest files that often get corrupted during small patches.
- Perform the Batch Download: Ensure all assets are local. If the game doesn't have to "ask" for a file, it won't lag.
- Switch to 1.1.1.1 DNS: It is objectively faster for Japanese routing in 90% of cases.
- Audit Your VPN: If you are using one, switch to a Japan-specific node. Use the WireGuard protocol if available. Avoid "Smart Connect" features that might dump you in a Singapore or US West node.
- Disable High-Quality Transitions: If your phone is older, go into the in-game settings and turn down the frame rate or UI effects. Sometimes "connection slow" is actually "UI rendering slow," and the game misreports it.
If you’ve done all this and the Uma Musume connection slow prompts persist, check the official Twitter (X) account for Cygames. They are very transparent about emergency maintenance. If the "Train" is down for everyone, no amount of DNS tweaking will save you.
Keep your device storage at least 15% empty. Mobile OS file systems slow down significantly when they hit that 90% capacity mark, which affects how fast the game can write data during those frequent server handshakes. Clean up your screenshots, finish your batch download, and you'll be back to winning the Arima Kinen without that annoying spinning circle.