How To Change Your NAT Type On PS4 - PlayStation Universe

How To Change Your NAT Type On PS4 – If you’re having connection issues with your PS4 when you shouldn’t be, then chances are you may only need to make a small fix like changing your NAT type to make all your problems go away, and this guide will show you exactly how to do that.

How To Change Your NAT Type On PS4 – What Is A NAT Type?

Your first question before understanding how to change your NAT type on PS4 is potentially: what is a NAT type? The word NAT stands for Network Address Translation, and it’s a function of your router that essentially ‘translates’ each of your individual devices IP addresses into one private address rather than the multiple public address coming from your devices.

Your NAT type can greatly affect your internet speeds, so you want to be on the right one if you aim to play online often. There are three different NAT types:

Open – This is Type 1, and it is the as its name suggests, open. You can connect with users of any NAT type and having your PS4 on this NAT type will give you the lowest chances of facing a disconnection or high latency while playing. The downside however is that your connection is also open, and therefore vulnerable to attacks online.
Moderate – This is Type 2, and while you’ll still have more lag and higher latency than compared to Type 1, you’ll be more protected and still able to connect to players of different NAT types.
Strict – This is Type 3, and it is here where you will have the highest chances of disconnecting from a game or being able to connect to other players. If you’re on this NAT type and experiencing connection issues, this may be your culprit.

How To Change Your NAT Type On PS4 – How Do I Check My Current NAT Type?

If you think changing your NAT type could be the solution to your connection issues on your PS4, then you’ll first need to know which NAT type you’re on in the first place. Navigate to settings, then into network, and then select View Connection Status. This will give you a full breakdown of your network on your PS4, and at the bottom of the list will be your NAT type.

If you’re NAT type is currently sitting at Type 3, then changing your NAT type could be the solution you’re looking for. If you are sitting at Type 2 or Type 1, then you may not have to change it, and your connection issues could be from elsewhere. As previously mentioned, having your PS4 NAT type being Type 1 should be preventing you from having any NAT type related issues at all, so there’s no need to change your NAT type if you find yourself on Type 1 for connection reasons at least, though you could for security purposes.

If you’re currently sitting at Type 2, and you’ve eliminated all other possibilities for why your connection is spotty or disconnecting frequently, then go ahead and change your NAT type. That being said, anyone sitting at Type 1 or 2, changing your NAT type may not be the thing that fixes your issues, so only proceed if you strongly feel like this will fix any issues you’re currently facing.

How To Change Your NAT Type On PS4 – What You’ll Need And How To Do It

Now we’ll get into how exactly you can go about changing your NAT type on your PS4. While changing your NAT type is ultimately just one small change, it does take a few steps and will potentially require you to have your manual for your router handy. There are two main methods of changing your NAT type, because you can’t unfortunately just change it directly on your console though they both follow these first few steps.

As previously explained, you’re going to have to navigate your way to the page where you can see your NAT type, within your network settings on your PS4’s settings. Once you’ve found it, jot down the IP Address on screen, the Default Gateway as you’ll need these numbers.

Then open a computer and type in the Default Gateway number you just noted in the search bar and hit Enter to search. You’ll be prompted to sign into your router with your username and password, and after doing so be able to change your router settings to enable UPnP. This stands for Universal Plug and Play, and allows for devices to be able to discover each other.

It is at this point where the method to change your NAT type diverges into two lanes. You can now either put your PS4 to the DMZ, or open up some forwarding ports. Either method should work fine but fair warning if you decide to put your PS4 to the DMZ, because that is not the most recommended thing to do as it will make you extremely vulnerable to online attacks.

DMZ is short for demilitarized zone, which is essentially a sort of limbo between your secured home network and the rest of the insecure Internet. Your devices will communicate with the network and other devices better than it otherwise would, but once again you are leaving yourself open to attacks, so consider this method carefully.

Putting Your PS4 To The DMZ:

The first thing you’ll need to do is check your router manual to find your router’s DMZ settings, that is if you don’t already know where it is.
Then enable DMZ and there should be a box for you to enter in the IP address you wrote down from the ‘view connection status’ screen in your console’s settings. Make sure to save and apply settings before exiting out of your router’s settings
Check to see if your NAT type has now changed and if the connection has improved.

Opening Forward Ports To Your PS4:

Once more you’ll first want to reference your router’s manual to find where you can open forward ports. They could be listed under subtitles such as “Port Forwarding”, “Virtual Servers” or simply just “Applications”. Every router will have their own UI layout, which is why having a manual beside you should you need it is extremely handy.
Once you’ve found the page on which you can start adding forwarding ports, type in these numbers here, all of which have been recommended by Sony for players attempting this fix. The numbers are: 80(TCP), 443(TCP), 3478(TCP and UDP), 3479(TCP and UDP), 3480(TCP).
As you enter in these numbers to open up forwarding ports, make sure to name each of them and assign them to the same IP address you wrote down from your PS4’s network settings ‘view connection status’ screen.
Save and apply your settings once you are done, and then check to see if your NAT type has changed and your connection improved.

So that is how you can change your NAT type on your PS4. Make sure to be careful should you opt for the DMZ route, and to do what you can to limit the possibility of online attacks.