Hello reader ! So you have been facing issues with your voice chat , or you are not able to join rooms. Or unable to host a lobby in a multiplayer game. And somehow you conclude that your NAT type is the issue. Well in this text we will show some easy fixes for you to change your NAT type on your PS4 and get gaming again !
Contents
What is NAT type
NAT stands for network address translation. Without going much into details, NAT is used to setup home connections. You have a router, which has a permanent IP address provided by your ISP. The traffic from internet gets forwarded to your router. Now the router will map many smaller IP addresses for all the devices connected to it. Which basically results in many devices using a single IP address ( the router’s ). But sometimes this is the sole cause of so many headaches.
NAT settings, if set to strict , will cause internet speed lags and overall reduced gaming experience.
How to Change NAT type on PS4
Let us check out some ways in which we can change NAT type in PS4
The best NAT type for gaming is NAT-open which is NAT-1 or NAT-2. NAT-1 is completely open while in NAT-2 , the PS4 is behind the router and the router manages incoming and outgoing traffic. Lets see how to change NAT type
Method 1
To change your NAT to type open, we need to tweak a few settings in the router. Follow the steps given below
- First you need to determine your router’s login details and password. Those are mentioned at the bottom/base of your router on a sticker.
- Most commonly , login address is 192.168.1.1
- Once you have that in hand , head over into your browser and type the login details into the URL bar
- Similarly enter the password.
- Now you have logged in your router settings.
- Just disable NAT filtering in WLAN settings
- Also disable UPnP ( universal plug and play )
After this step, the router’s firewall is disabled, which might seem dangerous but actually is not. Newer systems have built-in software firewalls anyway, so disabling the router’s firewall wont hurt.
- Now open your PS4 settings and go to network settings
- Make sure your IP address is set to default/ automatic
- You can leave the DNS settings to their default or you can enter 8.8.8.8 in primary and secondary, which is google’s DNS
- Save and test your connection
Once all of that work is done, now its time to test your connection.And guess what ! your NAT type is now set to NAT-2 which is what we want. NAT-2 will provide your devices with all the security that they need and also allow two-way-communication. That is now you can host games and use voice chats again !
2. Using DMZ for changing NAT type in PS4
DMZ stands for demilitarized zone. It is a smaller network that exists in the main network. It has better communication with the outside internet but comes with the price of security. A network on DMZ will be more vulnerable to attacks from the outside internet because it can communicate more. That’s the thing. To set up DMZ,
- First , go to settings menu in your PS4
- Under network settings, search for network status.
- This will list you some details about your connection on PS4.
- Take note of IP address.
The IP address we just retrieved, we will put in into the DMZ settings of the router. The router will therefore allow the PS4 to operate in dematerialized zone.
- Open the router settings the same way as shown in the step above
- Configuration of various routers differ. You will need to find DMZ settings
- Enable the DMZ settings by ticking the check-mark
- Enter the IP address of the PS4 we just got, into the DMZ hosts
- Just save your settings and reset your router.
- To reset it, simply remove all the wires and disconnect the power supply for about a minute
- Now back into PS4, check network status.
If you did all things correct, now your PS4 should be operating in DMZ. More importantly, the NAT type of the PS4 is now changed . Now you can go ahead and try voice chat or hosting a room to see if things worked.
3. Forwarding ports towards your PS4
In this step we will allow some ports through your router that should hopefully help you change NAT type on your PS4. A port is a point on a machine where other devices can connect. Networking ports are virtual ports which are used to establish connections between computers.
- Once again open your router settings by using the steps shown in method 1
- Once there, search for forwarding ports to devices
- It can be also named as Port forwarding , virtual server , application server etc.
- Once located , add in the following ports,
80 , 443 , 3478 , 3479 , 3480 ( TCP ports )
- You will need to assign your PS4’s IP address to all of them. Look for that in method 2
- Apply your changes and exit
Now go over to your PS4 and check network status. Hopefully the NAT type is set to NAT-2 or NAT-1, which means it is now open.
4. Use a VPN to change NAT type
A VPN or a virtual private network works on all ports that are open. It makes it nearly impossible for your ISP to track your internet activity and thus makes it unable to post any restrictions on the outgoing and incoming traffic. In short, try connecting to a VPN. You can use free VPN services and paid ones like Tunnelbear, Nord VPN etc. Choice varies from user to user. Try testing your internet connection on your PS4 once connected to VPN and see if the NAT type is changed.
Summing up
In this article we guided you through various methods to change your NAT type to open in PS4. Our method involved changing DMZ settings, disabling firewalls and allowing some ports to make sure everything works. We hope that you were able to solve the NAT type issue with your PS4 using our guides. Feel free to comment down below your own thoughts or any methods you would like to share. Cheers and happy gaming.
