These days, almost all games require an internet connection. Whether it's for playing against friends, downloading updates, or checking hints, a good internet connection is vital for a smooth experience. And for everything to work correctly, there's something you'll need to have perfectly under control: your router's ports.
NAT on PlayStation 5
If you have trouble maintaining a stable connection when playing online, or if the servers of your favorite games tell you that you can't organize matches, what we 're about to tell you will be of interest to you to improve your online gaming experience.
One of our biggest fears when playing online is experiencing lag, network drops , or freezes. If this happens, the first thing we usually do is check if there's a problem with our router or if any device is consuming bandwidth. However, if you thoroughly analyze your network and can't find the cause, it's most likely due to a NAT issue . To fix this, you'll need to change the NAT type on your PlayStation 5 console.
What is NAT and why does it affect my online gaming on PS5?
Without getting into overly complex technicalities, NAT stands for Network Address Translator. Basically, it's a network address translator. All the devices we connect to our router access the internet with the same IP address. This is because the total number of IPv4 addresses is quite limited. NAT is part of your router, and its job is to identify each device and distribute the data packets entering and leaving your network, even though we're all using the same IP address.
However, a bad configuration of this system can be our worst nightmare when playing video games online. For the same reason, if you have network problems on your PS5, it is important to identify the type of NAT you have and do your best to find the correct parameter.
Before we begin, you need to know the NAT type assigned to your console. To find this information, go to your PlayStation 5's settings . There you'll see the connection status between your console and your router. Depending on the difficulties it encounters accessing the internet, your console will experience more or fewer problems. To help you understand the exact status of your connection, the menu will display a value so you can see if anything is malfunctioning.
To find out, we just need to check our console's NAT type, and that way we can figure out exactly what's happening between our router and our console. Depending on the value (from 1 to 3), your console will have more or fewer problems connecting with other players, so it's best to have everything configured correctly so that your online experience isn't affected in any way.
PS5 Port Related Issues
If your console cannot access the Internet correctly, the problems that this situation can cause can be many, and some are so strange that you would never think that it is a simple network configuration. Among the many problems that exist, we leave you with several that could help you identify that your network configuration is not exactly correct:
- You can't access the PSN. This would be a pretty serious problem, but since default ports and today's routers get along, you shouldn't have any problems. In case you cannot access the PSN, an intentional blocking of the ports could be the cause.
- Multiplayer games are disconnected: It is one of the main reasons to check the ports of your console. Multiplayer games become quite unstable if you haven't opened the right ports, and normally hosting the game could cause a lot of problems with other players.
- You can't find enough players to play online: The connection to servers, ping and visibility with the rest of the players depend a lot on the open ports.
- Problems with Remote Play and Share Play: This is one of the most obvious problems that could show that you have port issues. Not being able to send the signal from the console to external screens or allowing a friend to take control of your console are basic problems that arise when we do not have an optimal network configuration.
NAT types
The first thing you'll need to do is find out what type of NAT you currently have. To do this, go directly to your console's settings and enter the Network section . Once there, select " View connection status " and scroll down until you find the " NAT type " option.
You can also run a connection test to review all the values, check that your PS5 is accessing the internet correctly, perform an instant NAT test , and check the upload and download speeds you can achieve with your current connection.
In this section you will find 3 types of NAT. They are as follows…
Type 1 (Open)
The console is directly connected to the internet and the cable does not go through any router. This is achieved by connecting the console directly to the connection modem or ONT of your fiber provider. This case is the ideal, but it is also the least common —especially due to the restrictions that the operators usually place. This NAT modality does not usually offer any type of problem when connecting our console to the game servers.
If for some reason you need to use this type of NAT, it is best to contact your telecommunications service provider directly. Only they will be able to offer you such a solution. Otherwise, you'll have to settle for NAT Type 2 at most.
Type 2 (Moderate)
This is the most common method. Your console's connection goes through a router, which will need to open the corresponding ports for the console to connect smoothly. If you don't open the necessary ports, you might encounter connectivity problems or even lag in the game . Hosting games is also often difficult if the router ports aren't opened. However, if you follow the correct steps, this method is perfect for playing smoothly. The process you need to follow to ensure everything runs smoothly is explained at the end of this post.
Although not the ideal type of NAT, if you do the check and have moderate NAT, you should be fine with the result. With this, you will not suffer too many problems when playing online, you will be able to organize games and you will have few network drops.
Type 3 (Closed)
If you have tried to host an online game and your game has given you an error saying that other users cannot join you, you definitely have a closed NAT. With this type, we will only be able to connect with players who have an open NAT, which drastically reduces our chances of playing online. It is the worst configuration you can find.
This NAT type indicates that your console is not accessible from the internet , so you won't be able to host other players to join your game. There's usually little you can do in these cases, as the only solution is to contact your internet service provider and try to disable CG-NAT.
What ports to open for PS5
If you've come across a Type 2 NAT, you're in luck. The only thing you will need is to open the ports so that everything goes smoothly. According to PlayStation, the official ports that a PS5 needs to work perfectly on the network are the following:
- TCP: 80, 443, 3478, 3479, 3480
- UDP: 3478, 3479
To open the ports you will need to access your router and enter the appropriate options to modify the port forwarding. It's a slightly advanced setup, but with the right instructions you'll be able to do it. The problem is that each router is different, so the best thing to do is to contact your Internet provider and ask for help to carry out these steps. In any case, you can see how it is done by consulting the Internet for the model of your router to find the manual. The process is usually quite simple and YouTube is full of videos showing how to do the steps.
Game Specific Ports
Once the official ports on your router are open you should no longer have problems accessing the PSN, Sony services and PS5 connections, but if your router is pretty pugnacious (or extremely secure), you will probably have problems in certain games that do use of multiplayer services. Below we leave you with some of the most used games among the community and the corresponding ports they need to function correctly.
- Call of Duty: TCP (1935, 3478-3480), UDP (3074-3079, 3478-3479)
- Destiny 2: TCP (1935,3074,3478-3480) UDP (3074, 3478-3479)
- War zone: TCP (1935, 3478-3480), UDP (3074-3079, 3478-3479)
- FIFA: TCP (80, 443, 1935, 3478-3480, 3659, 10000-10099, 42127), UDP (3074, 3478-3479, 3659, 6000)
- Fortnite: TCP (1935, 3478-3480), UDP (3074, 3478-3479)
- Grand Theft Auto V: TCP (80, 443, 3478-3480, 6672) UDP (3478-3480, 6672, 61455, 61457, 61456, 61458)
How to check other games
If the game you want to play isn't on the list in the previous section, don't worry. There are several ways to determine which ports you need to open on your router. Generally, there are two methods :
Via Google search
Look for the name of the video game you want to locate next to the term 'PlayStation 5' and 'Ports'. In the list of results, locate the official website of the developer of the title. Within that information, the number of ports that you must enable on PS5 for your online games to work correctly should appear.
Using the Speed Test utility
There is an alternative that is even simpler. It is a website that will tell you if your connection is ready for the online game you want to enjoy. You just have to follow these steps:
- Enter the website testdevelocidad.es/test-de-ports/games from a computer or mobile phone that you have connected to the same network as your PlayStation 5.
- Scroll down and search the list of games for the title you want to test.
- Once you have it, tap on the 'start' button.
- After some tests, the system will tell you if your connection is correct. If not, they will tell you which ports you need to open on your network in order to play the game properly.
Check port status
If you want to know if you have done the process correctly, you can check the ports. The steps are the following:
- Go to the website speedtest.es From a computer that you have connected to the same network as your PS5, access the 'Port test' section.
- In parallel, turn on your PS5 and connect it to the Internet.
- At the end of the web you have a small form in which your IP will appear.
- Type the port you want to check and hit 'Start'.
- The wizard will tell you if the selected port is open or if, on the contrary, it is still closed.
What if I have two PS5s at home?
The problem comes when after opening the necessary ports you find yourself in the wonderful situation of having two PS5s in the same home. We know, it's a strange case, but it could happen if you keep using a PS4 and a PS5 at the same time or if there are two consoles in the same house (someone sharing a flat or two very lucky brothers with different setups). Unlike what happens on Xbox, where we can select an alternative port for the console to access Microsoft servers, at Sony they are quite opaque when it comes to explaining the ins and outs of the connection ports on their consoles.
This makes it quite difficult to keep two consoles in harmony on the same network, so you have to be ingenious and create a configuration that more or less allows you to go online without problems. On the one hand, you should activate UPnP so that the router automatically activates the ports that a certain internet device needs to communicate over the internet. Thus, when the two consoles make their requests, the router will be in charge of granting the appropriate ports to each one.
On the other hand, the range of ports that we know could be divided equally. If in the previously mentioned configuration we talked about opening the range from 3478 to 3480 in TCP and UDP, we could reserve 3478 TCP/UDP for one console and 3479 TCP/UDP for another. In this way both could go to the internet correctly through the official ports, and even if one is busy we would have a second available for the other console. By following these steps we have been able to successfully connect two consoles on the same network and obtain Type 2 NAT on both.