How to Port Forward on PS5 and PS4

If you are a gamer who spends time engaging in online multiplayer, then you understand how important ping and voice communication is to the experience. And something that promotes your chances at winning.

Ping refers to latency. It is time it takes for data to travel from one point to the destination and back. Latency can be improved by connecting to the nearest server; the closer the server, the less distance data has to travel to register your input. But there’s an equally crucial setting that you must configure for a better online experience on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

NAT is part of the router that allows inbound communication to connect with the correct device on the network. There are billions of devices in the world right now, and more are coming online every day. The inherent restrictions of the Internet Protocol version in use today limit how many devices can be connected to the internet with a unique IP address.

So, what does NAT have anything to do with a better online experience? Allow us to explain briefly.

Network Address Translation (NAT)

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has an IP address to connect its users to the internet. IP addresses are finite, so letting local networks use their own IP addresses and have one IP address serve as a unique identifier for that particular network on the internet saves that consumption significantly.

Having one unique identifier for a network is immediately unrealistic as any external request would have to be delivered to every device on the network. It is where NAT comes in. It is like the service desk officer that knows the room number of every person in the hotel. If there’s a guest or a delivery for a person, the officer can look up the name on its register and direct the package.

NAT is that officer that keeps a record of every device trying to communicate with the internet in the NAT table. It will push inbound traffic to the correct recipient on the network. It’s how your Facebook page does not load on a different device on the same network. You can also change your NAT on a PC.

Why Port Forwarding is Important for Online Gaming

Ports are virtual gateways in the router that applications use to communicate over the internet. For example, HTTP (web traffic) uses port 80 and HTTPS uses port 443. Your Skype uses a different port, your email server uses a different port, and your games use different ports.

The router allows applications to initiate and outbound requests, but inbound traffic will have trouble opening the ports because the router will treat it differently for security purposes. Port forwarding is a feature in the router that lets you set a rule for specified ports; traffic through the ports will traverse NAT’s firewall easily.

As a service, PlayStation Network has described the ports it uses to communicate with the PlayStation console. Individual games may require other ports to be open.

Sony classifies level of connectivity in three types: NAT Type 1, NAT Type 2, and Type 3. The Type 3 status means that your connection with PlayStation Network’s server is restricted in some way. Therefore, you might have issues during matchmaking, voice chat, and online gameplay performance.

Set a Static IP Address

Your router is most probably assigning IP addresses dynamically. What that means is that your device may have a different IP address when it reconnects. For port forwarding to work, you will need to assign a static IP address in the router for your PS5 or PS4 console.

• On your PS4/PS5, go to Settings > System Information/Console Information. Note down MAC address for LAN or Wi-Fi, depending on your preference.
• Log in to your router’s admin panel. Check the back of the router for the ‘default gateway’ and the admin panel’s username and password. Use a web browser to log in.
• Go to the DHCP server menu and find the menu to reserve an IP address.
• Enter an IP address that’s within the DHCP’s server range and the MAC address of your console.

(Note: To make things sound simple for you, add any number that is less than 100 after the third dot in your router’s IP address. For example, 192.168.0.10)

• Save the settings.

How to Port Forward on Router, PS5 and PS4

The process will look different across different router manufacturers, but you need to look for Port Forwarding or Port Triggering, for example for your Fortnite account. You can find port forwarding guides by router’s make and model number here.

• Use the aforementioned process to get into the router’s admin panel.
• Navigate to the port forwarding menu.
• Enter the static IP address and the ports that you want to open. Here are the ports that you need to open:

For PS4

• TCP: 80, 443, 3478, 3479, 3480
• UDP: 3478, 3479

For PS5

• TCP: 1935,3478-3480
• UDP: 3074,3478-3479
• Save your settings.

Return to your PS5 or PS4 console and run the internet connection setup. The NAT Type should now be Type 2 or Type 1. The latter is almost impossible to achieve now, so NAT Type 2 is what you should be looking for.

Conclusion

You may need to open additional ports if required by the game that you play. Call of Duty is one such example. The process works on PS5 and PS4 since you need to configure the router and not the device itself. If you are running the console on a router behind another router, you would have to put the second router’s IP address in DMZ.