Unlock Your Console’s Potential with These Wi-Fi Tips

Whether your PlayStation 4 keeps disconnecting from Wi-Fi or you can’t get your system online at all, we’re here to help you fix PS4 network issues. Here’s how to get your system back online as normal.

1 Reboot Everything and Check Other Devices

Any network troubleshooting should begin with a restart of all affected equipment. You can clear up many temporary issues by doing so, and it’s a quick step to get out of the way first.

First, restart your network by rebooting your router and modem (or your combination device that handles both). If they have a power button on the back, use that to turn them off and wait a minute before turning them back on. If your devices don’t have a power button, unplug the power cord instead.

After your network equipment starts back up, restart your PS4. To do so, press and hold thePS button on the controller to open the Quick Menu. On that menu, open thePower section and selectRestart PS4 . Don’t chooseEnter Rest Mode —this is a low-power state that doesn’t fully shut down the system.

Once everything has restarted, see if your PS4 connects to Wi-Fi as normal. If it doesn’t work, you should next make sure you can get online on a computer or other device in your home. Assuming everything else connects to Wi-Fi except your PS4, move on to the below steps. If nothing will get online, your PS4 isn’t the problem—you need to troubleshoot your home network .

Another worthwhile early troubleshooting step is confirming your PS4 will connect to your mobile hotspot . If so, the issue lies with your home network, so the below tips will help. If not, your PS4’s network hardware may be malfunctioning.

2 Run the PS4 Network Test for More Details

If a simple reboot didn’t fix your PS4 Wi-Fi issues, you can run a built-in network test to get more information about where the problem lies. On your PlayStation 4, head toSettings > Network > Test Internet Connection .

This will run a short test and displaySuccessful orFailed for each of the following in succession:

• Obtain IP Address: Whether your system successfully received an IP address from your router. If it fails, your PS4 is not connecting to the router properly.
• Internet Connection: This succeeds as long as your PS4 can reach the internet. If it fails, the issue lies between your router and the internet.
• PlayStation Network Sign-In: Checks whether your system can reach the PlayStation Network. If it fails, you may be on a network that blocks PlayStation Network. While less likely, the issue may also lie on Sony’s end.

If your computer passes these three checks, your PS4 is properly online. In addition, you may want to test a specific game to confirm all its online features are working.

There are a few additional data points from this test that can help you troubleshoot:

• NAT Type: PlayStation uses a confusing system where your NAT type can beType 1 ,Type 2 , orType 3:
  • Type 1 means your system is connected directly to the internet, which is rare—unless you have your PlayStation directly connected to your modem, you shouldn’t see this.
  • Type 2 means that you’re connected to the internet through a router, which is what most people will see.
  • Type 3 means that your system can’t use all the ports necessary, which often causes instability.
• Connection Speed: These are estimates of how fast your PS4 can download and upload data. Even if you’ve connected successfully, a low value can indicate your PS4 Wi-Fi is too slow.

Now that you have a better idea of your issue, let’s look at various steps to fix bad Wi-Fi on PS4.

3 Re-Enter Your Wi-Fi Details

If your PS4 won’t connect to your router at all, theObtain IP Address check will fail. In these cases, you should make sure you have the right Wi-Fi network information set.

Go to Settings > Network > Set Up Internet Connection > Use Wi-Fi > Easy and run through the steps again to reconnect to your network. Pay attention when entering the Wi-Fi password; an incorrect password is a common mistake (especially since using a controller to type is prone to error).

As a potential fix, you can also try changing your DNS settings to use a third-party provider instead of your ISP’s servers. To do this, selectCustom instead ofEasy . You don’t need to tweak any of the other options, so chooseAutomatic forIP Address Settings , thenDo Not Specify forDHCP Host Name .

At theDNS Settings screen, chooseManual and enter the information for an alternate DNS server . If you can’t decide, try settingPrimary DNS to8.8.8.8 andSecondary DNS to8.8.4.4 for Google’s public DNS servers.

Confirm this, then chooseAutomatic for theMTU Settings andDo Not Use forProxy Server . From there, you can test the connection again.

4 Improve Wi-Fi Reliability on Your PS4

While Wi-Fi is convenient, it’s susceptible to interference, which can cause your PS4 to disconnect from the network or suffer slow speeds. You can see how strong your PS4’s Wi-Fi signal is by going toSettings > Network > View Connection Status and checking theSignal Strength entry.

If this is below 80%, you should try improving it by taking the following steps:

• Move your PS4 closer to your router: The further away your system is from the router, the weaker the Wi-Fi signal will be. If at all possible, move the two physically closer together.
• Reduce interference: Wi-Fi doesn’t travel well through solid metal, concrete, and other thick surfaces. You may also experience reduced Wi-Fi performance if there are microwaves, baby monitors, or similar devices nearby using the same frequencies. Try to keep as direct a line between the PS4 and router as possible, and move other devices out of the way.
• Limit network usage on other devices: Your PS4’s network performance will suffer when other devices in your home are using the bandwidth. Try shutting down other computers, phones, and game systems—especially if they’re downloading large files, streaming 4K media, or similar. You may need to upgrade your home internet plan if this is a consistent issue.

Follow additional tips for speeding up your Wi-Fi connection if you suspect this is the problem. You should also avoid using any VPNs with your PS4, as doing so introduces additional overhead.

Depending on your PS4 model, you might also be able to connect to the 5GHz band on your router for a more consistent signal. The PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro can use the 5GHz band, but the original model PS4 cannot.Compared to 2.4GHz, 5GHz connections are often faster and not subject to as much interference, but don’t travel as far. If your PS4 is close to your router, and you have a compatible model, it’s worth trying the 5GHz band as a potential solution.

5 Make Sure the PlayStation Network Is Available

There’s a chance that the PlayStation Network is down, which will prevent you from connecting to its online services. While rare, this does happen, so it’s worth checking (especially ifPlayStation Network Sign-In failed during your test earlier).

Check Sony’s PSN status page to make sure everything has the green light. You can also do this on your PS4 at Settings > Network > View Status of PlayStation Network Services .

If PSN is down, you can’t do much other than wait for Sony to fix the problem—stick to an offline game for the time being.

6 Review Your Router’s Network Settings

If you’re still having an issue, there’s a chance that a setting in your router is blocking your PS4 from getting online. Make sure you haven’t restricted router traffic for your PS4. For example, there may be parental controls or MAC address filtering in place .

If you sawType 3 underNAT Type in the connection test or only have a problem in certain games, you may need to forward ports in your router so your PS4 can communicate properly.

See Sony’s support page about the PS4 network test for a list of which ports need forwarding for PSN services, and check the documentation for your particular game to find its applicable ports. Note that if you’re having this problem on a school or work network, the institution likely has PSN blocked. There’s not much you can do unless you manage the network.

7 Try Using Your Router’s Guest Network

If your PS4 won’t reliably connect to your Wi-Fi, try enabling the guest network on your router and connecting to that on your PS4 instead. While it might sound strange, this solved a problem I had years ago when my PS4 wouldn’t connect to the router but everything else did. Some GameFAQs threads have also recommended this method, particularly on the original model of PS4 (which I have).

The guest network can work differently depending on your router. In some cases, it’s simply a separate network name with its own password. When I had this problem, the guest network appeared as an open connection that you could connect to without a password, but then required you to open theInternet Browser app on your PS4 and sign in using the guest network password.

There’s another important factor that might lead you to this method: the PS4 does not support WPA3 Wi-Fi security . If your router uses this modern security standard, you’ll need to change it to WPA2 for your PS4 to get online. In my testing, the hybrid WPA3/WPA2 setting doesn’t work—it must be WPA2 alone. If you want to avoid using this older security method on your main network, you can enable WPA2 on your guest network and connect your PS4 to that.

Depending on your router, the guest network may kick you offline at regular intervals. Keep this in mind so you don’t get booted from an important multiplayer match.

8 Connect With an Ethernet Cable

While one or more of the above fixes will hopefully help when your PS4 Wi-Fi signal is too weak or won’t work at all, a wired connection is always better. Hard-wiring your PS4 to your router using an Ethernet cable will result in a more stable connection with faster data speeds.

If possible, we recommend using a network cable to get your PS4 online. Even if you can’t do so long-term, try connecting with an Ethernet cable and checking for PS4 system updates, which might fix your Wi-Fi issue.

In case this isn’t an option for you,try using powerline adapters , which run an Ethernet connection over the power lines in your home. You simply plug one unit into the wall by your router and another near your console. While not as good as a true Ethernet cable, it’s more stable than Wi-Fi.

Now you know what to do when your PS4 Wi-Fi has stopped working or becomes unreliable. Hopefully, you’re able to patch it up so you can get to playing online again. If nothing else worked, you might consider calling your internet service provider to ask about any internet filters or similar blocks it has applied. Otherwise, you can factory reset your PS4 as a dire last step.