The biggest issue with online gaming can be random connection drops. It’s amazing when it works, but when it doesn’t, what you get is a total nightmare that ends up ruining the entire experience. 

A lot of these disconnections have to do with your Network Address Translation or NAT type. This basically translates the IP addresses of all the devices in your home into the one public IP your router has. 

In this article, we explain how you can change the NAT type on your PS4 using either DMZ host or Port Forwarding and hopefully get rid of any connection drops. 

Also read: How to remove (Credit/Debit) card details from PS4?

What are NAT Types?

Before we get into changing our NAT Type, we need to know what these are. There are essentially three types of NAT.

• Type 1 (Open): In this case, you’re directly connected to the internet, which means your chances of dropping a connection are at the minimum. You also get the best speeds and the minimum lag while connecting to all users regardless of their NAT type. However, this type typically indicates your connection is less secure.
• Type 2 (Moderate): Your PS4 will connect to the internet using a router here, which means you might get some lag and lower speeds, but your connection will be secure, and you’d still be able to connect to most users. 
• Type 3 (Strict): This NAT Type prioritises security above anything else and ends up giving you the most headache. You’ll only be able to connect to players with an open NAT type, and there will be frequent connection drops.

If you’re on Type 3 by default, we highly recommend you change your NAT to Type 2. Type 1 is a bit of a security concern, so you might want to change that one as well. 

Also read: How to delete PS4 messages?

Changing NAT type in PS4

So, you can’t quite change the NAT on your PS4 itself as its router-based settings. But before we go fiddling with our router, we need a few things from our console, namely the IP address and the current NAT type.

You can find the console’s IP address from the router as well, but it’s just more convenient to do so from the console. This also gives you a benchmark to test your new settings. 

Step 1: Head over to Settings in the utility menu.

Step 2: Scroll down to Network.

Step 3: Click on View Connection Status.

Your console will now run a test and report back with what’s going on at the moment. Make a note of the IP Address, the Default Address and the NAT Type.

Note that different routers have their settings stored differently. These settings may or may not apply to your router, but they’ll give you a basic idea of where to find the said settings on your particular router. 

Step 4: Next up, log in to your router using the default IP address. 

Step 5: First up, we need to enable UPnP or Universal Plug and Play.  On our router, this setting was under the Applications tab. This protocol allows devices on a network to discover or see each other.

Step 6: To change the NAT type on the PS4, we have two options.

• Using DMZ Host: This puts the IP of your PS4 in a DMZ (demilitarised) zone that allows the incoming and outgoing connection. It’s easy to do but poses a potential security threat.
• Using Port Forwarding: This method requires you to open a few ports on your router, which can be a bit of a hassle but is relatively secure and works well.

We’ll be going over both these methods.

Changing NAT on the PS4 using DMZ host

This method is relatively straightforward. All you need to do is add your PS4’s IP address to the DMZ Host IP address field under the DMZ settings in your router, and you’re good to go. 

On our router, the setting lies under the Applications tab. You may have to look around for it depending on your router’s make and model. 

Changing NAT on the PS4 using Port Forwarding

In this method, we’re going to have to open a  few ports on the router that’ll facilitate the PS4’s connection. Here’s how.

Step 1: Find the Port  Forwarding setting on your router. For us, it was under the Applications tab.

Step 2: Add the following UDP/TCP ports to the table followed b your PS4’s IP address.

Port	TCP	UDP
88	✓
443	✓
3478	✓	✓
3479	✓	✓
3480	✓

Step  3: Save your settings and run another test to ensure your NAT type changes and that you have a better connection now.

Also read: How to lower the ping on PS4?