How to boost your PS4 Wi-Fi signal: 10 easy ways

Want to know how to boost your PS4 Wi-Fi signal and fix slow downloading problems?

Here are 10 easy ways to improve the internet connection to your PS4.

[SeanScythe]

please don't click on this.... #1 buy better router

[PC_60]

no the PS4 built in wifi is actually just terrible, i have 50mb download speed and i get like 4mb on my ps4 and the router is in the next room

[2pacalypsenow]

i get 60 MBPS and on my ps4 it shows up as 48-52mbps whenever i used the Wi-Fi its not the Ps4, Its you

[SeanScythe]

yeah no that's not what i meant.

[Sparta07]

@pc_60, maybe it's your router. I use to get 110megs on ps4 when I had it wireless but when it comes to online gaming hardwire is better.

[TripleCs]

Some routers are old and don't operate as well and as quickly as newer routers. I figured that out as soon as I got my new Verizon router a month ago.. On my old Verizon router from 2010 I was having the exact same problem that you were having. I was getting about 10mb up and 6mb down on my old router. Now I'm getting 38mb up and 27mb down on my new router in the same exact location. Keep in mind that my connection on the PS4 is wireless too and my router is in the next room as well. I also had and still have a 75mb up and 75mb down internet speed on my older router and the newer router. My connection isn't fully matching my internet speed but my connection speed on the PS4 is great for it being a wireless connection. Your wireless speed isn't going to fully match your upload and download speed. That's an unreasonable expectation.

With that being said, it's most likely your router causing you to have slow speeds on your PS4..

[Deano1988]

DMZ

[WellyUK]

This guy is actually right i have 200mb and I only get 40mb on my PS4 which is wireless and it's right next to the router... Go on steam and i get the full speed. This maybe an issue with the first batch but this is a common issue all you have to do is search it and there is plenty of people with the issue.

I just plug it in now when ever I download something or plan to use it for a few days.

[AliTheSnake1]

It's not your router, nor the PS4. It's the PSN servers. The download speed is sometimes awful. My Ps4 is wired, I always have fast speeds when i do net test, I can stream 1080p on it easily. But sometimes the download speed slows down significantly. It happens to everyone I know who owns a ps4.

Greg miller and Colin Moriarty talked about this issue in their podcast. They have a super fast business line, and their speed is still awful and super slow at times.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[ShadowKing-]

ever since all the ddos attacks and the hacking on psn recently and in the past is when i started noticing downloading being slow.

i think that why majority of people have issues with shareplay giving a signal to weak or something like that.

[ziggurcat]

@2pacalypse

no. it's not him... I have 100Mbps, i can run a speed test on my laptop (which is connected wirelessly), and get over 100Mbps on the test. I test the connection on my PS4 - my router/modem is less than 3 feet away from the PS4 - and the numbers that show up is around 10 - 15Mbps (sometimes less than 10).

It's the PS4's wireless adapter (which only picks up a 2.4Ghz signal instead of the newer, faster 5Ghz signal), not his router.

[madmonkey01]

nope just your bad internet.

[suli5595]

Did you take servers into consideration? no.
The router is in the next room while wired connection gives you perfect connection, youre at fault here.

[zep]

well that is your problem get a better internet connection even if you pay for 50 because they advertise it as 50 mb it doesn't mean they are giving you 50 mb

[Segata]

Yeah same as PS4 wifi takes forever. I have no issues on my other devices. Took 6 hours for my PS4 to download a 200MB update last week to plat EDF 4.1. My Wii U did files like that in a couple minutes.

[Utalkin2me]

Mine works just fine, between 40-50...

[lipton101]

What band does it use, 802.11ac?

[T1ttyMunch3r]

or get an ethernet cable?

[Eidolon]

Some people don't have their router situated where it is convenient to connect the PS4 by ethernet cable.

[TWB]

@Eidolon

Its not convinient for me neither but I have been using a very long ethernet cable since PS3 because I didnt want to deal with all the issues the wireless had.

Im sure there is some compatibility issues but either way, I would still greatly suggest a cable regardless of how inconvinient it is if you have problems with wireless.

[Eidolon]

I'd have to run a cable through a lot of walking areas and I can't drill holes or anything where I'm staying. Sorry, but it's too inconvenient, ethernet is not for everyone.

[frostypants]

@Eidolon, you could try a Powerline adapter. I've used those and they work well. Easy to setup, too.

[Thatgrammar]

An ethernet cable would be the best option. However, this will not help with wifi; an ethernet cable will only help in establishing a solid connection.

[FamilyGuy]

I feel like this was part of the latest season of South Park, the whole article feels like a sponsored ad. It's like they wrote this mainly to endorse pieces of hardware.

An inexpensive ethernet cable beats all these options and tricks anyway.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Improve Network for PSN.

[killer_goat]

It's got nothing to do with that

[frostypants]

It's a wifi hardware issue, not a service issue.

[UltraNova]

My Internet speed matches 1:1 my ps4 download speed(both wired and wireless). Its not PSN,its either your internet provider, your router or both.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

sure it's yall say so.
I guess yall don't want an improve network either.

[frostypants]

I love my PS4, and buying a better router might help a little, but doesn't change the fact that the PS4 DOES have a relatively weak wifi antenna. Whether or not it impacts you is entirely dependent on range.

I have a Nighthawk router and my PS4's wifi still has a much slower connection than my other devices in the same room (Chromebook, my cell phone, PS3, 360), which is just a couple of walls and about 30 feet from the router. That's not a cheap router. The PS4 is the issue. More specifically, it's wifi signal pickup degrades with range MUCH faster than most devices.

If you're really close to your router, nothing seems wrong...hence these people who say they see no issue. It's when you put some distance in there that the disparity vs. most other devices shows up. But is *is* a problem, and a well documented one (so cut the fanboyism, people).

The best fix is to get one of those outlet wifi range extenders and plug your PS4 into it via the extender's ethernet port (setup the PS4 as a wired connection). That way, you're effectively using the extender as a high-power external antenna. It makes a HUGE difference. It also proves that the issue is the PS4's antenna.

[kamisama]

I have the same problem so does my brother we both have launch systems and the newest netgear router!

[kamisama]

You guys and gals need to stop acting as if your situation is the same as everyone's else. It's a matter of fact it isn't and, there may be way more variables in play then in your current but simular situation you have to take in account for every variable not just the ones that pertain to you.

[ShadowKnight]

@SeanScythe Agreed

[lipton101]

I use an apple router (new AirPort Extreme). One of the best damn pieces of hardware I've ever purchased. Extraordinarily strong wifi signal.

[Persistantthug]

I use spit......

does wonders.

:)

[hiredhelp]

Ha I love this I get good sppeds maybe your router, listen psn are servers vary I can confirm after many years the PSN network are horrid for downloads here in UK not the router specially when places like steam gives me better downloads.
Plus psn read your connection wrong to varify that go to any speedtest sites match it up.
They need region based servers.
Btw I started with 2mb down and 320kbps up gone threw the years with increased speeds now have 80 down and 17mb up still read horrible on psn ive had D links linksy netgears now have all in ones doesnt make differnce.
Hardwire is best for stable connection I agree there but wifi not bad the closer you are to your modem or hub.

[2pacalypsenow]

That's why I only Hardwire

[sourav93]

That doesn't always help. On a 200Mbps connection, I get 60Mbps max on my PS4 (most of the time it's around 35), and it's wired. I plug that same Ethernet cable into my laptop, and I get 195+ all the time. There's supposedly a cap on the download speed on the PS4.

[asmith2306]

Dunno why you are getting downvoted, you're right. I'm plugged in on a 100Mbps connection and get only half that.

[CitizenFour]

Same.. 120 Down on my pc.. between 30-60 on my ps4. Thats more than enough for online gaming. would just be nice to take advantage of the full potential of my internet.. especially while downloading a game.

wired.

[frostypants]

Are you only comparing download speeds to PSN to download speeds from other sources on your laptop? You need to compare apples to apples, because different sites will have different performance due to location, and can also impose throughput caps.

My understanding is PSN does have a speed cap on it, but not the PS4 itself. But if you're seeing 60Mbps down, you're not suffering like some people are suffering. Before I ran my PS4 to an external antenna (plugged it into a wireless range extender), I was only getting 8-10Mbps.

[MegaMohsi]

only hardwire for me as well, ps4 doesn't support 5g wireless which is the faster signal from my TWC router so I have to use wired or get 10mbps :|

[2pacalypsenow]

Nothing supports 5G since its not even released, I think you mean AC wifi which supports a Gigabit speed which is what 5G is working towards. Ps4 accepts Wireless N which has a cap of 600Mbits, the way your house is built and electronics you have in it play a big part in your speed, not everyone will get the same speed over Wi-Fi, and that's why I can get between 48-52+ mbps with my WRT1900Ac and you get 10mbp over your AC router than uses 5G as a selling point.

[MegaMohsi]

5g = 5ghz band on wifi which can transmit higher data transmission rates and less congested traffic, the PS4 doesn't support 5ghz wifi, only 2.4 which almost all devices use is what I meant to say. I've run the test speeds and 5ghz is much faster then 2.4

[2pacalypsenow]

Well there's a difference between 5ghz band and calling it 5G internet, Yes you're right the 5GHZ band is faster but has less range than 2.4ghz but its not the reason you're getting 10mbps (What is your internet speed on wired?) since like I said my ps4 when using Wi-fi its gives me very good connections using 2.4ghz , The biggest factor in a Wi-Fi signal is environment

[RAM0N]

Ewwww playing on wifi

[XtraTrstrL]

LOL. I know 1 thing, you can't use the internet test on PS3/PS4 to accurately assess how much down/up you get, it's always random. You have to just actually watch while downloading to see what speeds you're actually getting.

[frostypants]

Another tip: downloads seem to pickup a ton of speed when the PS4 is in sleep mode. Why? No clue. But I've had downloads with 1 hour left finish in 5 minutes after I put my PS4 to sleep.

[XtraTrstrL]

@frostypants, interesting. Will test that out. Another thing I learned, ofcourse if you have a game running that is online or doing any network stuff it can stop downloads or slow them crazy. After closing the game, it might not pick back up.

What you can do, that sometimes gets really slow downloads to pickup I found, go to settings and uncheck network connection, then recheck it. Sometimes the speed picks up like crazy just from turning it off then back on in system network settings.

[DethWish]

Plug in cable => better ping

[Artemidorus]

Using an ethernet cable can also help as the connection is dirext oh and move house to the neareat area that provides the servers lol.

[RedDevils]

Or better move to one of those European or Asian country countries that has supper fast internet lol

[ocelot07]

As some users have mentioned wifi is rubbish as it is. The chip in the PS4 is really poor. So go wired if you can't have a cable going directly from PS4 to router.

Then first option is. Buy a pair of homeplugs there really cheap now. There the next best option behind cable directly from PS4 to router. Plus with homeplugs there really is not that much wire involved. A small cable from PS4 to first homeplug. Then another small cable from router to second homeplug.

2nd option is. If you have a laptop or a PC near the PS4. If this laptop/PC is connected to the internet via wifi. You can connect the PS4 to the PC/Laptop and share the internet connection. It won't be as good as homeplugs. But since the wifi card in the PC/laptop will be much better than the crap one in the PS4. You should see some improvements.

[Takwin]

JUST USE A POWERLINE ADAPTER.

Done and done.

Never think about it again.

[WellyUK]

They only work if you live in a newer house as they are very unstable in older houses with older wiring etc.

[Pandamobile]

My house was built in the 70s, and as far as I can tell, my powerline adapter seems to work pretty well. How old are you talking here?

[WellyUK]

It can vary I think but I had a few a while back and they were incredibly unstable, had to get rid of them in the end.

Might just be my area but had friends who also got rid of them because they were also unstable or didn't work at all.

People on forums and on the support for the adapters have said it is most likely the wiring in the house that causes them to be unstable especially in older houses.

[CitizenFour]

I have a d-link one.. sometimes it works amazing..
sometimes I get like 5mbps down.. its so random and troubleshooting has proved fruitless.

I don't get it. Live in a newer house too.

[ocelot07]

My house was built in the late 1800s lol. I have been using homeplugs for years. I have never had any issues with them.

[Takwin]

My house was built in 1976, so it is 40 years old. Power line adapters work in multiple places. My dad's house was built in 1879 and rewired in the 1950s and it works great there too.

[esmittystud101]

Just buy a good wireless router and it will also solve every other wi fi issue your probably having in your home.

[Bladesfist]

doesn't really help when the adapter is poor and does not support later technologies. Wired is the way to go.

[esmittystud101]

I wouldn't mind going wired myself. 30 foot plus cord I'm sure would make my speed sh*t though.

[UltraNova]

@above

Get a CAT-6a Ethernet cable and never look back, no matter how long the wire is.

[Duke19]

Just streaming and gaming - Wifi seems totally fine for me.

Huge Download? Nothing beats wired.

[psnCAShville_615]

my wifi was pretty bad with comcast, i switched to uverse bought a brand new router and boom all fix download speed about 35 and upload 16

[TimelessDbz]

Anyone playing on Wi-Fi needs to do everyone a favor buy a Ethernet cable.
You aren't having and I'm not having fun because of your dodgy wi fi.

[shabz666]

words of wisdom

[Segata]

Yeah I guess would be ok to have a big wire going across the room and over the chair where I sit. No biggie.

[nitus10]

For the PS4 you can get speeds up to 1000Mb/sec on the PS4 if you use the rj45 (ie. wired) connector. The wireless spec of the tha PS4 is 2.4GHz a/b/n which gives you a max theoretical network speed of 72.2Mb/sec.

Check out the following URL for more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

So the WiFi of the PS4 is dodgy when it meets International Standards of which most countries, including the USA have adopted? Well you best pack your bags for the next meet of the International Standards Committee and give them a piece of your mind.

[nitus10]

Sorry my mistake the Wireless spec on the PS4 is 2.4GHz b/g/n

[spoonard]

My PS4's are all wired through a switch to the Comcast router upstairs. All of them usually get about 60-70Mb/sec. I haven't tested them all at once, but they go pretty fast individually.

[nitus10]

I use the standard wireless connection of my PS4 to my Netgear router and get around 60~70Mb/sec which conforms to the 2.4GHz "n" standard. If I connect via cable then I can get upto 1000Mb/sec.

It is very important to realise that total network throughput is dependent on all devices in your network path and that includes the Internet and the host machine(s) you are getting your PS4 to talk to.

Network performance is also time dependent such as you may get good performance most of time and bad performance some of the time or even the other-way around.

If you are consistently getting bad network performance contact your ISP although I do recommend you do some tests first. The PS4 does have a web browser and a quick search will give you a testing site in your area. A word of warning some sites want Flash and to date I can't get a Flash plugin for the PS4 browser.

It must also be realised that you download speed will be higher than your upload speed although that is dependent on your ISP. As an example I can get about 25.7Mb/sec upload from Australia to the US and 1.2Mb/sec download which is quite good for my broadband and consistent with my PC tests as well.

Obviously I would expect the figures to improve and even degrade over the course of the day and if I do the same test in the city where I live I will get better results.

[windblowsagain]

Wifi isn't always amazing. I've been at people's houses and the connections are setup fine. But many things in the home, even the home itself can cause interference with the signal.

[TP32]

Sony data caps your internet connection I have both ps4 and xbox one I have the same set up I get way better speeds on the xbox one

[MatrixxGT]

Same here. My ps4 and X1 sit side by side. My ps4 will "detect" my wifi but will not connect to PSN. The X1 will connect to Xbox live and I can play Forza online no issues at all.
A year ago I bought a long Ethernet cable and ran it under my floors and into the entertainment room downstairs. I just plug whichever console I plan to play online in with the cable. I have to leave the ps4 hard wired regardless or it will not connect. My phone and laptop work great in the same room yet ps4 only device that has issues. Shame they really cheaped out on a part of the console most users rely on to give them a great online experience.

[knickstr]

You could just sum up the entire article and just tell everybody to use an ethernet cable and make sure it's plugged in correctly. This article was pretty common sense. I was hoping for some more advanced ways to boost signal like port forwarding and stuff like that.

[nitus10]

An Ethernet cable can get speeds up to 1000Mb/sec while the wireless (2.4GHz b/g/n) can only reach speeds up to 72.2Mb/sec.

What will be your main problem with performance will be your network connection path and this is something outside of your control, so contact your ISP if you feel you have performance issue. I do suggest you run some tests first and you can find network speed tests site near to you.

[Eidolon]

Got a TP-Link Archer C9 and have great signal in the back room, where as before I used the provided TWC cable modem/router combo that didn't even allow wireless-n. Still cannot understand why Sony wouldn't pay a couple dollars more or even cents for dual-band modem on the PS4.. ridiculous, my microwave screws up everything even on the low 2.4ghz channel.

[nitus10]

If your microwave causes interference then I would seriously get it checked out unless you don't mind increasing you and your families' risk of cancer later in life.

I have a 1000W microwave and I never get interference when it is switched on.

[Eidolon]

Well the microwave is more centralized than the router, and the devices towards the backroom are mostly affected, the router is pretty close to the microwave, but I can't really put it anywhere in the room it's in to where it won't get interfered with by the microwave. Microwaves operate at 2.4ghz low channels, and there is never perfect shielding.

[Petebloodyonion]

Here's a simple idea
Download your games and update when you're not playing!

Aside from Steam, I have yet to see a service that allow you a great download rate. (Live is slightly better but it's still no Steam and Windows store isn't great ether).

[acemonkey]

number 1 should be get better internet provider and speed. lol

[nitus10]

For some that may not be possible. Of course money does speak if you are willing to pay.

[zombie78rock]

I just updated my router and it about 100x better than my old one faster can hand more devices and has 2 band with 2.4, and 5g speed
5g works great with Roku. doesn't work with PS4 though..

[nitus10]

The PS4 wireless network conforms to IEEE 801.11 2.4GHZ b/g/n specification.

[Bully718son]

I just ordered this iam wrong

[bradleejones]

Step 1: Ethernet cord
Step 2: Grab beer
Step 3: Repeat step 2
Step 4-10: See step 3

[u4one]

how about plug it in with a wire for the fastest possible connection and least amount of lag.

[PurpHerbison]

Not looking forward to playing against Wifi users in SFV.

[Bobertt]

I was getting around 40-50mb download and 7-10 upload with my PS4 and PS3 on a wired connection but then i upgraded my internet to 100mb and was given a new modem. Now on wired and wifi i get 25-35mb download and 2-3 upload on my PS3 and PS4 and can't shareplay anymore. I tried changing cords, rebuilding the ps4, and talked to Time Warner and Sony and neither of them know the problem because my computer gets full 100mb from the same modem.

[bradleejones]

@bobertt. If you are using your own modem, make sure it is compatible I.e. w/ Comcast you have to have a docsis 3.0 to get more than say 50mbps.

[Bytor]

Ditch Time Warner's modems and routers they are to slow I have 50/5 and my up load was always connecting at 3 on connection test and one day it wouldn't connect above 2 and I couldn't share play any more I got a good router and bridged theirs everything got better but it still wasnt fast enough to share play tried 4 more Time warner modems and still had the same problem bought my own surfboard modem now it connects at 3 to 4 all the time and I can share play.

[MasterD919]

Well, I would imagine someone reading this article is mooching off of someone else's wireless, so it may not work so well for them.

[SouljAx360]

Really wish PS4 would work on the 5ghz band. 5Ghz works way, way, way better for me on my laptop and HTPC. The 2.4Ghz signal can be awful at times. I live in an apartment, but ended up being lucky and managed to run a Ethernet wire through the wall without destroying anything. There's a cable plate(as in cable TV/internet) on both sides of the wall. Just took both of them off, ran a flat cord right through it, screwed them back in. No more laggy PS4.

[InTheZoneAC]

dns servers can also help out tremendously

based on some servers I can go from 8Mbps to 15Mbps, then another will take it up to 30Mbps. I test each one about 3 times just to make sure there wasn't anything else going on that might affect the speeds.

use namebench to find out what's best. Test this once a week or monthly, you'll see some servers aren't as reliable or consistent, but ignore the comments from the results. I tend to use servers that I see are consistently fast, but may not be the fastest at that given moment during the test.

At the end of the test namebench will recommend your primary and secondary servers if they are faster than what you are running currently.

[XbladeTeddy]

Best article I ever read! Why did I click the link. Why is this trending on N4G?

[Kingoftherodeo]

you cant fix it ps4 is stuck with 2.4gz band since it cant do 5gz. 2.4 has way more interference sure it works at longer range but whats the point if you have x,y,z things connected to that router. most people are too dumb to buy a decent router they rather buy one of those cheap walmart routers for less than 50 or use the one provided by internet provider those always suck. ps if you have comcast buy your own router they have the worst modem/router combo. just buy your own set up saves your money since you don't pay to rent and better set up.

if you have to connect your ps4 via wifi if you have a double band router. just move everything to 5gz band and that will leave your ps4 in the 2.4 band on its own with less interference. if you want the full speed that you pay for on your ps4 straight wire that puppy as it should be.