Ready to pull out your hair because your PS4 refuses to connect to your WiFi? If you’re a gamer, you’ll know the pain of having a PS4 that just won’t connect to the WiFi, especially when you want to update the system, watch a movie, download a new game, or play a multiplayer game with your friends.
If your PS4 won’t connect to WiFi, the first thing you should do is restart both the console and your wireless router. From there, you should try to add the Wireless network to the PS4 “from scratch” to reset the connection. Moving onto a 5GHz wireless band, if available, should help.
Let’s look at the reasons why your PS4 is having trouble connecting to the WiFi and what you can do to fix it, so you can join your friends as soon as possible! If the simple fixes above don’t get you back in the game quickly, the good news is the purpose of this article is to give you a list of tactics that you can work through top-to-bottom, brute-forcing a solution to this issue on your end. Let’s get started!
Why Is Your PS4 Having Trouble Connecting to the WiFi?
There are many reasons why your PS4 console (on Amazon) is unable to establish a secure Wifi connection, but some of the most common ones include:
The PlayStation Network is Down
The PlayStation Network being down happens often and can be the reason why your PS4 is having trouble connecting to the WiFi. Major launches usually bring enough traffic to completely overload the servers.
The PSN has also been down for days because of security reasons. While Sony servers have significantly improved since then, outages that last a few hours are still relatively common.
Modem Issues
Your internet modem may not be connected to the internet or your WiFi network might have lost internet connectivity. Make sure you check if all other connected devices have internet access.
Wrong DNS Settings
Your PS4 will be unable to connect to your WiFi if its DNS settings are not configured properly. The problem can also occur if you’re trying to connect the console with the wrong username or password.
How to Fix a PS4 That Won’t Connect To WiFi?
You can try any of the solutions below to get your PS4 to connect to the WiFi again. This list is designed to be all-encompassing, meaning that we tried to collect all the different ways you can fix this issue. That means that, no matter what, before you leave this page you’ll either have a solution to your problem or, at the very least, you’ll have done some troubleshooting to know the direction your specific problem is coming from. Without any further ado, here’s all the things you can try to get your PS4 back online!
- Check whether the PlayStation Network is online If PSN is down, your console won’t be able to connect to the WiFi no matter what you try. So, make sure you check its status before moving on to any troubleshooting steps. Most gamers misdiagnose PlayStation Network outages as an issue with their network connection, resulting in unnecessary confusion.
- Restart Your PS4 One of the simplest solutions for a PS4 that won’t connect to your WiFi is restarting it. This will reload all those resources which might not have been initialized correctly the first time you booted your console.
Here’s how you can restart your PS4:
1. On the main menu, press and hold down your controller’s PS button to access Quick Menu.
2. Go to the Power tab.
3. Select Restart PS4.
Once the console turns back on, go to the network settings and check if the console can connect to the WiFi.
- Check if other devices have a working internet connection If your PS4 is unable to connect to the WiFi, it’s important to determine whether the problem lies with your console or with your WiFi network. Check if other devices, such as tablets and computers, can connect to your WiFi.
You can also check whether devices on the same type of connection are connected to the internet. For instance, if you’ve connected your console to the router using a wired Ethernet cable, plug a computer or laptop into that same router to determine the cause of the issue.
Similarly, if your console is using WiFi, connect your phone to the WiFi and check whether you have a working internet connection.
- Reboot your router and modem If none of your devices can connect to the internet, turn off your router and modem, wait a few minutes, and power them back on. As an extra measure, you can also reboot your console after restarting the modem and router.
- Re-enter your console’s WiFi password If your PS4 is connected to the WiFi, make sure you’ve entered the right WiFi password. If you’re unsure, you can re-enter it on the PS4 and check if that establishes a working connection.
Here are the steps you need to enter the password:
1. On the main menu, select Settings.
2. Click on Network and then choose Set Up Internet Connection.
3. Click on Use Wi-Fi and then choose Easy.
4. Select the correct WiFi network, enter the password, and then wait a few moments for your PS4 to connect.
- Change the channel number of your WiFi network Most internet-connected devices use the same radio frequency by default. This means that your neighbors might be using the same channel, hindering your connection. If you change your wireless router’s channel, you will be able to establish a stronger and more reliable connection.
- Check the distance between your PS4 and router You might be experiencing connection issues because your router is placed too far away from your PS4.
You can check your PS4’s connection status by looking at the Signal Strength entry (Settings > Network > Test Internet Connection). If possible, try moving the router as close to the PS4 as you can. This will establish a securer and more reliable connection in no time.
- Use a WiFi extender In some cases, the problem might be because of a weak WiFi signal. If you cannot bring the two devices any closer to each other, you might have to use a WiFi extender (on Amazon). In this case, you won’t have to make a big investment by purchasing a new router.
- Eliminate any interferences Interference of other objects or devices can significantly reduce WiFi speed. If you have microwaves, baby monitors, or any other electronic devices close to the router, move them somewhere where they won’t interfere with the internet connection.
Make sure there’s also a straight line between your router and PS4. This is because heavy doors and thick walls between your PS4 and router can negatively affect WiFi performance as well.
Since you can’t move doors and other heavy devices, it’s best to shift the router itself to somewhere near your PS4 (or vice versa), with the least amount of interference in between.
- Reduce the total number of devices connected Your PS4 might be having trouble connecting to the WiFi because of low bandwidth. If you’ve connected too many devices on one network, you’ll undoubtedly experience slow internet speeds on your console.
The network speed will especially slow down when you’re streaming live videos or downloading large files on other devices. So, it’s better to shut off all devices that use loads of bandwidth before turning on the PS4.
- Rename your SSID Renaming the SSD in your router’s setting web page can help fix the connection issue. You might also have to switch the security setting to WPA-PSL TKIP 256 Bit.
- Change the router to public IP If you’re sure that the issue is not from your side, try contacting your ISP and ask them to switch your router’s setting to a public IP.
- Use an Ethernet cable If none of the aforementioned solutions work, you can try connecting your PS4 to the router with a reliable, hard-wired connection, such as an Ethernet cable (on Amazon).
- Update your PS4’s system software in Safe Mode Sometimes, the system update package can also be the reason behind the connection issue. In this case, you can easily fix the issue by updating the system software to the latest version.
Here’s what you need to do:
1. Press your PS4’s power button to turn the console off.
2. Hold your console’s power button for around 7 to 8 seconds (until you hear two subsequent beeps), to enter the console into Safe Mode.
3. Press your controller’s PS button.
4. Go to “Update System Software.”
This will start the download process. After this, you just need to wait for the system file to finish updating and for the PS4 to restart itself.
However, remember that safe mode can cause data loss, so make sure you backup all your data to an external hard drive first.
- Disable the media server Although this sounds like a weird solution, disabling the media server has helped many users fix their PS4’s connection issue.
Here are the steps you need to follow:
1. Select Settings on the PS4 menu.
2. Select Network.
3. Select Media Server Connection and disable the media server.
- Change the DNS settings of your PS4 If you’ve tried all of the aforementioned solutions and none of them work, you can try changing your PS4’s DNS server settings as a last resort.
Here’s what you need to do:
1. Using your controller, scroll right on the main menu and select Settings.
2. Click on “Network” and then choose Set Up Internet Connection.
3. Click on Use a LAN Cable or Use WiFi depending upon how your PS4 is connected to the internet.
4. Choose Custom. You might also have to select your WiFi network from the list.
5. Click on Automatic. Choose Do Not Specify and then select Manual.
6. Click on Primary DNS and enter 208.67.222.222.
7. Click on Secondary DNS and enter 208.67.220.220.
8. Choose Next. Then click on Automatic and then choose Do Not Use.
Finally, check whether your PS4 is connected to WiFi. If the problem persists, call Sony’s PS4 support for any additional assistance.