How to Make Your PS4 Download Faster
The current era of gaming serves up constant reminders that today’s games are larger and more expansive than ever. Installing the files for a new game you purchased can easily take hours if your connectivity isn’t optimized. Far too many gamers are living out the oh so real nightmare of seeing 99+ hours sitting defiantly on their monitor or TV screens despite the fact that they are eager to dive in and try out a new game or see what’s new in the latest patch.
It is, in all honesty, one of the most rage inducing sights in the world. But before you hit your PS4 with the perfect elbow drop out of sheer frustration, keep in mind that there actually are some remedies for poor download speeds that you might want to try out first. Whether you’re connected with an ethernet cable or trying to get the most out of your WiFi, definitely be sure to give these simple solutions a try. For many gamers, these tactics were the simple fixes that made their PS4 download faster.
Use an Ethernet Cable or Turn Off All Other WiFi Devices
First thing’s first, you can always just start with the basics. Before you immediately start tinkering with your PS4’s settings, you may want to try out some simple solutions that could still make a meaningful difference. If your PS4 is currently connected to the internet via WiFi, the first change you can make is to swap out the wireless connection for an ethernet cable. It’s a simple, age-old piece of advice for gamers that can occasionally get overlooked. If you are already using an ethernet cable but download speeds are still troubling, try unplugging the ethernet cable and plugging it back up. Keep in mind, however, that some gamers have reported corrupted game files as a result of this method although so far it seems to be an extremely rare occurrence.
If you are adamant about using WiFi or just have no way to make an ethernet connection possible, you will need to make sure your PS4 is getting all the attention it deserves. When you’re downloading a new game or update file, be sure to disconnect as many devices as possible from the WiFi. Unless you have a premium router with the Quality of Service feature or Beamforming, this will be mandatory to squeeze the most out of your WiFi when downloading large files on your PS4.
Connect Your PS4 to Your Desktop With an Ethernet Cable
Unfortunately, not every gamer has the opportunity to have a set up close to an ethernet port or router. If you can’t connect your PS4 with a traditional ethernet hookup, try connecting your PS4 to your desktop or laptop instead. You’ll then change your PS4 connection setting to LAN Cable and then cross your fingers.
This method doesn’t necessarily work for everyone and depending on what kind of package you have from your internet service provider this could result in little to no change in your download speed. Once your download is complete, you will want to disconnect the PS4 and return to your usual set up but for the sake of getting your games and patches to download much faster, this is a great and easy alternative that has the potential to make a big difference.
Take a Look At Your Primary and Secondary DNS
This has been a go to method for many gamers who are struggling with long download speeds. There are tons of tutorials floating around on how to do this and it’s a relatively easy fix that can yield solid results if you’re still living in a dark world where your PS4 still displays 99+ hours for your download time. Start by accessing your PS4’s Settings menu and then select Network. Select Set Up Internet Connection and choose which ever option applies to when it asks for you to choose WiFi or LAN Cable. Now here is where you should deviate from the beaten path. Instead of selecting Easy for your setup option, go to Custom and select Manual for IP Address Settings. On the next screen you will see Primary DNS and Secondary DNS towards the bottom of the menu. You will change these to Google’s DNS.
Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8
Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4
Of course, it will be up to you to fill in the rest of the settings here with your own information so make sure you have the rest of the information that this menu is asking for or at least know where you can find it.
Change Your MTU Settings
If you’re feeling confident about digging in and manually setting up your network, try changing your MTU settings to see faster download speeds on PS4. The MTU setting options come after the DNS settings screen when you choose to customized your networking settings instead of selecting easy for the network setup. Choose to manually set up MTU options and then change your MTU value to 1473.
This is the number that is recommended by PlayStation but you may also find success using 1450 if 1473 fails. Go to the next screen and then select Do Not Use. Your PS4 will automatically take you to a diagnostics test. After passing the test successfully, go back and try to download a new game or install an update file and see if your new settings made a difference. If you combine this trick with the DNS settings changes, you should be able to drastically improve your PS4 download speeds.
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