How To Fix PS5 Slow Wifi Issue | Easy Solutions | New in 2024!

Many users are now complaining of slow wifi issues on their PS5 consoles. While most of these cases are likely caused by minor issues, some may require a thorough troubleshooting and even drastic solutions like repair. 

In this guide, we’ll explain briefly what are the reasons for wifi problems on the PS5 and how to fix them.

Symptoms of slow wifi problem on the PS5

There are a number of obvious signs that can help you conclude if you have slow wifi problems on your PS5. If one of the following items happen when you’re playing a game, browsing the PS Store, or trying to do an online transaction, you may have a wifi problem:

  • lag or latency during any online game
  • buffering when streaming music or video
  • download speed is drastically reduced
  • Remote Play keeps disconnecting
  • streaming on PlayStation Now lags or shows image distortion
PS5

Reasons why your PS5 wifi may be slow

Your PS5 wifi may become slow for many different reasons. Let’s discuss quickly the common causes for slow downs in your console’s wifi performance.

Unresponsive network equipment.

Modems and routers may freeze or become unresponsive if left running for a long time. At times, lack of updated firmware may result in such devices from working properly. 

Random network bug.

No system is perfect and from time to time, network bugs may develop. Home networks may sometimes go down unexpectedly because of a fault in the modem or router. At other times, the issue may start from a connected device or from something outside your home, such as your Internet Service Provider.

Wifi signal interference.

Wireless connection is prone to interference from other transmitting devices. If you live in an apartment, other wifi networks from neighbors may cause disruptions. At other times, the cause of signal issues is right inside your own home, like other wireless devices, thick walls, metallic dividers, glass casings, among others.

PSN outage or maintenance.

Sony’s own PlayStations Network can be the reason why you may be experiencing connectivity issues when playing games or streaming videos or music in your console. Make sure that you check for PSN server status if your connection speed won’t improve after doing some basic troubleshooting steps.

ISP issues.

Your own ISP can be the reason why your internet speeds (download and upload) may have slowed down dramatically. Technical glitches on an ISP’s end may not be announced in advanced, or at all. For example, your ISP’s DNS resolver may have developed some problems which may impact the overall speed of their customer’s download speeds. If your console has internet connection but takes a long time to, say, pull up a webpage, finish an online transaction, or keeps pausing or buffering when streaming, it may help if you change the DNS settings. 

Unknown software or hardware malfunction in your PlayStation 5.

For some few consoles, the main reason for lingering slow wifi problem may be traced to a deeper software glitch, or a hardware malfunction. If your console continues to suffer from slow download speeds and its wifi internet connection won’t improve after exhausting solutions on your end, you may be dealing with a bad unit. 

In this situation, you want to let Sony take a look at your console.

How to fix PS5 slow wifi issue (easy solutions)

As there are a considerable number of factors to be considered, you need to do a set of troubleshooting steps to know what is causing the slow wifi problem on your PS5. 

Below are the fixes that you can try.

Fix #1: Keep everything updated.

Wifi problems can happen for a lot of things and one of them is having an outdated firmware. Make sure that you check for any available updates for your PS5 before you proceed with your troubleshooting.

Fix #2: Run a network speed test in your PS5.

In order to know your download and upload speeds as well as other network information, the one of the first things that you must do is to run a network test on your PS5.

To do that, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Go to Network.
  3. Go to Connection Status.
  4. Select Test Internet Connection.

After the test, take note of your download and upload speeds to see if they are within range of your internet speed plan. If the results are way too slow, continue with the rest of the troubleshooting steps below.

Fix #3: Reboot your PS5.

Sometimes, all it takes to fix a connection problem is to refresh the system. To do that, simply turn off your PlayStation 5, unplug it from the power source for 30 seconds, and power it back on.

Fix #4: Power cycle your network equipment (modem or router).

Just like with your PS5 console, your modem or router or both can benefit a lot from a full power cycle. So, try doing the same exact steps to your modem/router by unplugging it for 30 seconds and see if that will fix the problem.

Fix #5: Check PSN server status.

If doing the basic solutions above has not helped, your next move is to ensure that the problem is not something outside your control, such as a PSN server issue. 

Visit the official PSN status page here to know if there’s any outage or maintenance in your region: 

https://status.playstation.com/

Fix #6: Check for wifi signal interference.

Having an internet connection problem due to slow wifi can also be caused by signal interference. Fixing this aspect of the problem is tricky and requires a lot of time and effort. 

The signal coming from your router can be affected by a number of things like proximity to other wifi networks, materials between devices, condition of the hardware, etc.

Since most wireless devices are still reliant on 2.4Ghz, we recommend that you use the 5GHz band instead, if your router has this capability, to lessen the chances of channel issues and overall signal quality.

If there’s a thick, concrete wall between your router and PS5, that can be the reason for your slow wifi problem as well. Find a way to give your PS5 a good line of sight to the router to improve your connection speed.

Fix #7: Move the PS5 closer to the router.

If you can’t seem to fix the problem at this point, try see if moving the PS5 closer to your router will help.

router

Fix #8: Troubleshoot your local home network.

If you only experience slow wifi issues during certain times of a day, it’s possible that there’s a bottleneck somewhere in your line that causes the problem. Too many people using the internet during the evening, when almost everyone is on their mobiles watching movies, playing, or browsing, can slow down your ISP’s overall network performance. 

In a house setting, having your family members downloading huge chunks of files, streaming Netflix or music, at the same time as you’re playing online, can impact the bandwidth in your PS5.

You can try to check if this is the case by disconnecting other devices from your router except your PS5. If your wifi internet connection improves significantly, that means that you have low bandwidth issue.

Fix #9: Get help from your ISP.

There are some network problems that you cannot fix on your own. So, for example, if you find out that you have a low bandwidth issue, you may need to upgrade your internet plan. 

For those using older network equipment, slow wifi issue may be fixed by replacing the router with a new model. Since there’s no universal way to know what may be the cause of a certain wifi issue for everyone, we recommend that you seek help from your ISP.

They may need to help you troubleshoot the slow wifi issue first and then try some solutions on their end. 

Fix #10: Have your PS5 repaired.

If your PS5 continues to experience slow wifi despite having done all the recommendations in this guide, you must consider getting help from Sony. Visit the nearest Sony Service Center in your area so you can schedule a repair appointment, or contact Sony’s PlayStation Support.

What to do if you can’t fix slow wifi (workaround)

If you think that you have a console problem and may need to send it in, you can temporarily connect it directly to the router using an ethernet cable. Using a wired setup is not only faster but it can also eliminate factors that can cause signal interference. An ethernet cable connection  can be messy though so if you still want to have a permanent fix, you should go ahead and have the console repaired by Sony.

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Visit our TheDroidGuy Youtube Channel for more troubleshooting videos and tutorials.


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