Support PS4 won't connect to PSN. Adding second router?

Discussion in 'Technology' started by Boy Wonder, Sep 4, 2015.

  1. Boy Wonder Dark Phoenix in Training

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2008
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Genosha
    2,239
    So I recently got a PlayStation 4 (The Last of Us bundle) and I'm having connection issues.
    The main current issue is that it won't connect to PSN even though it's allegedly connected to the internet wirelessly.
    I try to sign into PSN and I get this after some time
    PSN is apparently up and running and my PS3 connects easily. From what I'm reading online, the PS4 has a weak wifi receiver? The PS4 is set up in the living room and our router is in my roommate's room (its his house) down the hall. Maybe...15-25 feet away. Everything else connects easily (My two tablets in my bedroom and living room; Wii in bedroom; Wii U and PS3 in living room; laptop anywhere inside or on the porch [even in my car, I get some signal]; roommate's laptop, PS3, and desktop in his room; our 4 cell phones altogether; and printer in the extra bedroom; haven't tried my girlfriend's 3DS, my 3DS, or other roommate's 3DS, but last I checked, those worked). We do have connection issues rarely, but it's never that bad (and he plays his MMO ALL DAY and NIGHT). Not just that, but the PS4's connection tests are successful (like I said, it's just PSN), but I can't even test that manually since it looks like I need to sign into PSN to access any kind of network feature.

    I'm hearing that I should use a wired connection for the PS4, but it's his router and it's in his room so I'm not trying to inconvenience him by moving it (Pretty sure his desktop is hooked up to it anyway).

    So tomorrow, we're thinking about trying to hook up my old router to the same network as well and seeing if it'll help. Not just for the PS4, but that will be pretty nice for all of us anyway. Looks like there's a few key things to make sure we get right, but it should simply boost signal strength by creating two of the same networks, in layman's terms.

    However, I'm trying to save that as a last resort and seeing if there are any other ways of getting the PS4 to connect to PSN.

    Here's a log of what all I've done since I got it
    -Brand new out the box. Set it up and connected it to our network.
    -It needed to update to 2.57 (I think it was on 2.04?)
    --The update wouldn't download. (Red flag one about wifi issues. It seems like it couldn't maintain a stable connection long enough).
    --Reset to factory settings and tried again. Still timed out and failed to download.
    --Downloaded the update on a flashdrive and installed it from there the next day.
    -Connected it to wireless network again.
    -Tried PSN for the first time, got the above error several times.
    -Looked online and tried the following solutions: Setting DNS to 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4. and 208.67.222.222/208.67.220.220 and changed MTU from Automatic (1500) to Manual (1473) and every combination of those and the default settings. Unchecking all boxes under Settings > System > Automatic Downloads and Uploads and rechecking them (can't recheck Saved Data because that requires me being signed into PSN). Every combination of "log out and back in, restart, reset router, etc.
    -Almost every connection test under almost every combination of those solutions is completely successful, but signing into PSN gives me the "time limit" error.

    Since I don't want to run a wire from his room, down the hallway into the living room, it looks like setting up the double router config is the best bet, but like I said: last resort (that and I won't be able to mess with that until tomorrow night and I'm looking to figure it out ASAP before messing with our network anymore).


    I'm going to try one of the games now for the first time and hope that works; maybe I'll be able to check connectivity that way (doubt it since I bet I'll need to sign into PSN for that!). Glad we got two physical games instead of just the The Last of Us code since I can't redeem that until I get onto PSN.
     
  2. Patman Bof

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2010
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    France
    672
    Mine is two floors above and working. Only times I got that message was when I made a typo when entering the key, but in those cases the connection tests failed. No wait, I was also supposed to press a button on my router before I' d connect a new equipment for the first time (the one with a wifi symbol on it). Once that button was pressed I had 30 seconds to quickly connect, otherwise the connection would be made but the router would ignore it. Thirty seconds to run up two floors and press some buttons, took me a few tries. ^^
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2015
  3. Misty gimme kiss

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2006
    Gender:
    Cisgender Female
    Location:
    alderaan
    6,590
    Welcome to WiFi on the PS4. Mileage varies and I haven't heard of a problem exactly like yours, but Sony seriously cheaped out on the wireless receiver in the system. Even people who can connect fine suffer from speeds half of what they pay for and get on the rest of their devices.

    It sounds like what you're considering is setting up a second router as a repeater; that is, a device that amplifies a wireless signal. This is fine if you have range issues with your WiFi (i.e. you can only get a connection in certain areas of your house), but it sounds as though your PS4 connects fine, it's just having some sort of configuration issue.

    The first thing I'd recommend is taking your PS4 upstairs, wiring it to your router, and seeing if that fixes the problem (you'd only be testing it, hopefully your roommate is cool with that). If so, then you can probably chalk it up to the PS4's wireless card and we'll go from there. If not, there's either an issue with your network configuration or with the PS4 itself.

    If you are able to connect to the PSN with a wired connection -- or if anyone just doesn't want to deal with the PS4's ****** WiFi -- there are these awesome devices called powerline adapters. They'll work in just about any house. What you do is plug one into the wall near your router and connect it with an Ethernet cable. Then, by your device (your PS4), you plug another into the wall and run another Ethernet cable. The network signal travels over your existing power lines and essentially provides you with wired internet without having to run cables across the house. They're awesome and have eliminated any network issues I have with my PS4. You can grab them off Amazon for like $30 I think (I'd link you but I'm in class right now lol).

    If the wired connection doesn't help anything, see if you can get a screenshot of your network configuration for us (or hell do that regardless). Not sure how much help I can be there, i've been out of the networking game for a while, but i'll definitely look over it.
     
  4. Boy Wonder Dark Phoenix in Training

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2008
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Genosha
    2,239
    Is there a way to actually test the connectivity? So far, everything I've tried requires PSN, but I'd like to make sure it really is connected and not just saying it is (or having router issues).
    I just tried a connection test and it was successful. My connection settings (currently) for the PS4 are
    Internet Connection On
    Connection Method Wi-Fi
    Signal Strength 90-94%
    Channel 11
    Security Method WPA2-PSK (AES)
    IP Address Settings Automatic
    IP Address 10.0.0.32
    Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
    Default Gateway 10.0.0.1
    Primary DNS 75.75.75.75 (when done Automatic. I tried 8.8.8.8 and 208.67.222.222 and get the same issue)
    Secondary DNS 75.75.76.76 (when done Automatic. I tried 8.8.4.4. and 208.67.220.220 with same result)
    Mac Address (Lan Cable) 00:d9:d1:e1:e4:c2
    Mac Address (Wi-Fi) 74:29:af:d2:19:59
    MTU Automatic (should be at 1500. I tried 1473 as well)
    Proxy Server Do Not Use
    Nat Type Type 2

    I'm looking at what I can for the actual network settings from my laptop:
    Speed 65.0 Mbps
    Signal Quality Full
    Connection-specific DNS Suffix: hsd1.tn.comcast.net.
    Description: Qualcomm Atheros AR5B125 Wireless Network Adapter
    Physical Address: ‎1C-3E-84-AE-D7-7F
    DHCP Enabled: Yes
    IPv4 Address: 10.0.0.17
    IPv4 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
    Lease Obtained: Thursday, September 3, 2015 11:33:09 PM
    Lease Expires: Friday, September 11, 2015 12:50:36 PM
    IPv4 Default Gateway: 10.0.0.1
    IPv4 DHCP Server: 10.0.0.1
    IPv4 DNS Servers: 75.75.75.75, 75.75.76.76
    IPv4 WINS Server:
    NetBIOS over Tcpip Enabled: Yes
    IPv6 Address: 2601:780:8000:12fc:4bf:4131:82c9:4044
    Temporary IPv6 Address: 2601:780:8000:12fc:3c44:fd3f:b806:996e
    Link-local IPv6 Address: fe80::4bf:4131:82c9:4044%4
    IPv6 Default Gateway: fe80::cea4:62ff:fef3:9841%4
    IPv6 DNS Servers: 2001:558:feed::1, 2001:558:feed::2

    I'm going to try wiring it like you suggested later today.
     
  5. Patman Bof

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2010
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    France
    672
    The lousy web browser ?

    If you come up with that kind of number technically you should be able to log on the PSN.
    Even if the signal strength kept having hiccups your PSN would lag or outright freeze, but you' d see something.

    I forgot to mention that sometimes my router enters buggy mode and ignores one of my devices for a while, even if I reboot it. Might be because I plug too many stuff at once. Have you tried turning everything down, rebooting the router and trying to connect the PS4 before connecting anything else ?
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2015
  6. Boy Wonder Dark Phoenix in Training

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2008
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Genosha
    2,239
    Vis-à-vis the web browser, I can't access that without signing into PSN. I select it and it tells me to sign in to use any network features.

    Okay, so yeah. I thought the signal strength being that high was weird (it was at 70 yesterday while roommate was doing his stuff, I had my laptop and phone, and girlfriend was watching netflix).

    I just checked the user guide on the PS4 and it connects just fine! So it's strictly a problem with PSN. However, PSN is still up according to their status website and my PS3 still connects flawlessly.

    EDIT: I used an incorrect password to see if it'll do anything different and it immediately tells me that the info is incorrect. But when I use the right password, it loads ("Please wait..") for quite a while and then gives me the "time limit" error again.[DOUBLEPOST=1441400262][/DOUBLEPOST]EDIT: Got it fixed. Roommate changed the security settings on the router and it went through. I have no idea why it was only PSN that wasn't let through, but that's not my field. Thanks for the help, though, @Misty and @Patman
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2015