Getting a Strict NAT Type? How to Fix It on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo

A strict NAT type (Type 3) is what breaks party chat, matchmaking and hosting. Here is how to fix it, starting with the causes most people have.

At home, the fix is usually on your router: turn on UPnP, forward the console’s ports, or remove a double NAT. If your console connects through a Windows PC’s hotspot, Connectify Hotspot, a free Windows app that turns a PC into a Wi-Fi hotspot, has a gaming mode that opens the ports PlayStation Network, Xbox Live and Nintendo need, in every edition. Download Connectify Hotspot free if that is your setup. Both routes are below.

If you’re a student, you know the other common case well: campus Wi-Fi networks often don’t allow Xbox, PS4, Nintendo or other consoles at all. It comes down to network address translation (NAT) settings.

What is NAT? Why a Strict NAT Type Causes Problems

Network Address Translation (NAT) is a method used by routers to translate a public IP address (used on the Internet) into a private IP address (used on your home network) and vice versa. This is done for multiple purposes:

• to add security to the network by keeping the private IP addresses hidden from the Internet.
• to allow multiple devices to share a single IP address

In the world of gaming consoles, there are three NAT types that classify the connectivity they have to other players over the Internet:

• Open NAT (Type 1): all is permitted. Your console can connect to anyone’s games and host games, and other players can find and join the games you host. This is usually the case when your console is connected directly to the Internet with no router or firewall.
• Moderate NAT (Type 2): your console can connect to other players, but some functions are limited. A properly configured router usually gives you this NAT type, and it is all most games need.
• Strict NAT (Type 3): your console has limited connectivity with other players. Other players on a moderate or strict NAT will not be able to join your hosted games. This is the case when no ports are open for the console.

So, you’ll have the best gaming experience on an open NAT, or at least a moderate one.

How to Fix Strict NAT Type at Home

1. Turn on UPnP on your router. Log in to the router (its app, or the address on its label) and enable UPnP. Restart the console and test the connection again.
2. Forward the console’s ports if UPnP is not available or does not help. Give the console a fixed address on the router, then forward the ports its network needs: the PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo support sites list them.
3. Check for a double NAT. If your internet provider’s modem is also a router and you have your own router behind it, both translate addresses. Put the provider’s box in bridge mode, or connect the console to it directly.
4. Know when it is not your router. Mobile networks, many 5G home internet services and Starlink use carrier-grade NAT, which no home setting can open. Ask the provider whether a public IP address is available.

How to Fix Strict NAT Type on a Laptop Hotspot

A PC hotspot adds a second layer of address translation between the console and the internet, which is a common cause of a strict NAT type. Connectify Hotspot handles that layer:

1. Download Connectify Hotspot and install it on your 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC.
2. Open it, choose Wi-Fi hotspot, pick the PC’s connection under Internet to share, set a password and click Start hotspot.
3. Connect your console to the hotspot.
4. Open Clients, select the console, and set Gaming mode to PlayStation Network, Xbox Live or Nintendo, or leave it on Detect automatically. Keep Settings → Network → Let apps open ports automatically (UPnP) on.

Gaming mode works in every edition, including the free Hotspot Lite, and only one console of each kind can use it at a time. It fixes the layer the PC adds; it cannot open a strict NAT set by the router or provider upstream. For hosting games, Bridged mode in Connectify Hotspot MAX puts the console directly on your home network.

Below is a video that illustrates how to share a VPN connection via Wi-Fi with Connectify Hotspot, used in the next section:

When the Network Itself Is Strict: Speedify with Connectify Hotspot

On a restricted network (campus Wi-Fi, an office network, a mobile hotspot), ports are often blocked upstream and no setting on your PC can open them. One way around it is a VPN such as Speedify, which carries all of the PC’s traffic through one encrypted tunnel, so the console’s traffic leaves from the VPN server instead of the restricted network.

1. Download and install Connectify Hotspot and Speedify on your Windows PC.
2. Open Speedify and connect to a server (usually the closest will be best). If you have multiple Internet connections from different networks, you can combine and use them at the same time with Speedify.
3. Open Connectify Hotspot, choose Wi-Fi hotspot, select the Speedify connection under Internet to share, set a password and click Start hotspot.
4. Connect your game console to the hotspot. Depending on the network and the game, this can give the console a Moderate NAT type (Type 2).

Now you’re set: enjoy your online gaming, with Speedify added only if your network needs it.