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Easy Ways to Increase PS4 Download Speed and Get Faster PSN Downloads

How to increase your PS4's download speed and get your games downloaded faster. Improve your PS4's download speed for free or at a cost. No longer be plagued by slow PSN download speeds with this guide explaining why PS4 download speeds are slow.

Ask a PS4 owner what annoys them most about their PS4 and chances are they'll say the slow download speeds. With games getting bigger and bigger, some well in excess of 50 GB in size, slow download speeds on the PS4 are a real problem. In this guide to improve your PS4's download speed we'll go over the ways you can actually increase your PS4 download speed, and suggest some methods that have a high chance of success - and others that have worked for some people but might be rather anecdotal. If you're looking for ways to increase your PS4's internet speed, this is the guide for you. If PSN download speeds are getting you down, read on.

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Best Ways to Increase PS4 Download Speed

There are numerous ways to increase PS4 internet download speed when using PSN, but what are the best? The best ways to improve the download speed of your PS4 are:

  1. Pay for a faster internet serivce thus getting an increase in PS4 download speeds.
  2. Use a wired conenction instead of Wi-Fi to maximise your PS4's download speed.
  3. Move your PS4 closer to your Wi-Fi router to get fasted download speed from your Wi-Fi router.
  4. Buy a better Wi-Fi Router with improved range if your PS4 isn't nearby.
  5. Use powerline adapters around your house and connect your PS4.
  6. Pause and Resume the download to potentially increase your PS4 download speed.
  7. Put the PS4 into Rest Mode.
  8. Only download one game at a time. Navigate to your download list and pause additional downloads.

We'll detail these solutions to slow PS4 download speeds in the sections that follow, along with other ideas that have been known to improve matters. If you're finding your PSN download speeds are slow, follow our guide and hopefully you'll be downloading the latest games quicker than ever before.

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How to Download Faster on PS4 For a Price

Some improvements to PS4 download speed can be made at no cost, but others will set you back a bit of cash. The best ways to increase the download speed of your PS4 by spending money are:

  1. Pay for a faster internet serivce - perhaps fibre broadband.
  2. Use a wired conenction instead of Wi-Fi - plug directly into your router.
  3. Use powerline adapters around your house - makes a wired connection possible anywhere.

The PS4 can connect to the internet via a wireless connection or a cable plugged directly into your router or switch (not the Nintendo kind). In this portion of our PS4 download speed guide we'll explain how to improve the download speed on your PS4 by paying for a service or a product. These might be costly, but you're guaranteed results.

If you can, use a Wired Connection for Your PS4

By far the best thing you can do to improve your PS4's download speed is to connect the console to your router or network via a cable. Unless you have an incredible wireless setup in your home, you're very unlikely to be able to do anything to your PS4 to help its download speed more than plugging it in with a network cable.

If your router is close enough to the PS4, simply run a cable from the back of the console to a port on the router. If you can't reach the router without trailing a cable throughout the house, you might want to consider investing in Powerline Network Adapters. These clever devices let you connect to your router via your electricity cables. Some houses with bad wiring aren't ideal for this setup, but for most people these adapters can give you fast speed from any room in a house.

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Pay for a Better Internet Connection for Your PS4

You might have been paying for the same old internet connection for years. While standard broadband is decent and more than good enough for basic web browsing, if you're trying to download huge files via your PS4, that speed is going to be very slow.

Fibre Broadband is the best way to get affordable, fast internet and download speeds. Check if your current provider offers this service and it's available in your area. If you're out of the minimum contract period you may find moving to a new provider offers you better value for money.

How to Increase PS4 Download Speed for Free

Paying isn't the only way to increase your PS4's download speed when using PSN. The best ways to increase the download speed of your PS4 for free are:

  1. Use a new DNS.
  2. Use Rest Mode on your PS4.
  3. Pause and Resume the download on your PS4.

In this section of our PS4 Download Speed Fixing Guide we'll look at options you can explore that cost no money whatsoever. They might not all give you the desired result, but they're worth trying.

Change DNS on Your PS4

This one falls into the 'has helped some people' category, and does require some tinkering in the settings of your PS4. It has been reported that changing your DNS settings to use Google's DNS server increases PS4 download speed. If you want to give it a try, follow our steps below:

  • Go to the "Settings" tab on the PS4 scrollbar - found on the far right, just before the 'Power' option.
  • Go to the "Network" option.
  • Choose "Set Up Internet Connection" from the Network screen.
  • Select Wifi or LAN. WiFi is for wireless connections, while for LAN you'll need to have a cable running from your PS4 to a network point.

Select "Custom" to allow entering of your own network settings. Use the following settings, with the DNS being the key things to note:

  • IP Address Settings = Automatic
  • DHCP Host Name = Do Not Specify
  • DNS Settings = Manual
  • Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8
  • Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4
  • MTU Settings: Automatic
  • Proxy Server: Do Not Use

With these settings changed, turn off your PS4 and then turn it on again. Hopefully you'll notice improved PS4 download speeds.

Put Your PS4 Into Rest Mode to Improve Download Speed

This is one of the anecdotal PS4 slow download speed solutions, so give it a try by all means but don't bank on it doing wonders. If you place your PS4 into Rest Mode you can sometimes get faster download speeds.

First you must set the functions available in Rest Mode by heading to:

  • Settings > Power Saving Settings > Set Functions Available in Rest Mode.

Check the box that reads "Stay Connected to the Internet" so your PS4 is able to continue downloading files when in Rest Mode.

Now you can hold down the PlayStation Button to bring up the Quick Menu. From here select Power and then choose 'Enter Rest Mode'. Your PS4 will enter a low-power mode and continue to download files.

Pause and Resume Your PS4 Download

If you see your PS4 download ticking along at an annoyingly low speed, we've found that pausing it and resuming it can result in a better download speed. We're not sure if there's any logical reason for this, but it does seem to work. Simply access your downloads from your notifications (found if you scroll up to the top on the PS4 home screen) and then hit X on the controller when you've highlighted the download that you want to pause. Then press X again to resume the download.

That's it for our guide to improving the download speed on your PS4. Hopefully one of our suggestions worked.

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