Port forwarding problems

Jaysnp101 · 19 Oct 2021 at 16:37

Hi ,
I've been having really bad connection issues whilst gaming on my PS5 console.
I'm with BT FTTC, wired directly to the router but whenever I set up port forwarding or even use DMZ nothing improves and my ports always show as closed.
I have done a few traceroutes and noticed I have 2 private IPs in hops 1 and 2, although they say the 172.16 subnet is their BT BRAS and wouldn't effect gaming or cause Double NAT.
Can anyone shed any light on what may be wrong or if they have simular issues.

andicole0 · 19 Oct 2021 at 16:40

Which router are you using.

Jaysnp101 · 19 Oct 2021 at 16:52

I usually use the standard Smart hub 2 but since I've had these ongoing issues I changed to the Tp link w9980 to see if it would do anything but still no joy

the-evaluator · 19 Oct 2021 at 17:09

You can ignore the 172.16 addresses you see when you trace out, that won't cause you any problems and doesn't mean you'll be double NATted. BT are using private addressing internally, that's fine.

the-evaluator · 19 Oct 2021 at 17:10

Can you post some screenshots from the port forwarding page of your router?

Shoving the PS5 into the DMZ should resolve it. It's not the best way of doing it, but it should work.

Jaysnp101 · 19 Oct 2021 at 17:17

I've already tried the DMZ but it doesn't work, same result.
I can send some screen shots a bit later but I'm certainly doing it correctly as I've tried everything.
On the gaming server I'm getting 20ms ping so can't see why I'm getting these issues.
My brother does have a ps5 too on the same network but even when he's not online the gameplay is awful even at 2am in the morning when traffic should be low.

the-evaluator · 19 Oct 2021 at 17:22

Getting a ping of 20ms isn't overly relevant to port forwarding, but ok.

It's interesting that your brother has a PS5 on the same network. Is everything working OK for him? Having 2 of the same devices on the same network that want to use the same ports can be problematic.

Jaysnp101 · 19 Oct 2021 at 17:53

Yeah sorry, just mentioned the ping to rule out server lag which I know can sometimes play a big part.
My brother doesn't really seem to have any problems , he's connected via WiFi upstairs and I'm wired.
This does point that maybe his device is holding the ports but would this be the case using port forwarding and I've even tried when his device isn't connected to the router at all.

the-evaluator · 19 Oct 2021 at 18:06

Screenshots would be useful. Is UPnP enabled on the router?

You can't have the same port forwarded to more than 1 device. There's probably a preferred way of getting it working, I'm sure I've read a Microsoft doc showing how to set that up for the Xbox, there may be something for the PS5 too.

Jaysnp101 · 19 Oct 2021 at 18:23

Yeah I have it enabled at the minute as port forwarding doesn't do anything.
I'd obviously rather both our connections were great but know ports can only be forwarded to the one which I'm trying to achieve.
My console always seems to be the one that suffers even though I'm wired, port forwarded and had this issues for years.

firestars · 20 Oct 2021 at 16:44

Can I ask why you need the ports forwarded in the first place? I have never seen a requirement to active port forwards for gaming.

Jaysnp101 · 20 Oct 2021 at 18:15

Most gaming developers now say you should open ports if you are having connection issues.
I thought it was pretty common practice now as a lot of online games are played on dedicated servers.

Caged · 20 Oct 2021 at 18:42

Open ports generally just means outbound, though. A game connecting out to a server will be allowed through pretty much every consumer router in default settings.