Changing DNS on a PS5 takes under two minutes. Go to Settings > Network > Settings > Set Up Internet Connection, highlight your network, press the Options button on your DualSense controller, select Advanced Settings, switch DNS Settings to Manual, and enter your new primary and secondary addresses. This fixes slow PSN sign-ins, failed game update starts, and connection errors caused by a sluggish or broken ISP resolver — it does not increase download speed once a transfer is already running.

Why changing DNS on a PS5 actually helps

Every hostname your PS5 contacts — PlayStation Network authentication servers, game update CDNs, multiplayer matchmaking hosts — must be resolved through a DNS resolver before any data moves. By default the PS5 uses whatever resolver your router advertises via DHCP, which is typically your ISP's own resolver. ISP resolvers can be slow to respond, occasionally return stale records during network changes, and some inject search redirects for mistyped domains. Switching to a well-maintained public resolver can cut lookup latency noticeably, which shows up as faster PSN login screens and quicker update initialization.

Common situations where a DNS change fixes the problem:

  • PSN sign-in fails or loops while other devices on the same network connect fine
  • Game updates stall at 0% for 30 to 60 seconds before starting
  • Error screens about being unable to connect to the internet despite a working router
  • Slow lobby loading or matchmaking in online games
  • Your ISP resolver is returning stale or incorrect records during a migration or outage

Step-by-step: how to change DNS settings on a PS5

These steps apply to all PS5 hardware variants — disc edition, digital edition, and the slim refresh — running current firmware. Sony has not significantly changed this menu path since launch.

  1. From the PS5 home screen, open Settings — the gear icon in the top-right row of icons.
  2. Select Network.
  3. Select Settings — the sub-item inside the Network menu, not the main Settings gear.
  4. Select Set Up Internet Connection.
  5. Highlight your Wi-Fi network or the wired LAN (Cable) entry. Press the Options button on your DualSense — the three-line button on the right side of the touchpad — and select Advanced Settings from the sub-menu that appears.
  6. Scroll to DNS Settings and change it from Automatic to Manual.
  7. Enter your chosen Primary DNS address, then your Secondary DNS address.
  8. Leave MTU Settings and Proxy Server on their defaults unless you have a specific reason to change them.
  9. Select OK, then Save. The PS5 runs a connection test automatically.
Tip: After saving, run a manual test at Settings > Network > Connection Status > Test Internet Connection. It shows signal strength, your assigned IP address, and whether PSN is reachable — the fastest way to confirm the change worked end-to-end.

Which DNS servers to use on a PS5

Three reliable choices, all free. Pick based on your location and privacy preference.

Cloudflare

  • Primary: 1.1.1.1
  • Secondary: 1.0.0.1

Consistently fast globally. Does not log queries by default and does not redirect mistyped domains. A sensible first choice for most regions.

Google Public DNS

  • Primary: 8.8.8.8
  • Secondary: 8.8.4.4

Highly stable and geographically distributed. Full details on how Google's resolver works are at developers.google.com/speed/public-dns. A reliable fallback if Cloudflare is unreachable during a regional outage.

CIRA Canadian Shield

  • Primary: 149.112.121.10
  • Secondary: 149.112.122.10

Operated by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. These are the Private mode addresses — clean resolution with no content filtering. CIRA also offers a Protected mode that blocks malware and phishing domains at the DNS layer; check the CIRA Canadian Shield website for those specific server addresses. Latency from most Canadian ISPs is very low because the servers are hosted domestically.

There is no single fastest resolver for every network — performance depends on your ISP's routing paths. If you want to measure before committing, run a DNS benchmark tool on a computer on the same network and compare average query times across each candidate, then enter the winner on the PS5.

Tip: Use the DNS Propagation Checker from another device on the same network to verify that PSN hostnames like auth.api.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com resolve correctly through your chosen resolver. If the lookup fails against both your ISP resolver and a public one, the problem is upstream of your network rather than a configuration issue on the PS5.

Setting IPv6 DNS on a PS5

If your router assigns an IPv6 address to the PS5 — visible under Settings > Network > Connection Status as a long colon-separated address — you can also enter IPv6 DNS addresses in the same Advanced Settings screen. A separate IPv6 DNS field appears below the IPv4 entries when the connection has an active IPv6 address.

  • Cloudflare IPv6 primary: 2606:4700:4700::1111
  • Cloudflare IPv6 secondary: 2606:4700:4700::1001
  • Google IPv6 primary: 2001:4860:4860::8888
  • Google IPv6 secondary: 2001:4860:4860::8844

In 2026, dual-stack IPv4 and IPv6 is standard on most home ISPs in North America and Europe. The PS5 prefers IPv6 when both protocols are active, so a misconfigured IPv6 DNS entry can slow things down even when your IPv4 DNS entry is correct. If you are unsure about your IPv6 setup, leave IPv6 DNS on Automatic and change only the IPv4 entries — you still benefit from the new resolver for the majority of traffic.

Verifying the DNS change from a computer

The PS5 has no terminal or diagnostic tools. Confirm the resolver behavior from a PC or Mac on the same network.

macOS and Linux

dig @1.1.1.1 auth.api.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com nslookup auth.api.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com 1.1.1.1

A healthy result shows an ANSWER SECTION with one or more A records. SERVFAIL or an empty answer means the hostname itself has a problem at the authoritative level, not your local DNS configuration.

Windows

nslookup auth.api.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com 1.1.1.1

Or in PowerShell for more detail including TTL values:

Resolve-DnsName auth.api.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com -Server 1.1.1.1

If the query succeeds against 1.1.1.1 but fails against your ISP resolver, the ISP DNS is the problem and switching the PS5 to a public resolver will fix it.

Confirming on the PS5 itself

Run Settings > Network > Connection Status > Test Internet Connection. If the result shows Internet connection as Successful but PlayStation Network as Failed, your DNS is working and PSN itself is down. Check status.playstation.com — a resolver change cannot fix a PSN-side outage.

Router-level DNS change vs. PS5-only DNS change

Setting DNS manually on the PS5 overrides the resolver your router advertises via DHCP, but only for the PS5. Every other device on your network continues using the router's DNS setting. This makes it easy to test a resolver on one device before applying it network-wide.

To change DNS for every device simultaneously, log in to your router's admin panel. The correct address depends on your hardware:

  • Most home routers: 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 — find your actual gateway first rather than guessing
  • TP-Link: tplinkwifi.net
  • ASUS: asusrouter.com
  • Netgear Orbi: orbilogin.com
  • Netgear Nighthawk: routerlogin.net
  • Linksys: linksyssmartwifi.com
  • Xiaomi: miwifi.com

To find your actual router address, run ipconfig in Windows Command Prompt and read the Default Gateway line. On macOS, run netstat -nr | grep default in Terminal. Once inside the admin panel, look in the DHCP or LAN settings section for fields labeled Primary DNS and Secondary DNS, or DNS Server 1 and DNS Server 2 — the exact label varies by firmware version.

On routers running OpenWrt, DNS forwarding is configured under Network > Interfaces > LAN > Advanced Settings where you can specify upstream resolvers for dnsmasq. On DD-WRT, the equivalent is under Setup > Basic Setup > Static DNS. Both platforms support encrypted upstream forwarding via DNS over TLS if query privacy matters — a meaningful upgrade given that the PS5 sends DNS as cleartext by default.

Common misdiagnoses when a PS5 will not connect

DNS is often the right fix, but several other issues produce identical-looking symptoms. Rule these out before concluding DNS is the cause:

  • Wrong MTU: Some ISPs, particularly those using PPPoE connections, require a lower MTU than the PS5 default. Try 1492. This is set in the same Advanced Settings screen as DNS.
  • Double NAT: If your PS5 reports NAT Type Strict and two routers are in series — common when an ISP modem-router feeds a separate home router — DNS changes will not help. Put the ISP device in bridge mode or configure a DMZ pointing at your main router.
  • APIPA address (169.254.x.x): If the PS5 shows an IP starting with 169.254, it never received a valid DHCP lease. DNS settings are irrelevant until the IP issue is resolved — restart the router and console first.
  • PSN outage: Check status.playstation.com before changing anything. A platform-side incident cannot be fixed by changing a DNS entry on your device.
  • Captive portal on public Wi-Fi: Hotel and airport networks intercept all DNS to redirect you to a login page. Entering manual DNS breaks that redirect. Complete the captive portal login before switching to manual DNS, or set DNS back to Automatic temporarily to reach the login page.

Using the DNS Lookup tool to diagnose PS5 connectivity

Before adjusting any settings, it helps to confirm whether a hostname failure is limited to your ISP resolver or is a broader problem. The DNS Lookup tool lets you query any domain against multiple resolvers simultaneously. Enter a PSN hostname — for example gs2.ww.prod.dl.playstation.net — and compare your ISP's response against Cloudflare and Google. If your ISP returns an empty result or an unexpected address while public resolvers return valid A records, the manual DNS change on the PS5 will fix it. If all resolvers return the same failure, the problem is either PSN-side or a routing fault that DNS alone cannot address.

DoH, DoT, and DNSSEC on the PS5 in 2026

The PS5 does not natively support DNS over HTTPS or DNS over TLS as of 2026. All DNS queries leave the console as cleartext over UDP port 53. Anyone on the path between your PS5 and the resolver — including your ISP — can see which hostnames are being looked up, even after you switch to a privacy-focused public resolver. If that matters on your network, the practical solution is to run a local encrypted DNS forwarder on your router. OpenWrt supports this via the stubby or unbound packages; DD-WRT has similar add-on options.

DNSSEC validation is handled transparently by public resolvers: both Cloudflare and Google validate DNSSEC signatures on signed zones before returning results. The PS5 benefits from that protection automatically without any extra configuration on your end.

Keeping the DNS setting in place long-term

Manual DNS entries on the PS5 persist across reboots and firmware updates. They reset only if you delete the saved network profile and reconnect from scratch, which triggers a fresh DHCP-based setup. The PS5 stores a separate profile per SSID, so your home network can have manual DNS while hotel or guest networks use Automatic — the profiles are fully independent.

The public resolver addresses used here — 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8, and the CIRA Canadian Shield addresses — are maintained as long-term infrastructure and are not expected to change. If you replace your home router or your ISP reassigns your DHCP range, the manual DNS entries on the PS5 are unaffected because they bypass the router's DNS advertisement entirely.