How to Change NAT Type

How to change your NAT type is a common question for gamers, but many of us specifically want to know if there's a way to do it on a gaming device without needing to access the router.

We may not have access to the router login details, or we may not want to mess with the settings, so is there a way to modify the NAT Type without doing this?

We will answer this below.

What Are NAT Types?

The type of NAT is a complex issue to resolve. In fact, there are two different types of NAT. NAT stands for " Network Address Translation ".

By definition, NAT has something to do with translating your IP address. This is because your internet connection will directly display your IP address to everyone, and this is something you'd want to mask.

NAT does exactly that, changing your IP address to another one when you connect to a routing device (router). This translation or modification occurs while the data is being sent in packets.

This is why you would want less restrictions on your router's NAT type to make it more easily available but at the same time it would be a bit more risky or unsafe.

If your NAT type is bad, you will lose packets when connecting to the host. This could be the packet loss you have been experiencing during gameplay because your connection to the server is not flowing consistently due to restrictions.

This topic is incredibly complex. You could even spend the next 10 hours reading all about NAT types and still be confused about all the technical aspects involved.

On the plus side, this article will only focus on the type of NAT you may see in other games on different platforms, which is all you need to know.

NAT Type Differences

NAT types are different for each platform. Sony consoles categorize NAT types into 1, 2, and 3. Microsoft consoles, including the PC, are categorized as open, moderate, and strict.

The best connections would be NAT type 1 and open on your respective platform. The only way to get this type of NAT is when your console or PC is connected directly to the internet. This means your device is not connected to the router.

• NAT 1 or Open NAT: The best connection.
• NAT 2 or Moderate NAT: Good connection.
• NAT 3 or Strict NAT: The Worst Connection

For differences in NAT type, all you need to know is the connection quality between them. Even if NAT 1 is completely different from an open NAT type , the connection quality you should get will be almost the same.

The reason the connection is improving is that if your IP address becomes more accessible or visible to others, it helps you connect better to other servers. If you are visible to more game servers, you are more likely to get one that is more suited to your connection or location.

This will give you a better overall experience regarding ping, packet loss, and other connection issues. The problem here is that you are sacrificing a bit of security for this.

This is how it usually happens, as you actually need to open your IP address to get better internet connectivity.

Most, if not all, of the best gaming routers will have all the features listed below, but the interface and settings are different from each other.

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How to Change NAT Type on a Router

Below are some of the methods to access the NAT type and be able to change it.

Forwarding of ports

Port forwarding has been a popular term among gamers since the introduction of routers. Even now, it still works the same way, helping gamers connect more easily by helping their router discover where to connect.

The main idea of ​​port forwarding is to intercept data going towards a computer and redirect it to a different address or port. In games, this is crucial to connect to the game server if you have been having constant connection issues before.

Because the concept of port forwarding is helping in data transfer by making it faster and more available to everything on the internet. It allows a smooth path with the entered port.

Once you know the ports you need to reach, provided by the game itself, your connection should be more optimized towards the servers and in return, giving you better servers for matchmaking because it's more tailored to your location.

For these ports, you will need to look for the specific ports for the game itself. Usually, the company or developers make it public to help players connect to their servers more easily.

Once you have found the game port to port forward, you can go to your router and find the port forwarding tab. In this section, you need to follow the instructions where you found the game port.

They will give you all the information on what you need to enter to complete the correct port forwarding setup on your router.

Using UPnP

Universal Plug and Play, or UPnP, helps your devices find each other on the same network. You can connect locally to all your devices and link them together. This is most popular for Smart TVs and PCs.

However, the main benefit you get from enabling UPnP is that it enables automatic port forwarding. It does this by sharing the information between them and automatically connecting to the specific service when needed.

Whenever you run a service, it will remember it and automatically connect to the service, allowing for a much smoother data pass-through. Now, this largely depends on the game you're playing.

Some games do not offer their own ports for port forwarding.

However, UPnP will allow the game you're playing to automatically send the ports to your computer, and then the router will do the rest once the data has been transferred to the computer.

If the game hasn't implemented this but has its own ports, you can find it online and use the above method to manually port the game.

Using DMZ

DMZ assigns a separate, dedicated IP address to your device. In this case, it would be your consoles. With this new IP address, it bypasses the local private IP address on your network and uses the new public IP address.

This new public IP address will let all incoming packets through. Its ports would be open, which should already mean that the NAT type is open.

This will allow you to connect to the best servers, as your address is much, if not completely, visible to everyone.

The first step to do this would be to go to your Windows Control Panel . You can open it by searching for it in the Windows search bar. Open Network and Internet , and then choose Network and Sharing Center.

You'll see your active networks and your connection type. Whether it's Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable, you'll see a clickable link to your connection below the access type. Click on it and a new window will open.

Once open, select " Properties " and look for " Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) " in the " Network " tab. Double-click it to open the IPv4 properties. In the " General " tab, you should see that everything is automatically connected unless you've changed this before.

For the IP address, manually enter your IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway in the input box. If you don't know this information, you can run " CMD " first. Search for " Command Prompt " in the Windows search bar to easily open the application.

Once the Command Prompt ( CMD ) is open, type " ipconfig " and press Enter on your keyboard. This will list your IP settings. Find what you need to note down, such as your IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway.

Enter this information in the IPv4 properties and press " OK ".

Now, you need to access your router through an app or a web browser . It doesn't matter which, as long as you're on the router's control panel. This varies depending on the brand, model, and firmware version, so it would be difficult to guide you step-by-step through this part.

Simply look for the “ DMZ ” option in your router's control panel and turn it on. It's usually located under the “ WAN ” tab. Once you turn it on, you should see an IP address entry.

As mentioned above, this IP address will be displayed publicly because that is the purpose of the DMZ.

You need to enter your IP address here and all the required information that is asked of you. It should all be in your command prompt where you can see your IP settings.

After saving the settings on your router, you must restart your computer before checking your NAT type in games.

The IP address you enter in your DMZ will be more exposed, but in return, you should get a better connection to other game servers. There's a clever way to do this, but only if you have both a console and a PC.

How to Change NAT Type on Consoles

For your consoles, the method is usually the same as before. Since all routers have different interfaces and features, you should double-check your console's IP and MAC addresses just in case.

If you ever need this information to find your device on your router, write it down on your phone or on paper so you can differentiate your device on the router.

Another important tip to know is that when setting up your DMZ, you'll need a static IP address. This IP address will be used to connect to everything on the internet. This IP address will also be vulnerable to DDoS attacks and other types of hacking.

Is It Safe To Change Your NAT Type?

With all of the above, you will be more vulnerable to everything on the Internet, but to be attacked, you will have to be a target, which is unlikely. In this case, it is up to you if you really want to play with better connections in exchange for security.

With an extremely bad NAT type, you won't even be able to see yourself online to send out invites. So, it can be incredibly frustrating to have these kinds of issues.

The same goes for connecting to terrible servers or absurd packet loss. It's up to you if you want to take the risk because you'll definitely be more vulnerable.

The best way to mitigate this is by setting your DMZ IP address to the IP address of one of your consoles. This will allow you to protect any private data on your PC, as your console's IP address will be visible to everyone.

As long as you don't have any sensitive information on your console, it can act as the DMZ host that can be configured on your router. Again, every router is different, so make sure you find this feature on your own router by checking the tabs.

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How to Get Router Boot Data

It is not possible to change your NAT type without first logging into your router. However, you may be able to find your router's login details online so you can log in and change settings without having physical access to it.

NAT settings govern how your router allows devices to connect to other devices online, so unfortunately it is not possible to change these settings without logging into the router.

However, even if you don't have physical access to the router at the moment, it is often possible to find the login details online and gain access to it, and from there, the NAT settings can be changed relatively easily using the DMZ settings.

Let's look at the different ways you can get your router's login details, whether you have physical access to it or not, and see how we can change the NAT settings on the router.

Get physical access to your router

If possible, you should try to gain physical access to your router, as this is by far the easiest way to obtain the login details so you can access the router and change the NAT type for game consoles ( Xbox 360/One/X and PS3/4/5) or PC.

Almost all routers have some sort of sticker on the side or back with login details, so if you get these, you can easily access the router and change the NAT type or other settings with any device connected to it.

If you can access the router, write down the router's login IP, username, and password. You can then use this data to access the router's settings, provided they have been left as these defaults and have not been changed.

And now that you are in the router interface, move on to the next section on DMZ.

If these details have been changed and the default values ​​are no longer being used, you will need to obtain the details from the person who knows, or perform a full factory reset of the router to revert all usernames and passwords back to the default values.

These default values ​​are those indicated on the label.

If you can't gain physical access to your router, you'll have to get a little more creative to find out your router's login details, but there are a few ways you can do it.

Test With Common Router Login Data

This is more of a long shot, but it can sometimes be possible to literally guess what your router login credentials are, as there are certain values ​​for router login IP and username/password especially that are very common.

You can try these values ​​and they may work. Let's list some common values ​​you can try:

Router login IP: In the Western world, the default router login is usually 192.168.0.1 , 192.168.1.1 , or 192.168.1.254 . More rarely, it may be 10.0.0.1 or a similar variant.

Try typing these IP addresses into the address bar of the browser on any device currently connected to the router. If a couple of admin/password boxes appear, you'll know that at least this is correct.

Username/administrator: The default router administrator is usually just “ administrator ” or “ admin ”.

Password: The router's default password may sometimes be just " password " or " password1 ", but it can also be the router's serial number.

Sometimes, you may also find that the password is “ admin ”.

Remember that you don't need to be connected to a router with a cable to log in, you can also do so if you are connected via Wi-Fi.

Any device that is connected to a router (wired or wireless) can log into it, so as long as you have the correct login details, you don't need to be physically next to it to log in.

Search the lines for your router's login details

If you can't guess your router's login credentials through trial and error using some common values, the last option is to try to find your router's default admin/login password using Google.

This can be tricky if you don't know the exact model of your router, but if you at least know your ISP (Internet Service Provider), and the router is one of theirs that they sent with the setup, then you can start here.

If you search for your ISP plus “router login” online, you may find the default login IP/username/password for their different wireless routers/hubs online.

If the default details you look for or find on your router don't seem to work, then you'll need to reset it to factory settings, usually by poking a small hole with a safety pin or something similar for about 10 seconds.

This reverts everything back to the default values ​​indicated on the router.

Conclusion

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With all this information in mind, it is ultimately up to you whether you want to open your NAT type. It was invented to do what you are doing now, which is masking your IP address for security purposes.

If you don't feel like you need the extra security, you can proceed to open your NAT type for better connections in games. Just make sure you take care of everything else and avoid anything suspicious when browsing the web.