Download PlayStation 4 Games Faster With One Small Tweak

You will probably never get these kinds of speeds from the PlayStation Network. And the funny thing is, neither could we. That was until we made one single change.

Everyone knows how crappy download speeds on the PS4 are. And that was the same case for developer Lance McDonald, who tried to download GTA V only to encounter the gut-wrenchingly glacial pace that the PlayStation Network likes to serve content at.

So he looked into why it was. After running some tests, he found that his PS4’s were downloading from some foreign servers.

So to speed up the process, he set a firewall rule on the router and blocked them.

Pro-tip for PS4 owners in Australia. Block this IP address on your router to make your PSN downloads go about 5x faster. pic.twitter.com/3BnbLFr68b — Lance E. McDonald (@manfightdragon) January 24, 2017

And as it turns out, the trick works. After blocking the servers, McDonald found his PS4s were finally downloading at the kinds of speeds his internet was more accustomed to delivering.

We tested the trick out in the Allure Media offices, where we have the luxury of a fat fibre pipe. When we began testing over Wi-Fi, the best download speeds we could achieve were around 18mbps. When connected via an ethernet cable that speed improved to just around 33mbps, which was better but still pretty substandard for 2017.

When we blocked the IP address Lance used, well … things improved a tad.

I wish I could download all of Destiny in an hour flat. (Before we blocked the IP, it would have taken several hours.) One thing to remember though: if you want to play games online, you’ll have to re-whitelist the IP. According to McDonald, the server was necessary for online play and it also hosts a lot of assets on the PSN store. Better to be safe than sorry.

Just remember to unblock it before you try to play games online or browse the store, that server hosts a lot of assets. — Lance E. McDonald (@manfightdragon) January 24, 2017

And while Australians shouldn’t have to resort to this kind of shenanigans just to get a console downloading at proper speeds in 2017, it’s better than the rough 1mb/s we’re typically accustomed to. So next time you need to download a big update, or you’re buying a game digitally, remember to thank McDonald.