Electronic devices have become significantly smaller in recent decades. Computers that once filled rooms now fit in boxes, and consoles give a bang for their buck when it comes to performance..
This doesn't necessarily apply to games though, as AAA titles have grown bigger with their file sizes. Titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War can take up to 136 GB of space on your console, that means it will take a while to download them even with a good internet connection.
While you can fix your storage problems with external hard drives, finding the source of a connection problem can be trickier. Considering the breadth of some next-gen titles in terms of file size, you'll want your connection speed to be the highest in order to keep your console from sleeping all night for downloads..
Before trying to find the source of your connection speed problems, you should know everything there is to know about your contract with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Details like the advertised upload and download speeds will be critical in determining if your connection is underperforming.
Owners of the digital PS5 will want to cover all the bases since they will not have the choice to decrease the size of the downloads since they do not use the discs..
Here are all the methods you can try to make sure that you download the games as fast as possible to your PS5. If none of these fixes work for you, you may need to call your ISP to see if there is anything they could detect on their end.
Check the details of your internet bill
If you're old enough to pay your own bills, you probably already know all the details of your bill. But if you are not sure how fast your internet connection is, you can run some tests on your end or call your ISP. We recommend you do both, just to check on both sides.
You can do speed tests near your router with your PC, phone, or laptop. Compare the results with the download speed of your PS5. Call your ISP to let them know about the speeds you are recording and ask about your original contract to be sure your connection is not faulty.
If the download speeds on the PS5 are slower than what you see in the tests, there are a few things you can do to try and improve your internet connection on your console.
Connect your SP5 on your router with an Ethernet cable
The Wi-Fi is very convenient and it doesn't need any cable management at all, but the connection quality is lower depending on the rooms. The farther away you are from your router, the worse your connection will be. Even if you're only one room away from your router, thick walls can make your connection worse enough to slow down your download speed.
Try to connect your PS5 to your router with an Ethernet cable and try downloading games again. If you see an improvement in speed, that means the problem was your Wi-Fi. You should consider investing in a long Ethernet cable or moving your console to the room of your router to make sure you no longer download slowly.
If this is your first time connecting your PS5 to your router with an Ethernet cable, we recommend that you go through this setup process.
- Open Settings.
- Choose Network and then select Settings.
- Click on Install internet connection.
- Go to the bottom to choose Install manually.
- Click Use a LAN cable and click Ok to activate your wired connection.
Place your PS5 closer to your router
If using an Ethernet cable is not an option then you will need to move your PS5 and your router closer. It doesn't matter if you move either your router or your PS5 closer together. If you narrow the distance between these two, it should be enough to improve the download speed.
It will however still impossible to reach the quality of a wired connection, however. But if you are already seeing an improvement in your download speed, that means your PS5 was too far from your router right off the bat.
Keeping your router close to your PS5 is not necessarily an option. You can also invest in a more powerful router to counter obstacles and the distance between your devices.
Restart your router
It won't always be your PS5 that will suffer from your slow downloads. There might be a more global issue that affects all the devices in your home. While ISPs do their best to make sure all of their servers are performing well, you could be unlucky with a problematic connection to the wrong server, slowing your download speeds.
Restarting your router will allow you to restart the connection between you and your ISP, letting your connection breathe in a big breath of fresh air. Restarting your PS5 during this process will give you a fresh start, which could make the difference in connection quality.
Check that your connection is not blocked
Ideally, you are the only person on your network. But if it doesn't, someone taking the entire band on your connection in the background could decrease your download speed. Routers typically prioritize more urgent tasks over downloads, meaning even small tasks could get added as a priority.
Try to ask the inhabitants of the house if they are taking the full bandwidth. If your connection returns to normal after they stopped whatever they were doing, it means your connection was blocked. Asking them to stop what they are doing every time you download something will give you faster results, but it won't be the most ideal.
Readjusting your router's bandwidth priority list and installing caps can help you never worry about download speed stealing for less important tasks. This process will be different for each router, so you'll need to go to Google and do a little research on how to limit your router's bandwidth for users.
Check if there are additional downloads in the background
network blockages do not necessarily come from the people. An app on your phone that updates or a game update that launched without your knowledge can slow down your connection.
To make sure that there is nothing else being downloaded to your PS5 other than the game you are trying to recover, follow these steps:
- Press the PlayStation button on your controller.
- There will always be an upside down arrow if you have downloads in progress, and if you don't see it, it means you don't have a download in progress.
- If you see the icon but can't remember what you're downloading, go to any game that's downloading and click the Options button on your controller as you hover over them to select Pause All.
- Start the only download that interests you to focus on it and see if there is an improvement in download speed.
Keep your PS5 up to date
Each system update that Sony launches includes stability improvements. Although it is rare, too old system files can be the reason behind the decrease in download speed.
- Go to Settings.
- Choose System.
- Click System Software.
- Select System software update and Settings.
- Choose System Software Update.
- Click Update using the Internet.
Your system should scan for a newer update and start downloading it automatically.
Use sleep mode while downloading your games
This was one of the biggest myths in the PlayStation community, but it doesn't hurt to try it out as a last resort. Turning on Sleep mode while downloading a game ensures that your PS5 is focused on that task and is not saving your bandwidth.
- Go to Settings.
- Select System and choose Power Saving.
- Go on features available in the standby mode.
- Turn on Stay Connected on the Internet.
Enabling this setting will ensure that your system stays connected to the Internet, but you'll also want to check to make sure your game continues to download in standby mode.
- Open Settings.
- Go on Settings and Data Saved Game / App.
- Choose Automatic Updates.
- Turn automatic download and install automatically into Sleep mode.
Consider improving your internet contract
Without a fast internet contract, none of the above methods will be able to increase your download speeds. Improving your internet plan will be the easiest way to increase your internet speed, but it might not be that easy for everyone.
Before deciding to upgrade your contract, you should ask your ISP if your infrastructure and router can support your new contract. If the answer is no, even improving your plan won't be enough to increase your download speeds.
If you still want to get a better deal, you can ask your ISP to send a professional to your home and take the necessary steps to improve the quality of your internet infrastructure.
If your router is holding you back, you can shop online to find a more suitable router for your new offering or ask your ISP to assign you a new one, which is usually funded by your ISP.
Considering that game and console releases bring in millions of gamers, there is one thing your connection slowdown is also due to server overload. If you're trying to download a game that's just released, try to give it time.
It is nearly impossible for you to fix a server problem, but you can always try restarting your router to see if you have a better connection to the game's servers through your ISP.