The PS4 NW-31153-3 error code is a more obscure one, but is still searched for online. It relates to a connection error, especially involving PSVR (Virtual Reality) games not being able to connect online.
Most commonly, the people who get this error report that all other devices on their home network can connect fine; it just seems to be the PS4 which is having problems, and most commonly PSVR games with this error.
The best solution to this error code is to manually change the DNS Settings on your PS4 to Google DNS (8.8.8.8; 8.8.4.4) or another free provider. This most often seems to fix this problem, otherwise trying to manually set a static IP or use DMZ settings can also improve your PS4’s connection.
Let’s look at the DNS solution first, then move onto the others.
Main Solution – Manually Configure the DNS Settings on Your PS4
From what little information there is on this error code, we can see that the most common way to fix it is to manually set your DNS servers on your PS4.
Normally, using Automatic DNS settings, your PS4 will use a default pair of DNS servers from your ISP. Sometimes, these servers may be down or clash with PSN servers, and manually switching to a different pair can resolve any connection issues that this causes.
Here are the general steps for manually changing your PS4 DNS servers:
- Go to Settings….Network……Set Up Internet Connection
- Select Wi-Fi or LAN depending on your connection. Plug into your router and use wired if the Wi-Fi doesn’t work.
- Select Custom setup
- Run through all the settings as they are, without changing them, until you get to DNS Settings
- For DNS Settings, switch to Manual
- Input these Google DNS servers: Primary: 8.8.8.8 Secondary: 8.8.4.4
- You can also use other free DNS servers; here are two common pairs:
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- Cloudflare DNS – Primary 1.1.1.1 Secondary 1.0.0.1
- Open DNS – Primary 208.67.222.222 Secondary 208.67.220.220
- If one pair don’t work, try another pair. See our article on the best DNS for gaming for more information.
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- See just below for a video demo of how to do this.
See here for a video showing you how to change your DNS servers at the router level instead of the console. This will apply these settings not just to your PS4 but to every device which connects to that router.
If you find one pair of the listed DNS servers above not working, be sure to try out the others as well, since it may be that a very specific pair of DNS servers allows you to get back online.
Other Solutions – Static IP and DMZ Settings
Other than the DNS solution, there are few other suggestions online as to how to fix this error message. If manually configuring your DNS settings doesn’t fix this error, then there are other things you can do to get the best connection possible between your PS4, your router and the wider internet.
The two main options to get a better connection are using a static IP, and using DMZ settings. Let’s briefly look at each of these in turn. They are worth giving a go if you are still getting this error message.
1. Static IP – Manually setting a static IP address can sometimes resolve any connection issues, particularly if your PS4 Connection Test fails at the first hurdle and cannot even find an IP address. Manually setting you own as per Solution #3 of this article can sometimes resolve this.
See also our full article manually setting a static IP. Once setting a static IP, the standard follow on procedure is to use some kind of port forwarding. Lets look at DMZ settings as a quicker way of achieving the same result.
2. DMZ Settings – Placing your PS4 in the DMZ section of your router can also resolve some connection errors. This basically removes all firewall filtering and fully opens it up to the internet for the best connection possible. Is a good option if your ISP or router has very restrictive security settings which may be preventing your PS4 from properly connecting to servers or other gamers.
See here for our full article on how to use DMZ settings. It is basically a shortcut way of port forwarding, without having to do the longer manual method we have also covered.
Summary
This is really one of the less covered PS4 error codes online, so there is not much relevant information for it at the moment.
If anyone finds that the DNS solution doesn’t work and/or finds other solution to this problem, please leave a note in the comments and we’ll continue to update our article as more information about this error code becomes available.