Apex Legends being online only means that you face a ton of connectivity problems; read on to learn how to get Open NAT, Reduce Lag and Ping in the guide below:
Apex Legends is the latest release by Titanfall developers Respawn Entertainment. The game is an online-only free-to-play Battle Royale focused on Squad based play. Available on PS4, Xbox One and PC, Apex Legends features pretty decent netcode and good servers but there’s still a ton that can be improved. If you’re facing Lag, high pings and NAT problems then read on to learn how to improve your connection quality in this guide.
We’ll be covering several methods you can use to improve your connection for Apex Legends, each of them can improve your connection in a different way so its recommended you try them all to see what works best. The first step we’ll be doing is probably the most important, Portforwarding:
Portforwarding for Apex Legends
Most ISPs aren’t configured correctly for online gaming, which in most cases means that the ports used by certain games or consoles are blocked. Ports are the gateways of your connection that services use for optimal communication between your gaming device and the game’s server. Although some if not all services do work with blocked ports, you’ll often face problems like not being able to connect to your friends and certain lobbies, dropped connections, high pings and more.
Portforwarding is usually done via your Router or your Modem if you have a 2-in-1.
Follow the steps below to forward ports for Apex Legends:
- Open the web browser of your choice and head over to your Router’s page, which is usually an IP Address you can find on the back of your device. Enter the username and password, which again should be on the back of your device to continue.
- Open up the Portforwarding section, usually found under LAN Settings depending on the Router.
- Windows usually does a good job to automatically forward ports but if you’re still having issues with the Firewall or configuration you can still use the ports listed below:
Apex Legends – PC Ports
- TCP: 1024-1124,3216,9960-9969,18000,18060,18120,27900,28910,29900
- UDP: 1024-1124,18000,29900,37000-40000
Apex Legends – PS4 Ports
- TCP: 1024-1124,1935,3216,3478-3480,9960-9969,18000,18060,18120,27900,28910,29900
- UDP: 1024-1124,3074,3478-3479,18000,29900,37000-40000
Apex Legends – Xbox One Ports
- TCP: 1024-1124,3074,3216,9960-9969,18000,18060,18120,27900,28910,29900
- UDP: 88,500,1024-1124,3074,3544,4500,18000,29900,37000-40000
Just enter the ports above for your desired platform, save and restart the Router. If everything was done correctly, Apex Legends should run a lot smoother.
Using UPnP to Improve Apex Legends online-play
UPnP or Universal Plug and Play helps your network devices automatically configure settings required for optimal services, which in most cases will forward your ports and optimize your connection for online play. In certain cases UPnP can be pretty wonky, but if it works right its the easiest way to improve online-play.
To Enable UPnP just go to your Router’s page as instructed above and head over to the WAN section. There you’ll find an option called Enable UPnP like shown above, enable it if its not so already and save your settings. Then restart your Router to have the settings take effect.
DMZ to Forward All Ports
A DMZ or Demilitarized Zone setting allows you to forward all ports for a certain device. Do note you can only DMZ only one device at a time. DMZ is kind of risky for a device like a computer since it essentially removes all security but it should work fine for a gaming console which are pretty much locked down from external hacking.
The DMZ setting can be found in the WAN section. There just select to Enable DMZ and enter the IP Address of your device. Its better to have a Static IP Address made for your device, so you don’t have to set up DMZ again and again after each reset.
Unblocking Apex Legends Ports using a VPN
Using a secure VPN is the surefire way to optimizing your connection for Apex Legends online play. If the VPN you’re using is good quality, it’ll resolve all NAT related issues automatically and forward the desired ports. There’s also the bonus of added security which is certainly nice.
Follow the steps below to optimize your connection, Open NAT and reduce lag and ping for Apex Legends using a VPN:
- Get PureVPN’s Port Forwarding add-on
- Select “Block all ports but enable following”
- Specify the ports you want to forward
- Click “Apply Settings”
Using a Good Gaming DNS Server to Optimize Apex Legends online-play
DNS Servers are very important for gaming, we have a huge write up on that and how to find the best DNS server for you here. Also follow the guides below to change your DNS server:
Did the methods listed in the article to improve your online connection work for you? Let us know in the comments!
Apex Legends is out now on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
