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Best DNS for PS4 in My Area – 4 Standout Choices in 2023

Are you looking to improve the stability and performance of online games on your Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4)? Choosing the optimal DNS server can help your performance in several ways on PS4. The challenge with choosing the best DNS server is the lack of a good one size fits all option. The proximity of your location to the DNS service as well as how busy the servers are, will play a significant impact on your internet performance.

Fortunately, changing DNS settings on the PS4 is straightforward. Most gamers will not have any difficulty changing the DNS settings on their game console. Choosing the best DNS for your area can lead to a significant increase in performance and reliability. This is especially true if your ISP’s DNS servers are unreliable, overloaded, or just too far away from your area.

Using the optimal DNS settings can improve your connection to the internet. The default DNS servers provided by some ISPs just don’t give you a reliable connection. In many cases, using Google Public DNS or another public DNS can be helpful.

There are many free public DNS services available that anyone can use. However, there are 4 options that most people will want to consider. From that point, we will show you a simple way of choosing the best DNS service for your location.

1. Cloudflare 

  • Primary DNS: 1.1.1.1
  • Secondary DNS: 1.0.0.1

Cloudflare DNS is a speed-focused DNS service that is operated by one of the biggest brands in the web industry. Cloudflare is primarily known for its content delivery network (CDN) services. They are also mindful of your privacy and keep minimal logs. 1.1.1.1 DNS offers a good balance between speed and privacy with an emphasis on speed.

 2. QUAD9

  • Primary DNS: 9.9.9.9
  • Secondary DNS: 149.112.112.112

Quad9 is a non-profit that is bolstered by IBM and many different cybersecurity firms for the usage of operating a privacy security-centric public and free DNS server. QUAD9 is also a fast DNS option in most areas, but often not as fast as Cloudflare DNS. QUAD9 is really a privacy-first service. They prioritize keeping as little data as possible and keeping what data they collect safe.

3. Google Public DNS

  • Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8
  • Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4

Google DNS is perhaps the most popular choice, and given how widely used Google services are, it is no surprise that many people will want to consider this option. In many areas, Google Public DNS is going to be the fastest option. However, if privacy is important to you, we would recommend other options instead.

4. OpenDNS (Cisco)

  • Primary DNS: 208.67.222.222.
  • Secondary DNS: 208.67.220.220

OpenDNS is a great free DNS offering now owned by the networking giant Cisco. If you are looking for a fast and reliable DNS service for gaming, OpenDNS is definitely worth considering. For some people, OpenDNS will offer the best performance in their given area.

If you do not get good results with the options listed above, here are some other standout choices for the fastest DNS in 2023. Try testing the IP addresses and comparing the results.

Other DNS Service Options for PS4

DNS ProviderIP Address
Google Primary DNS Server: 8.8.8.8
Secondary DNS Server:
8.8.4.4
CloudflarePrimary DNS Server: 1.1.1.1
Secondary DNS Server: 1.0.0.1
OpenDNSPrimary DNS Server: 208.67.222.222.
Secondary DNS Server: 208.67.220.220
Quad9 Primary DNS Server: 9.9.9.9
Secondary DNS Server: 149.112.112.112
Comcast Primary DNS Server: 75.75.75.75
Secondary DNS Server: 75.75.76.76
Level 3Primary DNS Server: 4.2.2.2
Secondary DNS Server: 4.2.2.1
Comodo Secure DNSPrimary DNS Server: 8.26.56.26
Secondary DNS Server: 8.20.247.20
Verisign DNSPrimary DNS Server: 64.6.64.6
Secondary DNS Server:
64.6.65.6
AdGuard DNS Primary DNS Server: 77.88.8.8
Secondary DNS Server:
77.88.8.1
Additional DNS Server Options for PS4

Find the Best DNS Server for PS4 for Your Region

Testing DNS latency is a simple process and requires nothing other than the command prompt / terminal tool already built into your PC or Mac, or Linux computer. This can also be done on Android or iOS by downloading a ping utility from the Play Store or App Store. You will not be able to do this from your PS4 itself. For this tutorial, I will show the process using Windows 10.

Testing DNS Performance on Your Computer

In this tutorial, we will be using the ping command. This is done by typing in the word ping followed by the IP address and then pressing enter. You will then get replies back from the server with the latency listed beside it. Latency is measured in milliseconds (ms); the lower, the better. If you get a timeout error, make sure you have entered the IP addresses correctly.

After you have tested this for all of the DNS servers, you will have a good sense of what DNS service will offer you the best performance based on your location and your ISP. This is important because DNS servers are located all around the world, and you want to get connected to a server that is closer to your area. If you connect to a DNS server halfway around the world, your DNS latency will be much higher.

After testing all of the DNS servers, you will end up with data that looks something like this.

Best DNS for PS4 in My Area
Best DNS for PS4 in My Area

From here, you will be able to easily identify the DNS server with the lowest latency based on your location. This will differ for everyone. In my case, Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 was the best choice, followed by Level 3’s 4.2.2.2. In your case, Google DNS or something else might be way better. In my case, Cloudflare was the clear winner.

You have now identified the best DNS for PS4 based on your location. Ideally, I would recommend running this test at least yearly because things change over time, and you want to check periodically for the optimal choice. Write down the information, and you can compare the results you get over time. The information that you want to record is the latency in milliseconds.

There are a couple of free software programs, such as dnsperf, that can do this for you automatically. However, they have not been updated in years, and therefore I do not recommend downloading them. Installing software that doesn’t get regular updates is a bad security practice.

Where to Change Your DNS Server Settings

You can change your DNS server settings on most devices, including computers, game consoles, smartphones, tablets, and some IoT devices.

However, by far, the easiest thing is to change it on your home network router. When you change it on your router, you are automatically applying it to all of your devices that are connected to it. You will see improvement on all of the devices that are sharing your internet connection.

Changing your DNS settings on your router is the best way to turbocharge the DNS performance of your network and get the most out of your broadband internet connection.

Setting Your DNS Servers on Your PS4

If you do not wish to change DNS settings on your router, you can follow these steps to instead set the DNS server on your PS4 console directly.

Open up your network settings and then select set up internet connection.

PS4 Set Up Internet Connection

Then you will select if you are using a LAN cable or WiFi. If you use WiFi, you will scan and connect to it now. For this example, I am using a LAN cable and can skip this step.

From here, I will choose Custom Setup. If you choose easy, you will not be able to enter your DNS server settings.

For IP address settings, choose Automatic and Do Not Specify a DHCP hostname.

For DNS settings, choose Manual.

PS4 Manual DNS

For the primary DNS, you will want to enter whatever DNS server has the lowest latency for your location. In My case, that was 1.1.1.1.

You will then enter the IP address of your secondary DNS server. This can be done in a couple of different ways.

PS4 Secondary DNS

Next, you will want to choose Automatic MTU settings and Not to Use a Proxy Server.

From here, you will reach a screen to test your settings. When this test completes, you will get a connection success or a connection failure.

Lastly, it will show your network configuration. Check to make sure the DNS server is showing what you manually entered. It will look something like what is seen below but with your configuration. Look where it says DNS Settings.

PS4 Network Configuration

From here, your setup is now complete. You have now changed your DNS server on your PS4 to the optimal choice based on your area.

If you notice a drop in performance over time, you should revisit your DNS settings and see if there is now a better option available to you. Choosing the optimal DNS server for PS4 can significantly improve your gaming experience on PS4. Using a custom DNS on your PlayStation is perfectly safe, and testing them on your computer is fast and easy.