Skip to Content

How to Connect PS5 to College WiFi – Made Easy

Connecting a PlayStation 5 (PS5) to your college/university’s WiFi network should be a relatively straightforward process. Different colleges may configure their networks with different security measures, and therefore there are sometimes a few hoops to jump through.

As a college graduate of 2018, I can fully relate to the difficulties of connecting seemingly simple devices, such as PlayStation consoles, to a complex university WiFi system. As a professional working in the networking industry, I also understand the inner workings of complex enterprise networks. In this article, I will do my best to keep it simple and easy to understand. I will also try to cover as many specific scenarios as possible.

Your college/university may use a variety of security techniques ranging from simple to more elaborate. Also, note that this article is referring to connecting a Sony PS5 to the WiFi you will commonly find in an on-campus dorm. If you are living in an off-campus apartment and using your own internet service provider, such as Xfinity or Spectrum, this article will not apply to you.

Connect PS5 to College WiFi

Scenario 1: Your College Uses No Authentication or WPA Personal Encryption

This is going to be the simplest to set up. This is also likely going to be the least common, especially at larger colleges or universities. You may come across this setup, but it is far more common to see this at smaller colleges with fewer students.

With this setup, you will essentially connect the say way you would connect at home. You will need to follow the steps listed below.

  1. Turn on your PS5 and your TV.
  2. Open the network settings menu on your PS5.
  3. Find the WiFi network that you are going to connect to.
  4. Select the WiFi network and enter the password (WPA2 Key) if prompted.
  5. Test your connectivity.
  6. Connect to PlayStation Network (PSN).
  7. Start gaming.
PS5 Controllers

Scenario 2: Your College Uses MAC Address Filtering

Every network device has a unique identification address called a MAC address assigned to it. MAC is an acronym for media access control. It has nothing to do with Apple Macintosh.

Some college IT departments use MAC address filtering to control access to their network. With MAC address filtering, you have to register the MAC address of your PS5 before it will be authorized onto the university’s Wi-Fi network.

To find the MAC address of your PS5, you will need to do the following.

How to Find the MAC Address on a PS5

  1. From the PS5 main menu, navigate to and select Settings.
  2. Arrow down to Network.
  3. Choose View Connection Status.
  4. Your PS5’s MAC Addresses will be listed next to MAC Address (LAN) and MAC Address (Wi-Fi).

Write these addresses down or take a picture of them with your smartphone. You will need this information.

University IT Help Desk PS5

Contact your college/university’s IT help desk. They will either have you give them the MAC address and any other relevant information or tell you how to register your PS5’s MAC address through a web portal.

Once your PS5 has its MAC address registered on the college’s Wi-Fi network, you should be able to connect it the same way you would at home.

This setup appears to be the most commonly used method in the United States. When I was attending the University of New Haven, we registered our own devices using a web portal accessible from the student dashboard.

College Girl Laptop Coffee Shop

Scenario 3: Your College / University Uses a Captive Portal

Some colleges use a captive portal for user authentication. If your college uses a captive portal, you will need to authenticate through the portal before you can start gaming. If you have ever connected a PS5 to the Wi-Fi at a hotel room, you have likely used a captive portal. Unlike a computer, the PS5 does not come with a web browser which further complicates the procedure.

With a captive portal setup, you will need to follow the steps listed below.

  1. Turn on your PS5 and your TV.
  2. Open the network settings menu on your PS5.
  3. Find the WiFi network that you are going to connect to.
  4. Select the WiFi network and connect to it.
  5. Leave the network settings menu.
  6. Open up the PS5 User Guide (works as a pseudo web browser on PS5).
  7. Accept the terms and authenticate through the captive portal.
  8. Test your connectivity.
  9. Connect to PlayStation Network (PSN).
  10. Start gaming.

This setup is the most difficult on a PS5 console due to the lack of a proper web browser. Once you are connected to the internet, you are good to go. Depending on how your college has its network configured, you may have to repeat this process every week/month/semester.

Battlefield PS5

Scenario 3: Your College / University Doesn’t Allow PS5 Consoles on their WiFi

This is a less common situation, but I have certainly heard of it happening. Some colleges have their network set up in such a way that it is not possible to connect game consoles to the WiFi network.

In many cases, your dorm room will also have ethernet wall jacks. This can often be used to connect your PS5 to the internet in your dorm room. Using a wired connection on PS5 usually results in the best performance anyways. If you have ethernet jacks in your dorm room, you may want to try using them to connect your PS5 instead of using Wi-Fi.

Another option is to use the hotspot function on your phone to connect your PS5 to your college’s WiFi network. Not all phones are able to do this, but many modern smartphones can act as wireless routers. With this setup, you will connect your phone to the university’s Wi-Fi network and then turn on your phone’s hotspot function to share its WiFi connection with your PS5.

If your phone doesn’t have this capability, you can also connect your PS5 console to your phone’s hotspot and use cellular data. Just keep in mind that most hotspot data plans are limited to about 5 – 25 GB of high-speed data per month. After that, your speeds will be throttled, or you may get charged for any extra data usage. Consult with your cell phone provider for more details regarding your plan.

Also, keep in mind that using your phone as a hotspot will usually result in getting a Strict NAT Type in most games. You will also get a Strict NAT Type in most games on your college’s WiFi network as well. That is pretty common when you have lots of game consoles all competing for the same network ports.

Many modern laptop computers also have the ability to function as a hotspot. This can be a good option, especially if you can connect your laptop to your college dorm’s network using ethernet.

Smartphone Hotspot College

Conclusion: PS5 Connection to Dorm WiFi

Most colleges/universities allow students to connect game consoles in their dorm rooms. Depending on the setup of the college’s network, the setup process on your PS5 may vary.

Hopefully, this article helped you learn how to connect PS5 to college WiFi. If you need additional help setting up your PS5, simply reach out to your college’s IT help desk. They know their own set up the best and can almost certainly help you get your PS5 connected.

You may want to note the MAC address information of your PS5 before you call. IT may need that information to add your PS5 to its WiFi controller system. Learn more about our top college dorm WiFi tips and tricks. This will help you not only gamer like a pro but also get that last-minute assignment in before midnight.