How to Change NAT Type on Xbox One in Canada

If you’re gaming and can’t seem to play an online game, you’re probably experiencing NAT issues. As a gamer, you must be familiar with the term NAT type. Just before we head over to change the NAT type, let’s understand NAT.

If you’re experiencing port issues when gaming online, get PureVPN’s port forwarding add-on to get around ports that are unavailable in your region.

What is NAT?

NAT, also known as Network Address Translation is the process your router uses to connect devices to the Internet. NAT is an introductory process that defines one router from another.

The main purpose of NAT is to minimize the number of public IP addresses that are being used in an organization. This helps conserve IP addresses that are already diminishing and gives a grip on security purposes.

The internet world’s IP bank hosts billions of different IP address combinations that are getting exhausted. To get a hold of this increasing dilemma, NAT limits the number of IPs to a single IP address. This confuses the router as it sees the same IP address coming from multiple connected devices.

How Does NAT Help?

NAT functions as a network logger which maintains the log of each device that’s connecting to the internet. Once a device requests something from the web via the router, NAT will ensure that the request is sent back to the correct device.

At times, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) limits specific types of content being sent/received which can cause different NAT type issues. As for your Xbox, it uses UPnP in order to process an open NAT type.

UPnP or Universal Plug ‘n’ Play basically allows your Xbox to port forward automatically. The UPnP functionality is absolutely great as it automatically communicates with the router in the background while you’re playing Xbox Live and you don’t have to configure it yourself.

While this feature is great, it doesn’t always guarantee that your Xbox would give you the NAT type that you need in order to connect with online players from around the world.

Types of NAT

There are three types of NAT and each type controls how good of an online gaming experience you will have. Although you can see your NAT type in the pre-game lobby of an online match, you can, however, check it through the network settings on your console.

The table shows the compatibility issues with different NAT types and possibly the reason why you are facing issues when connecting to other online players.

NAT Type	Open	Moderate	Strict
Open	✓	✓	✓
Moderate	✓	✓	✖
Strict	✓	✖	✖

Open NAT: This is the ideal NAT type that everyone wants to have. An Open NAT is truly a blessing where you won’t face any connectivity issues with online players. You can instantly chat and party up with players from around the globe without any problem.

Moderate NAT: This NAT type is suitable and does the work just fine. However, you may experience your connection getting slower and the game lagging now and then. A drawback is that you might not be able to host games.

Strict NAT: This is the most terrible NAT type. If you have this, you’ll only be able to connect to players with an open NAT, and you’ll face interruptions in chat and game connection.

How to check your NAT type on Xbox One

While you can check your NAT type in the pre-game lobby, but if it isn’t there, you can conveniently find it in the Xbox network settings menu. Here’s the process:

1. Press the Xbox button on the controller.
2. Navigate to Profile & System.
3. Then, click Settings > General.
4. Now, go to Network Settings.
5. Here, you can view the NAT type under ‘Current Network Status’.

How to Change your NAT type on Xbox One

When it comes to fixing NAT-type issues, you may have to log into your ISP hub manager. Before you begin with the process, it’s worth mentioning that even if you manage to change your NAT type to Open NAT or Moderate NAT, there is no surety it’ll remain the same.

Enable UPnP on Xbox One

The steps for enabling UPnP on your router are simple. Note: the steps may vary between router models.

1. Head over to your router’s login page. (Login process may vary between routers.)
2. Log in to your router using the required credentials.
3. Navigate to the UPnP menu on your router. (This may vary between models, so search for specifics on your router. If UPnP isn’t available, we recommend port forwarding.)
4. Enable UPnP.
5. Save your changes.
6. Open the Settings app on your Xbox One.
7. Select the Network tab.
8. Select the Test NAT type tile. (You should now have Open NAT on your Xbox One.)
9. Restart your console.

There you have it! That’s all it takes to fix NAT-type issues on Xbox One.