Solutions If You Keep Getting Kicked From Parties/Chat (PS4/PS5/Xbox/PC)

This is unfortunately a common problem for gamers on all platforms – we can often find we keep getting disconnected or kicked from voice party chats for no apparent reason. How can we identify what is causing this and what can we do to fix it?

The reason for this often boils down to the quality of your connection in some way or another, and there are some things we can do to fix this.

Here is a quick summary answer:

If you keep getting kicked from gaming parties, then firstly look to improve the quality of your connection, switching to wired ethernet instead of Wi-Fi is possible. You can also place your games console into the DMZ section of your router for Open NAT and the best connection to other gamers.

In other words, look to get the best possible connection firstly to your router, and then to other gamers and servers online by opening up your NAT type. Let’s look at both these solutions in more detail.

Solution #1 – Check The Quality Of Your Connection

If you keep getting kicked from online gaming parties/chats, and you find this is a consistent problem, then the first thing to do is to check the quality of your console’s connection to your router.

It can often be that if your connection is marginal in terms of quality, then you might get kicked from parties/chats, simply because your console needs the (limited) bandwidth/connection that’s available purely for the gaming, and can’t handle the bandwidth demands of party chats on top of that without affecting your gaming experience.

To alleviate this, the first thing to do is get off Wi-Fi if that’s what you’re currently using, and switch to a wired ethernet connection instead.

It will provide a much more solid and reliable connection than Wi-Fi, and deliver more bandwidth to help sustain party chat connections on top of your gaming.

If switching to a direct wired connection isn’t really possible because you are too far away from your router, then a good next best solution is to use powerline adapters, which are a pair of adapter plugs with embedded ethernet ports that can deliver a lower ping, higher bandwidth connection than Wi-Fi.

Powerline kits consist of a pair of adapter plugs; you plug one adapter in and connect it to your router, and you plug the other adapter in and connect it to your console/PC, and the plugs communicate through the existing house wiring to deliver a wired ethernet connection.

It’s a great way of bypassing Wi-Fi and connecting to your router by cable indirectly, without needing to run long cables through the house.

They don’t work in all cases, but when your house wiring is in good condition and runs off the same meter/feed, they can be an excellent way of delivering a stronger connection to your console at distance from the router to help support connections to party chats and lobbies without being kicked.

Click here to view the TP Link Nano Powerline Adapter, plus more models, on our powerline page.

Solution #2 – Place Your Console Into The DMZ For Open NAT

Another common reason for either getting kicked a lot from parties/chats, or sometimes not being able to hear other players, is when you are on a NAT Type that is restrictive and prevents you properly connecting with other gamers.

There are 3 main NAT types, and it is Type 3 or Strict that is the worst, and often causes these types of connection issues. Type 2 (Moderate) is normally OK but can cause some problems, and Type 1 (Open) is best because it can communicate with all other NAT Types

Which NAT Types Can Talk To Which?

Console 1
NAT TypeOpen (Type 1)Moderate (Type 2)Strict (Type 3)
Open (Type 1)YesYesYes
Console 2Moderate (Type 2)YesYesNo
Strict (Type 3)YesNoNo

 

See our article on the best NAT Type for gaming for more on this.

So if you go to your Network Connection Settings/Status menuor test the connection , you can see what NAT Type you are currently on. Here’s an example on the PS4:

If you’re on NAT Type 3 especially, then this is likely the cause of your party connection issues, and you need to get onto Open NAT (Type 1), for a better connection.

The best way of doing this for console gamers (PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox X) is to just place your console into the DMZ section of your router, which should automatically open all ports and place you on Open NAT for the best possible connection to lobbies, chats/parties and other players.

Here are the steps to do this:

  • Get the MAC address of your console (Connection Settings/Status).
  • Log into your router by typing it’s IP address in any browser (often 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1) and the username/password that’s on a sticker on the back.
  • Find DMZ Settings under Security or Advanced or similar.
  • Enter or select your console’s MAC address and to place it in the DMZ.
  • Save settings and close.
  • See our full article on DMZ for more detailed steps.

Once your console is in the DMZ of the router, it should automatically be on Open NAT, which should stop these connection problems to other players in party chats and lobbies, as long as your connection is also solid as detailed in Solution #1.

For users who want a more precise way to open ports and get open NAT type, then check out our articles for port forwarding on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. It’s more long winded than DMZ but can have the same effect of moving you onto an Open NAT type for better connections to other gamers.

See also our full article on the best NAT Type for gaming for a more complete explanation of how and why your NAT type can affect your connection to lobbies and other players online.

We should also mention that while it’s OK to place games consoles into the DMZ, it’s not recommended to put PCs or other devices into the DMZ zone. See our article on the safety of DMZ settings for more explanation why.

Solution #3 – Use QoS To Prioritize Your Device on Busy Home Networks

If you notice that you seem to be getting kicked a lot from parties or chats when your home network is busy, with lots of other users also connecting, then you might also want to look into Quality of Service or QoS to prioritize traffic on your network.

It might be that there are simply too many competing bandwidth demands at once on your network, and this, especially in conjunction with using Wi-Fi, can mean again that your connection is struggling to sustain both gaming and party chats at the same time because of the limited bandwidth.

One possible way around this is to see if a QoS setting is available on your router to prioritize your games console on the network so the router handles it’s traffic demands first. However, it’s best used in conjunction with the other methods listed above, and switching to a wired connection is a first priority before anything else.

We’ve covered QoS for gaming in another article, but here’s a quick list of steps of how to set it:

  • Find and note down the MAC address of your console in the Connection Settings/Status menu.
  • Log into your router (type 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 into any browser, plus the router username/password).
  • Find QoS Settings if they are available
  • Select or enter your console using the MAC address you found earlier.
  • Set the priority to Highest or Maximum.
  • QoS is not available on all routers.
  • See our full article on QoS for more detailed steps.
  • See also here for a good video of QoS in action to lower ping for Fortnite

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