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PS5 Remote Play from Outside Your Home Network

tests

ps5-remote-play-anywhere - a router-agnostic setup guide plus a dependency-free diagnostic CLI (ps5rp).

A practical, router-agnostic guide to playing your PS5 while away from home on Android, iOS, or a PlayStation Portal. It explains how the connection methods actually work, which ones need router changes, and how to diagnose the ones that don't.

This is community documentation. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

What this repository covers

  • The three ways a client can reach a PS5 that is not on the same network, and when each one works.
  • The ports, protocols, and NAT behavior each method depends on.
  • Wake-from-rest semantics (which paths can turn the console on, and why a powered-off console can never be woken remotely).
  • How to detect CGNAT and why it decides whether port forwarding is even possible.
  • A symptom-based troubleshooting guide, including the common "wake works, streaming fails" failure.
  • An optional self-hosted path using an overlay network (a subnet router) for networks where nothing else is available.

The three connection paths

Path How it connects Router configuration Survives CGNAT? Typical client
Sony relay Console and client both dial outbound to Sony's Remote Play servers, which relay the stream None (no inbound ports) Yes Official PS Remote Play app, PS Portal
PXPlay via PSN Registers with Sony, then uses UDP hole punching through Sony's relay None required Usually PXPlay
PXPlay manual Direct inbound connection to the console Public WAN IP + port forwarding at every NAT hop No PXPlay
Overlay network (optional) Console LAN is advertised into a private overlay network; client joins the overlay None on the routers; one always-on host on the LAN Yes (via relay) PXPlay / any client with an overlay client (Tailscale, NetBird, and similar)

If you only want the simplest working setup, start with the Sony relay path: it requires no router changes at all. Port forwarding is only needed if you specifically want PXPlay's manual mode, and it is impossible on a CGNAT connection.

Most homes have a single router, and the setup guide treats that as the default. If your console sits behind a second router (a common upstairs/downstairs arrangement), the guide adds one extra forwarding hop and the CLI detects it from your config and tailors its instructions - see the Double NAT steps (B3) in docs/setup-guide.md.

Quick decision

  1. Check whether your internet connection is public or CGNAT. See Detecting CGNAT. If it is CGNAT, skip port forwarding entirely - use the relay paths, or the optional overlay network.
  2. Use the relay path first. PS Portal, the official Remote Play app, and PXPlay's "Connect via PSN" mode need no router changes. This is enough for most people.
  3. Only configure port forwarding if the relay paths fail and you have a public WAN IP. Follow docs/setup-guide.md.
  4. If relay fails and you are behind CGNAT, use the optional overlay network (subnet router) path.

Guided workflows (ps5rp)

A dependency-free Python 3.10+ CLI that discovers your network, recommends a path, prints the manual steps it cannot perform, and verifies a working setup. No installation required:

python -m ps5rp precheck        # from the scripts/ directory
scripts\ps5rp.cmd precheck      # Windows wrapper, from the repo root
./scripts/ps5rp.sh precheck     # macOS/Linux wrapper
Subcommand Does
init Interactively create the local config (.ps5rp/config.json, git-ignored)
precheck Detect the environment and recommend a path
verify --path relay|manual|overlay|all Run checks with PASS/WARN/FAIL
guide --path ... Print the manual steps for a path
wake Send an experimental best-effort wake packet

It automates discovery and diagnosis only. Anything behind a login - routers, console menus, overlay sign-in - is printed as instructions, never performed. See docs/workflows.md.

Documentation map

Document Contents
docs/architecture.md NAT, CGNAT, the three connection paths, topology examples, wake behavior, the decision matrix, and the security model
docs/setup-guide.md Step-by-step setup for each path: PS5 settings, router configuration, static addresses, DDNS, client pairing, and testing
docs/ports-and-protocols.md The port table, the wake-by-path matrix, and how TCP/UDP and NAT affect each path
docs/troubleshooting.md Symptom-to-cause table and triage procedures, including the forward-vs-return-path failure
docs/workflows.md The ps5rp command-line workflows: precheck, verify, guide, wake, and the local config

Repository layout

README.md                        This overview
LICENSE                          MIT
.gitignore
docs/
  architecture.md                How the paths work
  setup-guide.md                 How to configure each path
  ports-and-protocols.md         Port and protocol reference
  troubleshooting.md             Diagnosis and repair
  workflows.md                   The ps5rp command-line workflows
scripts/
  ps5rp/                         Python package (stdlib only)
  ps5rp.cmd / ps5rp.sh           Wrappers
  config.example.json            Config template
tests/
  test_ps5rp.py                  Unit tests (stdlib unittest)
local/                           Your private instance (git-ignored)

The local/ directory is intentionally excluded from version control. It holds machine-specific values (real addresses, MAC addresses, hostnames) and any private notes. The public documents use placeholders; see Placeholders and local overrides.

Requirements

Regardless of the path you choose, the console needs:

  • Remote Play enabled for the account that owns the games.
  • Rest-mode networking enabled, so the console can be turned on from the network.
  • NAT Type 1 or 2 (Type 3 breaks every path).
  • A wired Ethernet connection where possible, for lower latency and stability.

The exact menu locations are listed in docs/setup-guide.md.

Verifying a setup

The reliable checks are:

  • A same-network test first, to confirm pairing and sign-in work.
  • An external test from a genuinely different network (a mobile hotspot or a friend's Wi-Fi). A second device inside your own home does not simulate this.
  • For the port-forward path only, a TCP reachability check on port 9295 from outside (for example with a public port checker) while the console is booted.

See docs/troubleshooting.md for what each result means.

Contributing

Corrections and additions are welcome. Keep changes generic: do not commit real IP addresses, MAC addresses, hostnames, credentials, or other details from your own network. Use the placeholders described in docs/architecture.md, and describe behavior rather than a specific vendor's menu tree.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.