8 Causes & Fixes To PS5 LAN Cable Not Connected Error

After a quick glance over the internet, you would think that the ‘LAN Cable Not Connected’ error defines the PlayStation 5. In reality, it’s not all that common an error. That’s the good news. The bad news is, it does happen, and you need to be aware of the troubleshooting tips to fix it before it becomes a thorn in your side.

For the most part, the ‘LAN Cable Not Connected’ error results from a loose connection with the ethernet cable. However, it’s possible that it’s more complicated, such as router settings, system cache, wrong ports, or both the PS5 and the router need a good power cycle. 

Hopefully, it’s the very first item since that’s the simplest fix. If not, there’s no need to worry that your PS5 is broken. We’ll walk you through the causes and fixes—most of which are fairly simple and some which are a little more complicated.

PS5 LAN Cable Not Connected Error: 8 Causes & Fixes

1. Always Check Your Connections First

Fixing these things is always a matter of going through a process of elimination. All you’re doing is eliminating one potential cause and moving on to the next. Once you find the cause, the fix is usually readily apparent.

One of the most common culprits behind the aggravating error code in question is the ethernet cable not sitting snuggle in the PS5 port or the port in the router. It could be both.

Either way, you can figure this out in less than five seconds, eliminate it, and move on to the next potential cause and fix it.

Since ethernet cables snap into place, thanks to the little plastic tab and the shape of the port, it’s kind of hard to have a loose one. It does happen, however, so it’s worth giving the router and the PS5 a once-over.

2. Power Cycle the PS5 and Router

The power cycling process is easy, however, there’s an order to these things and you should make sure you turn off and restart both devices in that order.

1. Power off the router by simply unplugging it
2. Do the same for the PS5
3. Disconnect the ethernet cable between both devices
4. Disconnect the internet cable (Coax, fiber, DSL, or whatever) from the router
5. Wait a full two minutes
6. Plug the internet cable back into the back of the router
7. Plug the router back into the power outlet
8. Wait until it completely cycles back up
9. Plug the ethernet cable into the router, making sure it securely and audibly snaps into place
10. Plug the other end of the ethernet cable into the back of the PS5, again, making sure its a snug fit with an audible snap
11. Plug the PS5 back into the power outlet
12. Cycle up the PS5
13. Check to see if you’re still getting the same error message

Without getting into the minutiae of software glitches and whatnot, power cycling your devices often clears up a lot of the so-called gunk that’s going on, whether it’s multiple background tasks running or simple glitches in the software.

Look at it as a longer method of simply resetting your PS5. If you’ve been a gamer long enough to remember the Super Nintendo (maybe even the Nintendo NES and Atari) days, then you fully understand the value of a reset.

Yes, that’s true even though we no longer have to blow our lungs out trying to clear the cartridges.

3. Check your LAN Ports

It’s not necessarily a matter of looking for damage or dust and debris in your LAN ports. Though that can happen, you’d just about have to have your router buried in a sand pile for it to bother the port.

It’s more a matter of checking to make sure you have a solid connection and that you’re connected to the right port, to begin with.

Plus, there’s always the possibility that the LAN port you’re using is somehow damaged goods at this point and switching will get you going again. Since most routers come with multiple LAN ports these days, that’s a distinct possibility.

You don’t have to do anything wild or crazy; you just need to disconnect the ethernet cable from one LAN port and switch it to another.

See? So far this troubleshooting guide is pretty simple. Just be sure you’re plugging it into another LAN port, not a WAN port.

WAN is for Wide Area Network setups and isn’t what you need here. A WAN port should be colored differently and is often clearly labeled for what it is.

Since there is only one LAN port connection on your PlayStation 5, you don’t have to worry about that end.

4. Reconfigure Your PS5’s Internet Connection

Basically, all this means is getting rid of your current setup on your PS5 and redoing it—a reset of sorts but one that only takes place within the settings menu of the PS5.

1. Long-press the center, PS button on your PS5 controller
2. Use the D-pad or Stick to go up one and to the right, selecting the little gear icon
3. Go down three and select “Network”
4. Down one and select “Settings”
5. Go right once and select “Set Up Internet Connection”
6. Scroll down and select “Set Up Wired LAN”
7. Unless you need to, select “Automatic”
8. The PS5 should detect everything from here
9. Follow the onscreen instructions

If you prefer to do a manual setup, you will need the numbers for your primary and secondary DNS, your subnet mask, your default gateway, and your IPv4 address. Most of these can be found on the bottom or back sticker on your router.

If you can’t read the numbers, you can get the information you need by going to your router’s interface via your web browser or you can access it through an app (if applicable to your router).

5. Time to Get a New Ethernet Cable

Not all ethernet cables are created equally and some are just cheaper than others. Perhaps you ended up with a cheap one or maybe the cable got crimped in between the wall and the entertainment center.

Regardless, it’s damaged and you need to replace it.

For the most part, if the ethernet cable has been physically damaged, you’ll see the crimp in it somewhere along its length.

Besides, the type of ethernet cable you purchase can play a large role in providing your PS5 with the fastest internet speed possible.

The PS5 supports speeds up to 2.5 Gbps, so you’ll want an ethernet cable that is more than capable of handling that workload with ease and efficiency. That means you need to place Cat5e, Cat6, and Cat6a cables on your grocery list.

For the fastest and best experience, the latter, Cat6a cable is where it’s at. It’s common enough for cheap ethernet cables to muck things up for you.

The thing is, ‘expensive’ ethernet cables are not really all that expensive. Honestly, you’re looking at anywhere between $8 and $15 bucks.

6. Enable UPnP 

This all revolves around your NAT type (Network Address Translation), and it’s basically how your router handles incoming and outgoing packets.

Your NAT type determines your level of freedom when playing online and, as an unwanted side effect, may be responsible for your PS5 producing the ‘LAN Cable Not Connected’ error.

You can’t choose your NAT type on your PlayStation 5 console. That’s handled on your router’s end and there are three types to be aware of. These types are simple, singular digits—types 1, 2, and 3.

However, think of them as levels of restrictiveness, least restrictive, restrictive, and highly restrictive. The number 3 indicates the higher end of the strict side. Though you can’t make the changes within the PS5 menu, you can see what your NAT type is.

1. Go to the Settings menu on the dashboard
2. Select “Network”
3. Select “Connection Status”
4. Select “Test Internet Connection”
5. Select “Start Test”
6. The PS5 will begin a connection test so wait until it’s complete
7. Once done, your NAT type will be displayed at the very bottom

If it says NAT 3, you need to jump on your router interface and make a change. Now, every router is a bit different, so walking you through this process perfectly is nearly impossible.

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is what you’re looking for once you’re logged into your router’s interface.

1. Retrieve your router’s address (usually located on the sticker or embossed on your router, bottom or back)
2. Jump on your favorite web browser and input the address
3. The username and password should have been on the sticker as well, so use them to log in
4. Look for Settings, More Settings, or possibly Advanced Settings
5. Look for Advanced Network in the Settings menu
6. Look for UPnP
7. Once you find it, there should be a way to enable it, whether its a toggle switch or a simple checkbox
8. Save and restart your router

Any kind of change like that necessitates a router reset, so you’ll just have to suck it up and wait for your router to cycle back up.

You won’t need to pull any plugs or anything while you do and you won’t need to reset your PS5, though it might be a good idea to do so once the router is finished cycling back up.

7. Clear Your Cache

This involves something called, “Rebuild Database.” It sounds a lot scarier than it really is. You shouldn’t have to worry about losing any of your games since most of that is saved online and should be retrieved automatically. This is especially true if you play online most of the time.

Removing the cache means you are just getting rid of the gunk build-up of temporary files and things that are chewing up the random access memory of your console.

In human terms, it’s like wiping your eyes to clear your vision. With a clearer perspective, the PS5 might be more willing to cooperate.

1. Press and hold the physical power button on your PS5 to turn it off
2. Continue pressing it until you hear a second beep (the first will simply indicate that it powered down successfully)
3. Now your PS5 is in Safe Mode and you can take your finger off the power button
4. Connect your PS5 controller with the applicable USB cable
5. Press the center PS button on your controller
6. In the menu that pops up, highlight and select “Clear Cache and Rebuild Database”
7.  On the next screen, select the “Clear System Software Cache” option
8. Select “Ok” to confirm and start the process

The PS5 usually doesn’t take a very long time to do much of anything and rebuilding the database is no exception. However, it will take a little longer for it to do this than most other things. Once it’s completely done, the system will restart.

You don’t have to worry about doing anything extra or going back in and fixing all of your original settings. Some very minor things might change but they’ll be so small you may not even notice them for a little while.

The most important thing is that it’s complete and you should see if you’re still getting the same error message again.

8. Switch to WiFi

If all else fails, you can always switch to WiFi. While it’s not the best situation if you’re into competitive gaming that requires fast-twitch muscle memory, it will do for most of your online needs, and it will do just fine if you have a solid gaming router with 5.0 or 6.0 GHz.

If nothing else, it’s a solution you can live with while you pour over the above scenarios, working to rid yourself of the aggravating error message.

If you’re running ranked play a lot on Call of Duty multiplayer or a sufficiently intense battle royale game, you may want to put it on pause for a bit until you figure something out.

Final Thoughts

We’ve put together 8 solid solutions here and, honestly, the only reason none of these would work is if there is a hardware issue going on somewhere, such as a deficient LAN port or something is going on internally with the PS5.

Worst case scenario you can always contact Sony’s customer service, especially if your PS5 is still under warranty and you’ve done absolutely nothing to it.