It seems that lots of people have been having connection issues with Splatoon 3 since its launch last week, and that's caused many to search the internet for any kind of tips or tricks to help them maintain a better internet connection. And this has brought to light a Support Page on Nintendo's official website that has been around for a while, yet is coming under increasing scrutiny as players attempt to self-fix their Splatoon 3 connection issues.
In the guide linked above, Nintendo advises on how to forward network ports to a Nintendo Switch. Confused already? Don't worry, we'll explain (because we absolutely definitely knew all this before writing this article).
Usually, routers only have a small number of specific ports open by default, which allow us to do things such as send emails, access websites, play games online, and all the other things you might want a router to do, with specific ports used for different functions, all to keep things tidy and most importantly, secure.
There are, in fact, over 65,000 ports available for internet use, with many governed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which designates which numbers are reserved for which specific services.
Still with us? Typically, you may need to open a few specific ones if you're having trouble playing a game online or access to a specific service. Nintendo's guide, however, mentions opening ports "1 through 65535," which essentially means that you need to open up every single UDP port on your router, which is essentially like unlocking your front door.
Doing this would allow traffic from all ports to flow through your router to your Switch console, leaving it (and by extension, your home network) open to potential vulnerabilities, both current and future ones yet to be discovered.
@TarZangief spotted the instructions on how to set up port forwarding from a PC, phone, or tablet, and shared them on Twitter after looking for Splatoon 3 solutions:
On a PC or smart device
1) Access your router's settings.
2) Locate the Port Forwarding settings. While the location will vary from router to router, it will typically be located in an area titled firewall, virtual server, security, or applications and gaming.
3) When asked for an application name, you can enter any word (Nintendo Switch, etc.)
4) Within the port range, enter the starting port and the ending port to forward. For the Nintendo Switch console, this is port 1 through 65535.
5) Set the protocol as UDP.
6) Enter the IP address you assigned to the console.
7) Check Enable or Apply to turn on this rule.
8) Save the changes to the router.
This isn't new advice from Nintendo, however. As far back as the Wii, readers on our forums have been discussing Nintendo's instructions on how to port forward, and they've been pretty much the same since at least 2012.
Naturally, Nintendo has also included a "get-out-jail" "don't-blame-us" disclaimer at the top of the guide:
While Nintendo provides this information for our consumers' use, it is up to each consumer to determine what security needs they have for their own networks, and to decide how best to configure their network settings to meet those needs.
In our opinion, this approach to port forwarding is potentially dangerous and, at minimum, a security concern and not something we would do ourselves. Nintendo is often criticised for its online services, and this serves as another example of why it has a reputation of being behind the other platforms.
For example, Microsoft has instructions on how to do this for the Xbox One. However, the company lists only the ports that need to be opened for the console, rather than highlighting every single one that exists. For the PlayStation 5, Sony recommends opening a few ports when encountering PS5 error code NW-102417-5, and there are similar instructions for the Vita (RIP, Vita means life and all that). But all of these specify the ports you should try opening rather than all of them.
Shortly after Splatoon 3's launch, Nintendo confirmed that it was working on a patch that will hopefully fix connectivity issues along with a few other problems:
- Further reading - Splatoon 3 Connection Issues? Looks Like An Update Is On Its Way
Have you spotted these instructions before? Are you struggling to get online with Splatoon 3? Let us know down below!
[source twitter.com, via en-americas-support.nintendo.com]
Comments 24
Easier just to put it in the DMZ. I genuinely don't think it's an issue personally. They'd need access to your network and then if they DID manage to gain access, why would they focus on a games console of all things? Should be fine if you live in remote areas with a secure network.
I haven't had almost any issues with Splatoon 3, one match ended in communication error and the lobby crashed once. That's it, even though I've played dozens of matches.
My recommendation is to use ethernet cable if possible. Works well for me at least. Thankfully I also have internet through fibre, as it should be a bit more stable than 4G modems. I don't think the speed of your internet connection matters all that much, but the stability and latency.
Oh boy, I remember this was their solution during the Wii U days. As someone who opens ports on my router to play older online games with friends (did it the other day with the GOG version of Mortal Kombat 3 actually), I usually open to play and close them when I'm done.
Having all the ports open is really a dangerous idea to do. Yes, they had this during the Wii U days too.
I've kind of just been dealing with it. When it works it works fine. The only issue I have is when you select "keep going" after a match, it almost always gives me a connection error after trying to re-matchmake for a bit. I kind of just assumed it was due to people leaving or something, but I truly have no idea.
If Nintendo couldn't get this done right on DAY 1 after all of the connection problems we had with Splatoon 2, then why bother make a new game? I feel like we're back at the early days of Splatoon 2 all over again. I've been booted out of so many Salmon Runs and lost so much rank that it's not even worth it to play anymore simply because Nintendo can't do a basic 21st Century gaming practice. It's incredibly frustrating and I don't hold any hope this will be fixed for the upcoming Sept Splatfest. Disney Dreamlight Valley is also a comm error mess on Switch but at least that developer can use the excuse it's a Early Access game. Nintendo with Splatoon has absolutely NO excuses for the online to be this abysmal.
Ahh yes port forwarding...brings me back 15 years ago doing that crap.
Good ol Nintendo always a decade behind the rest.
@PtM touché!
@Sahnec I have very fast Internet and have never had connection issues with any other online game but have had 2 warning for leaving the game now.
Good thing I didn't bought the third game yet. Splatoon 2's network still works and runs like butter.
@Sahnec speed is not an issue, but protocols. I could play every wii and ds online game with a crap 1mbps dsl back in the day. I can't do the same with switch and xbox games on a 50mbps "better" speed
I don't really get it, but I'll follow those steps if I ever run into the issue once I eventually get the game. My brother is the techy in the family, I usually just hand him the problematic device to fix for me 🤣
@Sahnec You simply haven’t played a game with someone using a poor internet connection, which is an insanely good record to have while playing alongside randoms. However, in Splatoon 3, it doesn’t matter how good your personal internet speed is, because all it takes is just one other person in the group to disconnect at least a minute into the match due to their poor internet, and EVERYONE will get kicked out of the match according to the game’s new rules, ending it in a draw.
Um…no, I won’t open every fricken port and have literally the same thing that happend to dark souls, happen to switch, they need to update their “fix” if you can call it such
Well, Chaos DID win Splatoon 2’s Final Fest so let me go ahead and open these ports for the full experience 👍
Well considering all the ports the Switch has gotten from other consoles, its no wonder they suggest all those port numbers.
My Internet's not the best but it's been good enough for me to play Splatoon 2 for years without any major problems at all, even when playing Wi-Fi in handheld mode. Splatoon 3 has been spotty for me as well. However, after not choosing to "keep going" like what @Thesharkfromjaws posted, I've just had the most doable time playing Turf War by starting over in the battle pot each time, so I'll stick with that method until the patch finally comes.
This isn't potentially dangerous, it's extremely dangerous and stupid. All it would take is for one network vulnerability and someone would use your Switch to pivot to another device. Or, if the IP address that you switch had changes (because you didn't make a reservation or make it a static IP), then whatever device gets it next is completely exposed to the Internet. This is one of the worst fixes I've ever seen.
You really gotta wonder how many nursing homes the Wii opened up to attack. "Screw the firewall, Ethel is getting the lightsaber pose. You know how she gets!"
@PeteW Out of curiosity are you wired in or on wi-fi?
Lol yeah this is not a good 'fix' to their problems at all. It's basically, "Well it's your problem now."
@Merry_Blind To be honest it is wifi which I know isn't optimal but my console is close to the router and the Internet is pretty much as fast as you can get.
If previous online games had caused connectivity problems then I would look at running a wire to the console but I haven't been thrown out of a match once on splatoon 2.
@PeteW If you're close to your router anyway I would highly recommend getting an ethernet adapter. Sure Nintendo have no excuse to provide such poor "netcodes" to their games, but being wired really does help because you don't have to rely on Nintendo's very basic lag mitigation implementations.
Even if you don't notice lag or don't get disconnected, you may still get some desyncs without realizing it, causing some of your shots to not register and whatnot.
@Sahnec Not true. My internet speeds are fantastic and I am getting “a communication error has occurred” a lot. NAT type A and wired connection. Nintendo needs to fix this ASAP.
Tap here to load 24 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...