DNS
People mostly think of DNS as a name resolver for the internet. Servers hold the IP data for website names and resolve them when you type in www.google.com etc.
But they are more than just resolvers. Some DNS servers have security features like parental controls so children don’t visit webpages that have adult content in for instance.
Downloading games on the console with different DNS IPs can bring different results. Your ISP DNS generally will be the best but not always. If they are congested you can get issues. Slow webpages and oddly slower downloads etc.
I have been changing DNS servers quite frequently over the years. Even during gameplay on FIFA. It wasn’t that long ago I could change DNS midgame , suffer some serious speedup lag with commands not registering but then gameplay becoming better or worse once it settled.
When you think that a name resolver can change your internet like that…well how can it just be a name resolver?
The DNS glitch.
So I have said I have been changing the DNS mid game for some time now. But about a year and a half ago whilst changing the DNS , in search of fairer gameplay , I changed the DNS and the game disconnected.
My first thought was naturally “Oh no i must have lost”. But when I clicked out of the disconnection screen , up came the rivals points and WL qualification points. No skill points though. It had disconnected me with no loss. I was drawing at the time.
After telling people about this , some tried and informed me that it didn’t work on their router. Why it is different is probably because of differences between how routers reboot certain functions.
It may not have been something EA changed but something within the firmware which stopped the flow of packets from the game server enough to trigger a disconnection. Either way it is now an option for some players to use as a NO LOSS GLITCH.
DNS on the console.
This is important otherwise you can not test to see if it works.
On your console network settings , you need to use the router IP for the DNS servers. The router will then handle all DNS actions.
If you use DNS server IPs on the console then you can not change midgame.
When playing FIFA I have my laptop close by. I can access the DNS option and have it set to change and press apply when ready to change.
If you want to test this try it on a mode where you wont get penalised. The silver friendly mode for example.
If you get coins after the disconnect , you are in business.
What DNS can I use?
Well there are many. The main ones being Google’s and Cloudfare. Here is a list of options from my router.
There are more linked to Level 3 which are not usually advertised. 4.2.2.1 for example.
I have used mainly Google’s DNS over the years. But recently there was an issue , probably caused by the amount of internet users staying at home because of Covid-19. So I have started to try different DNS. I am finding that the well known ones tend to provide mixed gameplay.
I am not Level 3’s biggest fan but this last week using their DNS provided far more stable gameplay than Cloudfare. Even OpenDNS , which has restrictive security , was reasonable.
Changing DNS may improve your online gaming experience.
MORE TO FOLLOW ON DNS.