Starlink NAT type: why consoles say Moderate or Strict, and what helps

Three NAT scales, side by side

NAT (network address translation) is how a router lets many devices share one address. Each console maker grades how easily your console can reach other players through it, and each uses its own scale. They don’t map one-to-one; the rows below are our alignment of the makers’ own definitions.

Xbox has a fourth state, too. Microsoft says: “If NAT is unavailable, you'll be unable to use party chat or connect to multiplayer games for some XBOX titles.” PlayStation’s definitions come from Sony’s PS4 user’s guide; we found no current Sony page that defines NAT types for PS5. Nintendo’s scale runs from A to F on Switch and Switch 2.

What Starlink does with your connection

Starlink’s help center is unusually direct about this. On a Residential plan, here is what your router gets:

• A shared IPv4 address. On its default IPv4 setting, Starlink puts customers behind carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT) using shared addresses from 100.64.0.0/10, so your router does not get its own public IPv4 address. Starlink names Residential and Roam as the plans that use it.
• No inbound IPv4. Starlink's default CGNAT setting allows no inbound IPv4 connections, so nobody on the internet can open a connection to a console or PC at home over IPv4.
• Native IPv6. Starlink supports native IPv6 on every Starlink router, kit version and plan, including Residential. Each home gets its own IPv6 addresses, with nothing shared. Starlink doesn’t say whether unrequested inbound IPv6 reaches devices behind its own router.
• No port rules on Starlink’s routers. Starlink's own routers cannot do port forwarding; you need your own router plus a public IP (a Priority plan) to forward ports.
• Own public IPv4 only on Priority. A public IPv4 address is an option only on the Local Priority and Global Priority plans, not on Residential. Even then, Starlink does not offer truly static IP addresses; a public IP is held through reboots but can change if you move the dish or after software updates.
• UPnP: not stated. Starlink's help center does not say whether Starlink routers support UPnP.
• A connection cap. Residential and Roam plans have a limit of 1,200 connections (TCP or UDP sessions) at the same time; once the limit is hit, the oldest connections are dropped. Starlink lists gaming problems among the symptoms of hitting that cap, which a household with many busy devices could reach.
• Gaming ports aren’t blocked (our reading). Starlink blocks a short list of ports for all customers (for example outbound TCP 25 and 445); the common Xbox and PlayStation gaming ports are not on that list, going by Starlink’s published list.
• Changes may come. Starlink says customers may see changes such as publicly routable addresses and non-CGNAT setups as the network is upgraded, but gives no date or plan list.

What Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo say

Xbox

• Private addresses rule out Open NAT. Microsoft says if your ISP gives your router a private IP address, Open NAT is not possible and you need a public IP from the ISP or a different ISP. Starlink’s shared range isn’t on Microsoft’s list of private ranges, but Microsoft’s own check (comparing the router’s address with what an outside site sees) would show the mismatch on a default Starlink line. That’s our reading.
• IPv6 is the way around it. Microsoft recommends IPv6 because it removes the need for NAT, which can interfere with multiplayer and chat; both router and ISP must support it. Starlink already covers the ISP half.
• Teredo for some games. Some Xbox games need a Teredo IP address for party chat and multiplayer; Microsoft says to allow Teredo or IPv6 tunneling on the router.
• UPnP, and what not to mix. Microsoft's first NAT fix is UPnP on your router, and it warns not to combine UPnP, port forwarding and DMZ.
• Double NAT. Microsoft says two devices doing NAT cause a 'Double NAT detected' error and trouble hosting, joining or hearing players.
• Ports. Microsoft lists the ports the Xbox network needs and says forwarding happens on the router. On Starlink, forwarding needs your own router plus a Priority plan’s public IPv4 address.

PlayStation

• The scale. PlayStation: Type 1 means the console connects directly to the internet; Types 2 and 3 mean it connects through a router, and with Type 3 playing with others may be impossible or limited.
• IPv4 is still required. PS5 supports IPv6 but not IPv6-only connections, so the console still needs IPv4. Sony doesn’t say whether PS5 multiplayer uses IPv6 between consoles, so on Starlink Residential the shared IPv4 path is the one that counts.
• Direct play uses changing ports. Sony lists PSN ports TCP 80, 443, 3478, 3479, 3480 and UDP 3478, 3479, and says direct play with other consoles uses a different port each time. That direct, console-to-console traffic is what a shared IPv4 address makes harder (our reading).

Nintendo Switch

• The scale. Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 rate NAT from A (best for peer-to-peer) to F (peer-to-peer impossible).
• D to F. Switch NAT D can generally only connect to NAT A players; NAT F makes connecting to other players impossible. Nintendo suggests turning off IPv6 Connection. Note that this runs the opposite way to Microsoft’s IPv6 advice; follow each maker’s advice on its own console.
• It isn’t always you. Nintendo says the other player's NAT type matters too, so a failed match is not always your network's fault.

What you can actually do

1. Leave IPv6 on in your router and on Xbox or PC. Starlink provides it on every plan, and Microsoft says IPv6 removes the need for NAT. On PS5 it doesn’t replace IPv4, so don’t set anything to IPv6-only.
2. Make sure only one router does NAT. Starlink itself warns of double NAT when you mix the Starlink Wi-Fi router with an Ethernet adapter and another router. If you add your own router, put the Starlink router in bypass mode. Starlink notes that the app can turn bypass on but only a factory reset turns it off. The console setup guide walks through it.
3. Turn on UPnP in your own router, if you use one, and don’t combine it with DMZ or manual port rules. It cleans up the NAT inside your house. It can’t open the shared address at Starlink’s end, so it may lift Strict to Moderate but won’t give you Open over IPv4 (our reading).
4. On Switch, test with IPv6 off if you see D or F, as Nintendo suggests, then test again.
5. Wire the console. A cable doesn’t change the NAT type, but it removes Wi-Fi drops that make matchmaking time out, which Nintendo lists as a C-type symptom.
6. Accept the one thing you can’t change. On Residential, the IPv4 side stays shared. Only a Priority plan comes with its own public IPv4 address.

Which games it matters for

Whether NAT matters depends on who connects to whom. This is our reading of the common connection styles, not a list Starlink or the console makers publish.

So the short version: joining is fine, hosting is the weak spot. Title-by-title notes are on which games play well, and if your NAT looks fine but matches still stutter, the problem is more likely spikes than NAT; see the lag guide.