Fix Strict & Moderate NAT in MW2

COD MW2 Strict NAT: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, the new offering in the Call of Duty franchise, also suffers from networking issues. One of those issues is NAT, which creates problems for users while connecting to the other players. The network needs a clear pathway to connect to other users. The game will show the NAT type as strict or moderate if there are problems. This leads to issues with voice chat, lobbies, and broken game connections.

Having an Open NAT lets you chat with people, join interconnected VOIP servers, host multiplayer lobbies, and so on.

What problems do Strict and Moderate NAT Create?

Let’s understand what Open/Moderate and Strict NAT are and what issues they will create.

• Open – Seamlessly join games, voice chats, host multiplayer lobbies, and perform game network-related functions.
• Moderate – You will never be chosen as the game host and have trouble joining matches hosted by other players.
• Strict – Strict NAT type is the worst. If you have this, you’ll only be able to connect to Open NAT users. Also, You will never be chosen as the host of a game.

You can find what your NAT type is by openingLet’she game.

Let’s move on and fix this problem once and for all.

How To Check Your NAT Type in MW2

Older Call of Duty games used to display the NAT type in the lobby screen, but that is not the case with MW2. The developers will probably fix this when the game releases in October.

To check your NAT Type:

• Press F3 > Account & Network
• The Account & Network screen will open up > select “Network Info,” and your information will be displayed as shown in the screenshot below:

Changing MW2 NAT Type from Moderate/Strict to Open

Ports for PC Users:

• TCP: 3074,3075,27015-27030,27036-27037
• UDP: 3074,4380,27000-27036

For PC users:

• Go to Windows Settings > Network & Internet > Status
• Click on Properties
• Switch between Private and Public both, one by one.

NAT issues generally don’t affect PC users a lot. I have Moderate NAT, but I can play games just fine. If it does, make sure to read the port forwarding guide here.

For PS4 and PS5

Ports for PS4 and PS5:

• TCP: 1935,3074,3478-3480
• UDP: 3074,3478-3479

Note: The mentioned ports should only be used if the UPnP setting doesn’t fix your problem.

• Go to 192.168.1.1 to access your modem settings.
• Log in to the router admin panel. The details for the same can be located on the router itself. There should be a sticker with these details.
• Head to Advanced Settings > Check if UPnP is enabled. If not, then enable it. Check if your NAT issue is fixed. If not, move to the next step.
• Because of closed ports, your NAT type might be getting affected. Go to this guide and read how to open ports for your router.
• Once you have the port numbers, add these as new ports using your modem admin panel.

For Xbox

Ports for Xbox:

• TCP: 3074
• UDP: 88,500,3074,3544,4500

Note: The mentioned ports should only be used in case the UPnP setting doesn’t fix your problem.

• Go to 192.168.1.1 to access your modem settings.
• Log in to the router admin panel. The details for the same can be located on the router. There should be a sticker with these details.
• Head to Advanced Settings > Check if UPnP is enabled. If not, then enable it.
• Because of closed ports, your NAT type might be getting affected. Go to this guide and read how to open ports for your router.
• Once you had the port numbers, add these as new ports using your modem admin panel.

This is how I fixed my NAT issues in Call of Duty MW2. Comment below if this helped.