Trying to connect your PS4 to a wireless Wi-Fi network again, you may stumble upon error NW-31297-2, in the message of which it will be stated that it is impossible to connect to Wi-Fi due to, possibly, an incorrectly entered WPA password for the network. It is worth mentioning that this error can also appear on PS4 consoles that are connecting to Wi-Fi for the first time.
Is there a specific reason for this error? Unfortunately, there is none, but in discussions about error NW-31297-2, two possible reasons most often come up: problems with the PS4 software and problems with the user’s router. It is from these reasons that we will build on in solving this error. Let’s get down to it.
Solution for error NW-31297-2 on PS4
Method # 1 Retrying to connect to a Wi-Fi network
If you haven’t tried connecting your PS4 to a wireless network yet, we recommend that you try again. The thing is that error NW-31297-2, in some cases, can occur only once, being an accidental bug in the software of the Sony console.
Let’s take a look at how to connect to Wi-Fi on PS4 just in case. First you need to go to the “Settings” console. Then go to the “Network” section and select “Establish an Internet connection”. Next select Connecting using Wi-Fi (wireless connection) → Use Wi-Fi → Simple… Try connecting again with the WPA password from the network.
Let your PS4 try to connect, and maybe error NW-31297-2 will not be present this time. However, if it is still there, then this is definitely not some kind of bug that showed its face once, and it needs to be corrected with certain methods.
Method # 2 Disconnecting other devices from the wireless network
The following method was advised by Sony on the official website about the appearance of error NW-31297-2: try disconnecting other devices that are already connected to it from the Wi-Fi network. The idea is that your wireless network is under heavy load from other devices, and the PS4 simply cannot connect because of this.
Disconnect a couple of devices from the network, and then try connecting your PS4 to Wi-Fi again. If error NW-31297-2 was indeed due to network congestion, then the problem should have been resolved. If not, move on.
Method # 3 Change authentication
It is also believed that error NW-31297-2 was caused by PS4 authentication problems on the Wi-Fi network. Some users were able to resolve this problem simply by changing the authentication type in the Wi-Fi security settings in the router settings.
So, to try to fix error NW-31297-2, you need to go to your browser settings and change the authentication type. We cannot recommend a specific type, as different users claim to solve the error when choosing different types, for example WPA-PSK or WPA / WPA2-PSK.
Unfortunately, different routers have different user interfaces, so it’s almost useless to describe the exact steps to change authentication. We can only give you advice, with the help of which you can grasp the general picture of where you can find the desired item with the settings.
So, go to the browser on your PC and enter 192.168.1.1 in the address bar (this is the most common address for accessing the router settings, but in your case, it may be different). Then go to advanced settings and find the section Wireless mode… As a rule, it is in this section that the settings for the security of the router will be located, in which you will find the opportunity to change the type of authentication.
Experiment with these settings and check for error NW-31297-2 on your PS4 when connected to Wi-Fi. This method was able to help at least some users. Among other things, it is also argued that this error can be eliminated after updating the software of the PS4 itself or connecting the console directly to the network using a cable.