How to join a PS4 party from PC

During your play sessions on PS4 you have made several friends and you usually talk to them thanks to parties , the convenient voice and text chat function built into your console’s operating system. Since you recently have little time to play with your friends, you would like to know if there is a way to take advantage of the aforementioned function also on a computer, so that you can continue to keep in touch with your circle of acquaintances and be updated in real time on their videogame exploits.

If this is the question you are asking yourself right now, then I can confidently answer that the way to do this exists, and it is also simple to implement. If you give me a few minutes of your free time, I can tell you everything and explain in detail how to join a PS4 party from PC .

All you will need to use the party function from a computer are: a PC running Windows or a Mac, a stable Internet connection and a PSN account. How do you say? Do you already have everything at your fingertips? Then make yourself comfortable and get ready to follow the steps that I will show you. I wish you a good read and, above all, a lot of fun!

Index

• Preliminary information
• Install PS4 Remote Play
• Join a PS4 party from PC

Preliminary information

Perhaps you are not aware of it, but for some time now Sony has made available to users, completely free of charge, a computer application that allows you to remotely connect to your PS4 (or PS5 ) to control it remotely by viewing the its audio and video stream on your PC or Mac screen . The program in question is called Remote Play and is really very easy to use.

So if what you’re wondering right now is how to join a PS4 party from PC , my answer is to use Remote Play. You must know, in fact, that by connecting remotely to your console, you will have the possibility to use headphones with microphone to talk, your computer keyboard to type messages and even your DualShock 4 controller. In short: on a computer you will be able to take full advantage of the function party just like you would on console.

As I mentioned at the beginning, to use Remote Play, you will need to have a PlayStation Network account , a stable connection (preferably wired ) with download and upload speeds of at least 5 Mbps (Sony recommends 15 to get the best performance, see here to learn how to measure your line speed). Also, you will need to have updated your console’s operating system to the latest version available.

If you want to use voice chat, you will also need to use a microphone or headphones with integrated microphone to connect to your computer or to the DualShock 4 controller. Here are the minimum prerequisites for installing the application client on a computer.

• Operating system: Windows 10 (32-bit or 64-bit), macOS High Sierra or later;
• Processor: 7th generation Intel Core or later;
• Disk space: 100 MB on Windows, 40 MB on macOS;
• RAM: 2GB or higher;
• Screen resolution: 1024 x 768 or higher;
• Sound card: required;
• USB port: required (to connect the DualShock 4 controller).

Finally, I would like to point out that Remote Play is also available on Android and iOS / iPadOS devices (even if we don’t care at this juncture).

Have you checked if the specifications of your computer are in line with those I have just listed? All right, then the next step is to enable the Remote Play feature on your console. To do this, turn on your PS4 and, in the main menu, move upwards with the directional arrow key up or the analogs and press the X key on the Settings item , located at the top right (the one with the icon of the toolbox ).

From here, press the X button on the Remote Play Connection Settings item and, finally, press the X button on the box next to the Enable Remote Play item (if it is not already checked ).

You will then have to activate the PS4 as the main console, then go back to the Settings item menu and press the X button on the Account Management item . Next, press the X button on the Activate as Primary PS4 entry . Finally, press the X button on the Activate item . That’s all!

Install PS4 Remote Play

Once you have checked the specifications of your computer and configured your console as I indicated in the previous chapter , proceed to download the Remote Play application client. The operation is truly immediate: connect (with any browser ) to this page of the official PlayStation site, click on the box next to the item I accept the “end-user license agreement for the SIE application” and ‘”Privacy Policy” , then click on the Download button .

When the download is complete, if you are using Windows , open the RemotePlayInstaller.exe file , answer Yes to the Windows user control request and press the OK button . Then click the Next button twice in a row and finally click on the Install button to start the process. to finish, click the Done button . A no-brainer, right?

If what you use is, instead, a Mac , open the RemotePlayInstaller.pkg file obtained, then click on the Continue button and then on the Install button . Type the password of your macOS user account (the one you use to log into the operating system) and press the Install software button . Finally, click on the Close button and then on the Move button . See how easy it was?

Join a PS4 party from PC

Now that you have installed the Remote Play client, you can proceed directly to launching the application. Once this is done, click on the Login to PSN button ; in the window that opens, enter the email address associated with your PSN account and press the Next button ; then type the password (if you don’t remember it, look here ) and, finally, click on the Login button .

Then continue by pressing the Confirm and continue button . To control your console remotely you can use the DualShock 4 controller , connecting it with the USB cable supplied with the controller itself or the PlayStation wireless adapter (to learn more read my tutorial on how to connect the PS4 controller to your computer ).

 

PlayStation 4 – Dualshock 4 USB Wireless Adapter

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Alternatively, you can also directly control the console using your computer keyboard (you can navigate the menus with the directional arrow keys , use the Enter key instead of the X button and the Esc key instead of the Circle key ). Once these preliminary steps have been completed, to connect to your console, click on the PS4 icon and wait for the console to be detected (the console must be turned on or in rest mode and connected to the network).

If the console is not detected, click on the Register manually button , type in the connection code (you can obtain the latter by logging into PS4 and going to Settings> Remote Play connection settings> Add device ) and, finally, press the button Register . At this point, in the program window, the login screen of your console should be displayed, then select the user profile you normally use.

If you want to use voice chat, proceed by connecting headphones with microphone to the appropriate input on the DualShock controller (if the latter is connected via USB cable to the computer). Otherwise, if you’re using the keyboard to control the console, make sure your computer’s microphone is active ; then activate the audio on Remote Play by moving the mouse pointer to the bottom of the window and clicking on the microphone icon , located at the bottom right (if the microphone symbol is crossed out ).

All you have to do is join a party. To do this, move up in the main console menu and press the X key on the controller (or the Enter key on the keyboard) on the Party item (the one with the headphones icon ). You will then be shown the list of parties you can join; just press the X key or the Enter key on the one you are interested in, to enter it, just like you normally would on your console. Easier than that ?!

If, on the other hand, a friend of yours sends you a request to join an existing party, press the PS button on the controller (or move the mouse pointer down and click on the virtual PS button ). To join a party started by a friend you can also go to Friends> All friends> [friend’s name] and from there press the X key (or the Enter button ) on the headphones icon under the name of the friend you have. selected.

Once you have accessed a party, if you want to use text chat , from the party screen itself, press the X key or the Enter key on the Messages item in the list on the right and from here you can compose messages with the virtual keyboard (if you have connected the controller) or directly with your computer keyboard. You can also send a request to a friend to allow them to join the party you are attending, by selecting the Add players item .

If you want to create a party, just go to Party> Start party> Create group> All friends and from here select, with the X key or the Enter key , the friends you want to include in the party. Finally, confirm the operation by pressing X on the Confirm item . For more details on how PS4 Remote Play works, I refer you to my specific tutorial in which I have thoroughly investigated the mechanics of this useful feature.