PS4 Contacting Server 'Loop'

Since recent updates to networking features of Minecraft Bedrock for PS4 (I believe around 2 updated before the current version at the time of this post), all new worlds me or my friends create are impossible to join. When trying to join via the PlayStation network (we've also tried through the Microsoft account option) we just get stuck on a loading screen that says "contacting server". Our characters do load into the hosts game during this loading screen, so this makes me think it's a loop that's just stopping us from joining the hosts game. I have got Bedrock edition for PC and I can say that I can eventually join (after around 10 minutes) to my friends games on PS4. However, I need this fixed for PS4 as I do not want to keep both devices on just for the sake of a bug we've been experiencing for around a month now. 

 I have tried:

• Resetting PS4 network settings

• Turning off cross platform play options

• Joining via Microsoft account ON PS4

• Duplicating the world incase it's a file issue

• Creating an experimental version of the world

• Uninstalling and Reinstalling the game

• Joining via an invite rather than on the home screen,

To which none have worked. I love playing this game and I'm finding it so frustrating this but has still not been fixed. Can't we go back to having local games that use PSN as a base server rather than using Minecraft servers like we had with realms? Correct me if I'm wrong and this is actually a PSN issue.

I have looked at other forums of people having the same issues, but no luck. It looks like it's not just me facing this issue.