Being a diehard Assassin’s Creed fan, I wanted to change the background screen on my PS5 dashboard to an Eivor (from AC: Valhalla) 4K wallpaper.
After searching for the option to change the background everywhere on the console, it was time to contact PlayStation tech support.
A tech support agent contacted me after a day to answer my query and this is what I found out:
How To Change The Background On A PS5? It is not possible to change the background image on a PS5. The Sony PS5 does not allow users to customize the background with images other than the default background because the PS5 uses a custom dynamic theme that changes the background depending on what is currently selected.
This information was difficult to digest since changing the background is a very simple feature that not only the Xbox series X supports but the PS4 supports too!
And while changing the background is not performance defining, it’s still an important feature for reasons that I will mention below.
Why Do You Need To Change Your PS5s Background?
The PS5 hosts a dynamic theme, which means the background changes according to the tab you’re on or the action you perform.
If you were to select a game, say Assassin’s creed Valhalla, the PS5 background won’t be the generic blue but it would transform into a wallpaper from the game.
But if you are setting up your console or browsing away from games, you will get the generic PS5 dark blue starry background, which seems very simplistic.
Here are a few reasons why we need to change the PS5’s background.
- To personalize the console background
The idea of setting your favorite character as your background display seems very cool and your wallpaper doesn’t necessarily have to be of a videogame. You can add images of people you admire, or quotes that inspire you or even artwork that you created. All in all, it is a nice feature to have.
- Improve visibility of icons and games with a background that will make all tabs easily visible.
As mentioned above, PS5’s theme is dynamic, and it keeps changing depending on the game you select. Which means there is uncertainty that a background can be dark or bright depending on the overall game’s theme. There is lesser visibility when icons and the background colors are identical. - Layout to suit your style
Not everyone is a fan of the default PS5 layout. I don’t know about you guys but I get a bit OCD-ed when the layout is not according to the style I want. Even the slightest misalignment can make a person like me very uncomfortable.
It’s not like Sony has completely restricted the user from customizing their PS5 dashboard. While you can’t change the background, you can still perform some changes on the PS5 home screen. Let’s check them out.
What Can You Change On The Homescreen?
There are a couple of changes that you can do on the Home screen of the PS5 to customize it. Changing the background is not one of them (Thanks Sony!) Let’s see what they are and how you can customize it.
- The control center
The control center can be accessed by pressing the PS button on your controller. By default, it’s flooded with shortcuts, news and icons that you might not even use. You can navigate to the shortcuts you don’t want and press the Option button on your controller to hide the shortcuts. You can move the shortcuts from one place to another, hide or make them available at your command! - Sort and filter games
No gamer is a true gamer if they don’t have a game purchased in an unbelievable sale or a bundle and they have never bothered to install and play it. We’ve all been there and it’s not very nice to have this game sitting on your home screen constantly reminding you of the money you wasted on it. Thanks to the sort and filter option, you can arrange your games in any order you want.
Navigate to the game library and click on the three dots on the left to sort your games with the filter of your choice; Most recent, alphabetically, installed, purchase date, etc.
That answers what you can change on the PS5 home screen, let’s take a dive into the topic of discussion and see whether you can pick a custom background picture!
Can You Pick Your Own Background Picture?
If there’s one feature lacking in the amazing PS5 console it’s the feature to customize the home screen background picture. You cannot choose your own background picture for the home screen or change it from the default background.
The PS5 has a dynamic theme that changes on its own when you select a game or navigate to another tab.
This might seem weird since this feature was available on the PS3 and PS4. Let’s see what you can’t change on the home screen of your PS5.
What Can’t You Change On The Homescreen?
Basically, anything other than choosing what icons on the command center to display and hide and sorting your games according to filters; there are not many changes that you can do on the PS5 home screen.
The user cannot change the background image or tweak much on the home screen. We can hope that this feature might soon come to the PS5 through updates because Sony has always been a fan of surprising its users with amazing console updates.
Let’s see if they have made any announcements for home screen changes.
Will Sony Allow For More Homescreen Changes In The Future?
Sony has made no comments on home screen customization as of yet. But they have a reputation of giving pretty major console updates. For example, the PS4 came with a blu-ray disk player but no support for 3D movies and games which came later on.
After some time, Sony released a software update for the PS4 that allowed users to play 3D movies and games with ease!
This move astonished people around the world because no one expected the PS4 to eventually support 3D movies.
Similarly, we can expect Sony to release home screen customization feature updates in the feature, but there has been no official announcement as of yet.
Although the PS5 is an amazing console, there are still some gaps in making it the best console of all time. Read on and I’ll highlight what things I would like changes in the PS5 console.
Other Points You May Like To Change
The PS5 is a great console for a very nominal price! There are still some things missing and/or annoying in the PS5 console. Here are some things that I’d like otherwise in the PS5 console.
- The ability to change the background image.
- Changing the overall theme of the PS5 with different color combinations and matching icons.
- Changing menu sounds to something other than the default sound pack.
- Allowing users to choose from a different UI, including different transitions when switching from one tab to another.