I remember the good old days of playing games.
You didn’t have to wait for games to install or for day zero patches to trickle through the internet. And games even came with a full-color manual so you could read it on the way home. Yes, full color. You read that right.
You could slip the cartridge straight into your console of choice (SNES!) and it worked instantly. (ok, I remember going through a phase thinking blowing on the end would magically fix it and remove all the dust. But now I’m sure I was just blowing spit onto it.)
To turn the console on or off you just pressed one button or slide switch. Imagine that, a button that could turn it on and off.
Nowadays a console is just a PC: it has to shut down and boot up.
But what if you need to quickly turn your PlayStation 5 off because you are in a rush? What are the steps to power down the PS5?
How to turn off the PS5? To turn off the PS5 you need to tap the PlayStation-shaped button under the touchpad on the controller. This will bring up the ‘Cards Menu’. Press down to select the quick options. The power icon is the last one on the right. Which is the tenth icon from the left. When selected and clicked, it will bring up three power options. Choose the middle option which says, ‘Turn PS5 Off’.
The PlayStation 5 is a different beast to the early 8 or 16bit gaming days. Games are no longer on cartridges that used to function as their own little hard drives with the game on them.
Games are now installed on the PS5 hard drive. The blu ray is just a way to transfer the data. Often not even having a fully playable game on the disk.
With the added complexity of a more powerful machine, turning the console off is no longer child’s play. Read on to discover the easy way to turn off the PS5, or save power with other modes.
Different ways to turn your PlayStation 5 off
Getting to know a new console is an exciting part of any new generation. Playing around with all the menus and settings to see what is new can be exciting and frustrating at the same time.
‘Why can’t it just work the way it did before?’, well it does on the Xbox Series X and S.
Not so with the PS5.
On the PlayStation 5, Sony has added a new ‘card menu’ that it hopes will change the way we game in the future. But this redesign came at a price at complicates the situation:
There’s an extra step to get to your settings.
What if you just want to quickly turn the PS5 off? For example, you might be leaving the house for a few days and you’d like to, like any responsible homeowner, turn off all the electronic devices in your house.
Unfortunately, turning off the PS5 is not as easy as it could be. The PS5 can start to play mind games with you:
PS5: Are you ready to play some games?
Me: Hi Playstation. Will, you shut down for me? Thanks.
PS5: Oh come on play some games. You know you want to.
Me: No seriously. I just need you to shut down. I’m going away on holi…
PS5: Ok, ok. Are you sure you want to turn me off completely though?
Me: Yes, I’m sure.
PS5: Are you sure I can’t tickle your fancy with rest mode?
Me: No. Just shut down. Please.
PS5: But, if you put me into rest mode I can do loads of cool things. I can download updates, charge your controller. Surely you want your controller charged? What kind of gamer wouldn’t want their controller charged?
Me: A gamer going on holiday?
PS5: Yeah… But your controller will be charged when you get back. And all your games will be up-to-date.
Me: Yeah, charging the controller sounds good. But…
PS5: Great stuff! Rest mode it is! Bye Bye! Enjoy your holiday!
Me: No, don’t go into rest mode! Ahhh! I was trying to turn you off not put you into rest mode!
Me arguing with my Playstation 5.
It’s almost like the PS5 is mocking me. I’m an adult: why does modern technology have to keep asking me if I’m sure?
Like the PS4, the PlayStation 5 has a few different modes it can be in when it’s not on. This can range from good old-fashion ‘off’ to a ‘rest mode’ and even a ‘restart’.
This is how to select the different modes using the controller. Starting with how you turn your PlayStation 5 off.
How to turn the PS5 off (completely)
The main way to turn off the PlayStation 5 is to use the DualSense controller. You first need to bring up the ‘Cards Menu’, this is done by tapping the PlayStation button on the DualSense controller.
On the PS4 it was more of a round button shape, with the PlayStation 5 you might not even realize that it is a pressable button. It is a hard plastic button but it looks more like a piece of branding.
Make sure the controller you are using to turn the PS5 off is on. It will have color light around the touchpad. There will also be a white light to signify which controller is which player. You can use DualSense to turn it off. If the controller has turned itself off you can turn it back on by pressing and holding the PlayStation button, until you hear a beep.
You might need to do this because the DualSense controller will turn itself off if unused for a defined period of time.
So now you have a working controller you need to ‘tap’ not hold the PlayStation logo button on the DualSense controller. This will make a beep type of sound to let you know that it has worked. You can do this from any screen, even from within a game. This will bring up the ‘Cards Menu’, this is an overlay menu, so will appear on top of whatever screen you were on. The Cards menu is made up of lots of squares that offer you different activities.
Press down on the analog or d-pad (the arrow-like buttons on the left of the controller) to navigate to the quick menu bar. The bar will contain rows of icons, which will give you quick access to the most used settings for the PlayStation 5.
Move to the option on the far right, which has the power symbol. It is the icon just to the left of the text that says, ‘Customise’. The icons will have text printed above the icon as you pass over them. You want the one that says ‘Power’. Select it by pressing the ‘X’ button.
This will bring up a pop-up, showing three different power options.
Select the middle option ‘Turn Off PS5’ and it also has a circle icon next to it. Select it by pressing the ‘X’ button.
If at any point you go into the wrong menu, you can press the ‘O’ (circle button) to go back. Think of it as a back button.
Don’t worry about turning the controller off, it will automatically turn off after it has detected the PlayStation has finished its shutdown procedure, (this may take a minute).
You will get a warning telling you not to unplug the console while the indicator light is still blinking. This can take up to 10 seconds. Wait until the white light has turned off Completely.
Better safe than sorry.
Just to quickly recap.
- Tap, not hold, the PlayStation logo button on the DualSense controller.
- Press down to navigate to the quick menu bar.
- Move to the option on the far right, which has the power symbol.
- This will bring up the power options.
- Select the middle option ‘Turn Off PS5’ it also has a circle icon next to it.
Now your PlayStation will start its shut down procedure.
Rest Mode
This is the mode you are going to be using 95% of the time. Think of rest mode as a ‘Sleep Mode’. It will allow your PlayStation 5 to do some time-consuming things for you such as:
- Download updates
- Charge the DuleSense controller
- Allow for a quicker start-up
To put the PS5 into rest mode follow the same steps as the turning off, but instead of selecting the ‘Turn Off PS5’ in the power options. Choose the ‘Enter Rest Mode’ option.
You can tell when the PS5 has successfully entered rest mode when you see the orange blinking light. This is to let you know that the PlayStation is still on and not to unplug it. This could corrupt any data it is being downloaded or uploading, such as game saves.
Unless you know what you are doing you might have thought you had turned off the PS5. Strangely The ‘Enter Rest Mode’ option has the ‘Power’ icon next to it. It is even at the top of the list of options. Meaning that there are fewer steps for you to use this option.
There are some great benefits from using rest mode, the most unfull ones are the ability to charge the controller, the ability to download updates, and even sync your saves if you have PlayStation Plus.
You can wake your PS5 up by tapping the PlayStation button on a DualSense.
Restart
I’m not even sure why this is even here? I can’t think of a time in the past century when I have restarted an electronic device that hasn’t frozen.
But if for some reason you need to restart your PS5. You need to follow the steps in ‘how to turn off the PS5’ until you get to the power option. And here you will select the ‘Restart PS5’ option, this has a sun icon next to it.
Restarting the PS5 will close all games and apps, you will also lose any unsaved game data. So it’s best to make sure you are not in the middle of hacking your way into a ‘Night City Megacorp’ or leading a ‘Viking battalion’ on a raid across the English countryside.
Restarting your PS5 requires the most button presses because it’s at the bottom of the power menu. So you will not likely be restarting by accidentally sitting on the controller.
How to turn off PS5 with the Media Remote
The Media Remote is an old fashioned tv style controller. A lot of people use their PlayStation as a media device, having a remote makes non-gamers feel more comfortable. My mum knows how to use one, but she wouldn’t even touch the DualSense to watch Netflix, in case she broke it.
The ‘Media Remote’ gives off ‘Wii Remote’ vibes. Unlike the Nintendo controller, the PlayStation Media Remote can not be used to play games. This is because it doesn’t have the full set of PlayStation controller buttons. It has enough to get you by and do the basics. You have enough buttons to interact with the programs on Netflix’s ‘choose your own adventure’ style programming like ‘Bandersnatch’ or ‘Minecraft Story’, and that’s it.
Turning off the PlayStation 5 using the ‘Media Remote’ is the same as using a DualSense. The only difference is that the PlayStation button is at the very bottom of the remote. Instead of using the ‘X’ button as ‘enter; you use the white circle button in the middle of the arrow keys.
How to turn off PS5 without a controller
Did you know you can still turn on or off your PlayStation 5 without a controller? I can only ever recall ever doing it on the PS4 when my controller would die. And always at an inconvenient time.
You can turn the PlayStation 5 off regardless of the model by holding the power button on the machine. The power button is located on the very bottom of the front panel, if vertical (Standing up). It will have a tiny raised power icon accompanying it. If you have your PS5 setup horizontal or laying down, then the button will be on the very left.
If you have the digital edition then there is only one button because there is no disk drive button.
Holding it until you hear a different amount of beats put the console into different modes of off.
Hold the power button until you hear one beep to enter rest mode, then remember to let go so you don’t trigger a different mode.
To power off completely press and hold onto the power button until you hear two beeps. The beeps will be about 2 to 3 seconds apart. Then let go and the PlayStation 5 will shut down.
Count the beeps
To recap hold the power button until you hear the beeps corresponding to the mode you want.
- One beep = Rest mode
- Two beeps = Power off
Conclusion
There are multiple ways to turn off the PlayStation 5, using all the different input devices. From the DualSense to the Media Remote and even turning the PS5 off on the Machine itself.
Once you get used to where the new menus are, it will become second nature. You should go slow the first couple of times until you have it assigned to muscle memory.
Also, keep an eye out for any updates to the OS. Sony will more than likely be making small changes now that the PS5 is out in the wild.
When you are turning the PlayStation 5 off to transport just make sure that the console turns completely off.
What’s Next
Can I turn the PS5 off with a PS4 controller? Yes, but you can’t use the DualShock 4 to play PlayStation 5 games. So if you are in the middle of a PS5 game then you can’t turn the PS5 off with the DualShock 4. If you are playing a PS4 game on the PS5 then you can.
How do I turn On the PS5? If the DualSense is paired with the PS5, you can press the PlayStation button on the DualSense. The second option is to turn on the PS5 manually by pressing the power button. This will log you on to the login screen. So you will still need to turn a controller on to do anything.