My PS5 has been crashing a lot lately!
A few days ago, while I was just about to vanquish the Old One in Demon Souls and bring peace to the Boletaria Kingdom, something that I had been trying to do for a long time, my PS5 crashed.
This ticked me off, and I decided to do some research on what was causing the PS5 to crash and how to sort it out.
I grabbed my laptop and on searching PS5 crashing issues on Google, I found that I wasn’t the only one having this problem.
There were many complaints online about the PS5 being out of stock, and for those who were lucky enough to get the next-gen machine a large number like me were getting frustrated by the console’s crashing, software malfunctions, and loud disc drive.
On researching further, this is what I discovered about how to solve the PS5 crashing problem.
What should you do if your PS5 crashes? There are several things you can do after your PS5 has crashed to fix the problem. Here are the main steps to take:
- Restart your PS5
- Disable PS5 Rest Mode
- Rebuild the PS5 Database
- Uninstall and reinstall a particular game
- Ensure your PS5 is not overheating
- Confirm you have the latest PS5 system software
- Reset your PS5
- Contact PlayStation support
Now that you have the short answer on what you should do when your PS5 crashes, read on to know why the PS5 crashes.
I’ll also share a more detailed guide on what to do when your PlayStation 5 crashes.
Why does your PS5 crash?
Some of the common reasons that would cause your PlayStation 5 to crash are:
Putting the PS5 in rest mode
Rest mode is a feature similar to a PC’s sleep mode.
It keeps your PS5 on but in low power mode while you’re away, allowing you to immediately awaken your console and resume gaming from where you left off after a break.
While it is a good feature, it is the most common reason many PS5 owners say is causing their console to malfunction.
One PS5 owner tweeted this about their console crashing “Seems like putting a PS5 into rest mode while Spider-Man Remastered is running crashes the whole system, forcing that “repair your external drive” process when you start back up. At least that’s how it’s been for me the few times I’ve done that today. Also, every time I’ve had the PS5 go through that external drive repair sequence, it ends up on a black screen”.
After this tweet, many other gamers came out to say they had experienced a similar problem with the PS5 rest mode when playing Demon’s Souls, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and a lot more games.
This prompted PlayStation to say they’ll look into the rest mode feature causing the PS5 to crash.
However, as I write this article, PS5 rest mode still has crashing issues.
Overheating
Your PS5 can overheat when rendering graphically demanding games or due to poor ventilation around the area the console is placed and a build-up of dust in the PS5 air vents.
You can tell if your PlayStation 5 is overheating if its casing becomes extremely hot, the cooling system constantly runs while making a loud noise, hot air comes out of the air vents, and your game keeps dragging,
When the console overheats, just like any other electronic device, it tends to restart, freeze, or crash.
You can stop your PS5 from overheating by placing it in an open, dust-free, cool, and clean area.
Regularly cleaning the console air vents can also prevent the build-up of dust.
A damaged power cord
If the PS5 power cord is broken the console will not receive a stable power supply which could cause it to crash.
Outdate PlayStation 5 firmware
If your PS5 firmware is not the latest version, your console could crash when running graphically demanding games.
Random game bugs
The files of the PS5 game you’re playing could be corrupted or damaged leading to the PS5 crashing.
How to fix the PS5 crashing problem
Your console crashing as you’re enjoying your favorite PlayStation 5 game is annoying.
Luckily, you can quickly fix this issue and resume your gaming in no time.
Below I give details on quick fixes you can try when your PS5 crashes.
Restart the PS5
The first time your PS5 crashes, restart it.
Restarting the console can resolve any issues that are affecting your PS5’s performance.
You might have to do a hard reboot. Here is how to do that:
- Press and hold the PS5 power button until you hear two beeps, which will indicate the console is shutting down.
- Once off, disconnect the PS5 power cord from the power outlet.
- Check if the power cord is damaged. Remember, a faulty power cord can cause the PS5 to crash. If the cord is damaged, you need to get a new one. You can get a replacement PS5 AC power cord from amazon.
- If your power cord is OK, plug it back into the power outlet after a minute and turn on the PS5.
If the PS5 continues to crash, move on to other fixes.
Update Your PS5’s system software
An old system software could be the reason your PS5 is behaving abnormally.
Your console automatically updates its system software, but this may not happen if the console is not connected to the internet or system auto-update is turned off.
To check if you have the latest PS5 firmware:
- Click on the PS5 Settings menu on the console’s Home screen.
- Select System, then click on System Software Update and Settings.
- Choose Update System Software and Update Using Internet next.
If there is a system software update, it will be installed, and your console should work normally.
Disable rest mode
The PS5 is set to rest mode, which is the major cause of random crashes, by default.
If you experience frequent PS5 crashes, you need to disable rest mode. Here are the steps to do that.
- On your PlayStation 5 Home screen, go to the Settings menu located at the top right corner of your screen.
- Next, click on System and then select Power Saving.
- Click on Set Time Until PS5 Enters Rest Mode.
- In the drop-down menu, choose Don’t Put in Rest Mode for both While Playing Games and During Media Playback.
This will permanently disable rest mode, and you should not encounter any issue while picking up a game from where you left off.
- Go back to the PS5 Home screen and reboot your console.
If your PS5 continues to crash, try another solution.
Delete and reinstall certain games
Play several games on your PS5 to determine if the console crashing occurs while playing all games or particular games.
If you find the PlayStation 5 only malfunctions when playing one game, then that game has a problem.
To try to solve the issue with the game, delete and reinstall it. Follow these steps to do that.
- Go to Settings from the PS5 Home screen.
- Scroll down and click on Storage and then Games and Apps. You’ll see a list of all PlayStation games you have installed.
- Check the box to the left of the icon and title of the game you want to delete.
- Press the Delete button at the bottom right corner of the screen.
A message will appear asking you if you want to delete the game. Click yes to confirm, and the game will be deleted.
Ensure your PS5 stays on until the progress bar on your screen shows the deletion process is done.
- To reinstall the game, go back to the PlayStation 5 Home screen, select Game Library, then choose the game you want to reinstall.
Once the game completes downloading, play it for a while to see if the PS5 crashing issue is sorted. If not, try the next PS5 crashing fix.
Rebuild PS5 database
After disabling rest mode, my PlayStation 5 continued to crash.
I later learned that if your PS5 has crashed once while in rest mode, it is likely to continue doing so even after disabling this feature.
Rebuilding your PS5 database could permanently solve the crashing issue.
This fix scans your PS5 for corrupted game data and rectifies or deletes them.
It is recommended by PlayStation and game developers to solve crashing issues experienced while gaming.
Here is how to rebuild your PS5 database.
- Turn off your PS5 by pressing the power button.
- Once the console is off, press and hold the power button again for three to five seconds until you hear two beeps. This will start the PS5 in Safe Mode.
- Connect your PS5 DualSense Controller to the console using a USB cable, then press the PS5 button.
- On the menu that appears on your screen, scroll down and select Rebuild Database and follow the prompts.
The process of rebuilding your database will take some time.
So, be patient and don’t turn off your console during the process.
Once the PS5 completes rebuilding the database it will start again.
Immediately it’s back up, go to Settings and disable rest mode even if you did it previously.
Rebuilding the database might turn on this feature.
Hopefully, after this, your crashing problem will be fixed because rebuilding your database eliminates any issues created when the PS5 crashed.
Note this process won’t delete any of your saved data.
Reset your PS5
If all the above fixes fail to resolve your PS5 crashing problem, it might be time to take a more drastic measure.
Resetting your PS5 will delete all games, game data, and apps. Your console will be like it’s brand new with nothing on it.
So, before you rest your PS5 ensure you backup your important data on the cloud or an external drive.
To reset your console, do the following:
- Turn off your PS5.
- Press and hold the power button until you hear two beeps.
- Connect your DualSense Controller to the PS5 via USB cable, then press the PS5 button.
- On the Safe Mode menu, click on Reset PS5, then follow the on-screen instructions.
If resetting your PS5 doesn’t stop it from crashing there is only one more thing to do.
Contact PlayStation support
In most situations, the fixes I have recommended above should work.
If they don’t work for you, then you need to contact PS5 customer support.
I have heard of situations where some games were offered replacements for consoles that crashed.
So, you could try your luck. You might be able to get a new PS5 free of problems.
Alternatively, if you bought your console at a physical store, you could take it back for repair.
This option, however, is unlikely to get you a replacement because of the current shortage of PS5’s.
A refund if the console can’t be fixed will be good enough though.