What’s funny is the fact that Sony put a safe mode option in the PS4, but Microsoft does not have a comparable option for the Xbox one, even though everyone knows about safe mode from Windows. You can boot the Xbox one in a low resolution mode, but that’s about it. There is no dedicated diagnostic mode for fixing problems.
Booting the PS4 into Safe Mode
Booting the PS4 into Safe Mode
To boot your PS4 into safe mode, just follow the steps below:
Let’s go through the different options to see what they do and what data on your system gets affected.
Troubleshoot PS4 Blinking Blue Light
Troubleshoot PS4 Blinking Blue Light
If your PS4 is not powering on correctly or turns off randomly and gets stuck with a blinking blue light instead of turning white, then you could have a problem with a piece of hardware. Here are a couple of things you can try:
There is apparently one screw that holds the whole thing down, so if that’s loose, then the hard drive may not be connected properly. You can remove that screw and take out the HDD and put it back in.
PS4 Blinking Red Light
PS4 Blinking Red Light
If you’re getting a blinking red light instead of the normal white light, this indicates the PS4 is overheating. The system is not getting enough airflow or it’s simply too hot in the current location. Try moving the system to a more open space if it happens to be stuffed inside something. Another thing you can try is to stand it upright rather than laying it flat. Seems like the Xbox One fixed this infamous problem they had on the Xbox 360, but it’s not eradicated on the PS4 just yet.
PS4 Software Update Problems
PS4 Software Update Problems
If you try to update your PS4 system software and something goes wrong, pretty much your only option is to erase everything and start from scratch. If you installed an update, but restart the PS4 and are prompted to reinstall the same update like it never got installed the first time, you’ll have to reinitialize the PS4. You can do that by going into safe mode, choosing option 4 and then when the console restarts, choosing option 6. You’ll have to set it up all over again.
PS4 Audio Problems
PS4 Audio Problems
One of the more prominent problems with the PS4 has to do with audio output. The PS4 can output audio in digital or optical format. By default, it’ll automatically detect and optimize the audio based on the connections. If you have an HDMI cable connected, audio will be sent over HDMI. Problems start to occur when you have a complex setup or a system that doesn’t support a certain type of audio. The first issue is that you won’t get any sound if you connect your PS4 to a device using HDMI that doesn’t support HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection). Actually, if it doesn’t support that, you won’t get audio or video, so try connecting to another device or directly to your TV if you’re going through a receiver. Secondly, you might need to change the audio output settings. Go to Sound and Screen and then Audio Output Settings.
Here, make sure Output to Headphones is greyed out and try changing the Primary Output Port between Digital Out (Optical) and HDMI. If you have an audio splitter and your center channel is not outputting any audio, you should set the output to Digital Out (Optical), uncheck DDS5.1, ACC, and DTS5.1 and then check Linear PCM under Audio Format. Now when you are playing a movie that supports DTS5.1 or DDS 5.1, it will only detect Linear PCM stereo output. To fix that problem, you have to press Options when the disc is playing, go to Settings and chose Bitstream (Direct) under Audio Format.
PS4 Console Freezing
PS4 Console Freezing
If your PS4 console freezes a lot, there are a few things you can do. Firstly, you should download any update to the system software as soon as possible from the Playstation Network. If you’re experiencing the freezes when trying to download the updates themselves, then you should download them directly from the Sony website, copy them to a USB drive and install them directly by connecting the USB drive to your console. It’s a bit of a tedious process, but hopefully when you are running the latest version of the system software, you won’t have to manually do it again. If you’ve run into more issues with your PS4, post a comment here and we’ll try to help. Enjoy!
