Your PS5 Will Thank You For Doing This Once A Year

The PlayStation 5 is the latest and greatest home console to come from Sony. While some fans are eagerly awaiting the release of a PS5 Pro model, it's worth remembering that the base model ain't no slouch. Studies have determined that the PS5 outperforms the Xbox Series X in several areas, producing higher frame rates and overall better picture quality in some cases. Some high profile games simply run better on Sony's console, making it a go-to for a huge section of the gaming community (as long as you can find one in stock, of course). But it's not easy for the system to work that hard all of the time, and so responsible console owners will want to make sure they take good care of their PlayStation 5.

As with any console generation, there are plenty of myths and misconceptions when it comes to proper PS5 maintenance. For instance, despite initial hints to the contrary, there's no incorrect way to lay your PlayStation 5. As long as the console is getting proper airflow, you can orient it horizontally or vertically and still enjoy the system's exclusive titles and streaming PS Plus games. You'll still want to make sure that it's nice and clean if you want it to keep running properly, though.

The days of simply blowing into your game cartridges are long gone (and that wasn't even a good idea back in the day, depending on whom you ask). Even so, there are ways to keep your PlayStation 5 clean and in perfect working order. If you follow these steps at least once a year, you'll likely find that your PlayStation 5 will last a good while longer.

PlayStation consoles can get pretty dusty on the inside, which can cause their fans to work overtime and can even make the systems overheat. If it ever sounds like your PS5's fan is spinning as hard as it possibly can, now would be a great time to give it a nice cleaning (of course, it's also better to do this before your console starts struggling). You've probably got a good bit of dust buildup inside the unit.

Make sure your PS5 is turned off and unplugged, lay the system down horizontally, then pop that bad boy open to take a look at the fan. Find the corner of the PlayStation 5 that has the PS logo stamped onto it. Gently pull up and back on that top corner to pop the faceplates off safely. Next, use a vacuum cleaner to suck the dust out of the fan and around the edges of the interior. You can also use a can of compressed air to get rid of any remaining bits of dust and debris. Just be sure not to tilt the can or put it right up against the unit, as that may accidentally blast unwanted moisture into the PS5.

After that, just pop the faceplate back on, set your PS5 back in your preferred spot, and then plug in the power cord, HDMI cable, and controller. Now that the interior of the system is physically clean, it's time to declutter the console's data.

All of that work cleaning the system and the controller will be for naught if you can't run games properly. That's why every PS5 user should rebuild the console's internal database once a year. That may sound daunting for gamers who are less tech-savvy, but it's actually a very simple and straightforward process. 

You'll need to boot the system into Safe Mode in order to complete this next step. To do this, press and hold the console's power button until you hear two beeps. Make sure to plug in your DualSense, since Safe Mode doesn't allow your controller to operate wirelessly. The Safe Mode menu will come up, at which point you can click on "Clear Cache and Rebuild Database." Selecting "Rebuild Database" will run a quick scan of all of the data on your console, then build a new database to store all of your content. After doing this, you may notice that load times will be significantly reduced and your system will be more responsive overall. Even outside of regular maintenance, it's recommended that you rebuild the database if you find your console is behaving strangely or you see icons on your home screen for uninstalled programs that shouldn't be there.

And there you have it! It remains to be seen just how long this current console generation will continue, but PS5 fans will be able to squeeze more life out of their preferred system by following these steps at least once a year.