Why PS5's Rest Mode Has Us Worried
With the news that Your PlayStation 5 games are about to look even better, the ongoing anti-scalper re-stock efforts at various retailers, and Sony making an exciting claim about PS5 stock, it might finally be time to pick up the current-gen console. The PS5 has built up an impressive library of exclusives since its release and only has more high-profile upcoming titles to look forward to this year, making it a strong contender for those who haven't picked up a current-gen console as of yet.
However, there's one dark shadow looming over the PS5: the rest mode bug, a problem where the console shuts off overnight or during long periods in rest mode and needs to be manually restarted. A function that's become a staple of gaming consoles for its convenience has quickly become a source of crashes, bricking, and general hardware headaches for many PS5 owners everywhere. The worst part is that the bug manifests in different forms with equally various consequences and possible solutions, making it even harder to fix without sending the entire machine to Sony for a repair. Some users report that not even the official repair service could fix the issue.
The unknown and unpredictable nature of this potentially catastrophic bug is more than enough to give potential PS5 customers pause, and with no official word from Sony on the issue, it doesn't seem like it'll be fully resolved anytime soon.
A major drawback
Reddit user blakepro on r/PS5 has compiled a helpful thread on what's currently known from user testimonies: So far, the most common form of the bug seems to be the overnight power-off. The best-case scenario on powering back up manually is that it performs the storage repair just fine and you can proceed as usual. Worst case? The shut-off caused by the bug has corrupted your data, and you'll need to do a factory reset to repair the corrupted system files with no hope of recovering anything that wasn't synced to the cloud.
Some users say installing the latest firmware update has solved the issue, while others have detailed the elaborate solutions they've had to resort to: unplugging every USB device, switching HDMI cords, disabling HDMI Device Link, setting "Supply Power to USB Ports" to either 'always' or 'never,' and more.
Another other common variant is the 'Green Screen of Death,' an error where the system simply goes unresponsive on a green screen. This seems to happen when trying to put the console into rest mode while running a resource-intensive game — or waking it after doing so — and the thread recommends that users wait two minutes after fully closing a game before going into rest mode.
So far, the only fool-proof solution is to simply disable rest mode entirely. Here's hoping Sony will look into the matter sooner than later so that PS5 users won't have to go without a pretty essential quality of life feature.