Sony Playstation 4 Account
Reset PS4 to factory settings
Sometimes you just need to start from scratch, even on a gaming console. If you are unsuccessfully trying to fix a bug, are having problems beta testing the latest software update, or you bought a Playstation 4 Pro and want to easily sell a previous version of the console, you may need to reset your PS4 to factory settings. It will quickly return the console to the state “from the box”.
A factory reset formats the console’s hard drive and may even remove its system software. There are two ways to reset your PS4: from the main menu if you have access to the PlayStation 4 Control Panel, or in Safe Mode if your console is having problems loading.
Nevertheless, resetting PS4 to factory settings is a crucial step. It deletes all data from the internal hard drive, so you need to take care of it in advance and copy it to another medium.
Remember, once you confirm the reset, there will be no refund. To be able to return all data in the future, you can make a backup on an external device or in the cloud (if you have a PlayStation Plus account).
How to Factory Reset PS4 from Safe Mode
Step 1. Power off your console completely. Do not set it to Rest Mode. You need to turn off the power completely so you can boot into Safe Mode.
Step 2. Hold the power button until you hear two beeps. You need to physically press the power button on the console, not trigger it with a controller. Hold it for about eight seconds. PS4 will emit a beep as soon as you touch the button and second before booting into safe mode. The screen will say Safe Mode in large letters at the top.
Step 3. Select the desired reset option. Just like in the Settings menu, in Safe Mode, you can select Restore Defaults to reset all PS4 settings to their original settings, but keep your data. You can also select Initialize PS4 System, which will erase everything completely except the operating system. The last option is Initialize PS4 (reinstall system software), which is an even more complete factory reset and involves reinstalling the console operating system.
Step 4. If you have no apparent software problems, select 6. Initialize the PS4 system, this will format the hard drive and reset the software to factory defaults. Everything here is the same as the option above (available in the Settings menu). You will be able to choose between fast and full initializations.
How to reset PS4 from control panel
Step 1. Log into your PS4 and go to the settings menu.
Step 2. Deactivate your PlayStation account. If you plan to sell your console or switch to a new one, you need to deactivate your account on your current console. To do this, you need to disable the parameter “Activate as your primary PS4 system”. This option allows you to run downloaded games offline, identifying this PS4 as yours. If you skip this step, you will face many problems when logging into your account on a new console.
Go to Settings and find the PlayStation Network / Account Management option. Go to Activate as your primary PS4 system. Your PS4 may already be activated. If so, the Activate option will be grayed out, and Deactivate will be the only item available for selection. If you want to be absolutely sure that your account is deactivated, you can select Activate again and then Deactivate again. You need to make sure 100% that your account is not activated before Hard Reset PS4.
Step 3. Log in to your profile on the set-top box. It is not the same as the PS4 account. Then go back to the Settings menu.
Step 4. At the bottom of the Settings menu, find Initialization. Here you will see two options: Restore Default Settings and Initialize PS4 System. The first option will clear the saved settings data and return the PS4 to factory settings, but it will not affect the hard drive.
The second option is a full wipe, which will format the hard drive with all data, including downloaded games, saves, and anything you added to the console after purchase. After that, the prefix will really be like “from the box”.
Step 5. Select Full on the Initialize screen. Please note that this will take a long time, perhaps a couple of hours or more.
Factory Reset PS4 from Safe Mode with OS Flashing
This is an even larger reset than the previous full initialization, which removes all console software. If you choose this option you will need to reinstall the system software from another device. If you have problems with the OS, you need to select item 7. Initialize the PS4 system (reinstall the system software), but before that you need to do a few more important steps.
Step 1. Go to your computer and go to the official PS4 firmware page. There you can download the latest firmware to reinstall it on your console. To transfer the update to your PS4, you will also need an external hard drive with a USB cable or USB stick.
Step 2. Get an external hard drive or USB drive with at least 350MB of free space.
Step 3. Create a new folder on your USB device and name it PS4. Inside this folder, create a folder and name it UPDATE (all caps). Copy the firmware file from your computer to the UPDATE folder.
Step 4. Boot your PS4 into Safe Mode. Do this as described above by completely shutting down your PS4 and then holding the power button until it beeps twice and boots into Safe Mode.
Step 5. Select 7. Initialize PS4 system (reinstall system software) and simply follow the instructions on the screen. The console will erase all data, including the system software, and then require you to plug in the USB device you saved the update to in order to reinstall the OS. When this is done, your PS4 will be reset to factory settings along with the updated factory firmware.