Sony’s PS4 is a gaming marvel and is an undisputed success around the world. With millions of units sold over the years, the PS4 has proven to be a robust gaming console. No electronics is perfect though and some users may experience some problems with the device. In this troubleshooting article, we’ll show you how to fix a PS4 that keeps restarting.
Causes why your PS4 keeps restarting
You’ll have to check a number of factors to know the cause of random reboot issue on your PS4.
Random software bugs.
Your PS4 may restart on its own because of minor power glitch or due to a temporary bug in the software. As far as we know, there’s no persistent bug that Sony has identified for years that might cause random restart issue. If your PS4 suddenly restarts by itself, it can be caused by a random bug or by other factors that we will discuss below.
There’s no direct way to know if the cause of your problem comes from a random bug though and you’ll have to cover everything that we mention in this guide in order to assume that is the case. If you’ve considered all the possible causes and you still can’t figure out the real reason, that’s the time that you can think that the problem might be due to a peculiar or unknown problem with the system.
Game crashes.
If your PS4 restarts only when there’s a game disc in the optical drive, or when you’re gaming, your problem may be caused by a programming issue with that game. Some games may crash a PS4 to the Home screen, or may partially interfere with the software so as to restart it.
Too much internal heat.
Overheating can be a reason why your PS4 keeps on restarting by itself. This can happen if the console gets very little or no ventilation at all. Try touching the top of your console to see if it’s uncomfortably warm. If it’s too hot to touch, it may be overheating.
By design, your console will reboot itself or even shut down if internal temperature reaches a certain level. This is to prevent damaging the system from too much heat.
Poor software coding.
Some new game or software updates may come in conflict with the rest of the system causing this type of issue. If your console starting restarting randomly following an update, you may need to factory reset it to fix the problem.
Hardware malfunction.
In some rare cases a PS4 randomly reboots because of hardware defect or a certain hardware component has degraded to a certain point. For example, a damaged hard drive may cause the system to crash persistently.
In other cases, a damaged power cable or power port may not provide the necessary power input for the system to work properly. This can lead to the console shutting down prematurely or to PS4 won’t-turn-on issue.
A more serious hardware malfunction that a few PS4 users encounter though is an APU failure. APU stands for Accelerated Processing Unit. The APU is unified unit within your console that consists of the CPU (central processing unit) and GPU (graphics processing unit). There had been anecdotal reports of a few users in the past with APU issues due to poor soldering but it has never been proven and the issue is not that widespread at all.
Fixing a PS4 that keeps on randomly restarting
Random reboot on the PS4 can be fixed on a user’s level. Learn what you need to do to fix it below.
Power cycle the console.
To check if the issue you’re experiencing is temporary, make sure to reboot the console by shutting it all the way down. Turn it off by pressing and holding the Power button in front. Then, disconnect the power cable from the back for a few minutes. Afterwards, connect everything back in and see if the problem returns.
Check or replace the power cord.
Make sure that the power cable that you’re using is intact and there’s no visible sign of damage to its insulator. Visit your local Sony store if you need to replace the power cord.Also, be sure to do a quick look at the power port on the back of the console. If there’s dirt, lint, or foreign object inside, the power cable may be blocked when you insert it. Try to clean off the port if you need to.
Check for overheating.
If your PS4 is too hot when you touch it, it may be overheating. In such a case, make sure to turn off the console and let it cool down for at least 1 hour after turning it off.Then, before you turn the console on again, be sure to place it in a well-ventilated area. Do not put any object on top of it and make sure that air can freely circulate around the sides and at the bottom part. Also, position your console away from direct heat sources like oven, furnace, or windows with access to direct sunlight. If your PS4 continues to overheat despite having good ventilation, it may have a hardware issue.
Install software and game updates.
In order to lower the chances of coding issues, make sure that you install updates for your games and software. You must do this especially if your console is not connected to the internet most of the time.
Return software to its defaults (Factory reset).
If the cause of the problem is software-related, doing a factory reset might help. In order to factory reset your PS4, you’ll have to boot it to safe mode first. Below are steps to do:-Turn off your PS4 by pressing the Power button in front. It should blink a few times before the console powers down.-Press and hold the Power button until you hear two beeps: one when you first press and another seven seconds later.-Connect your DualShock 4 controller with the USB cable.-Press the PS button on the center of the controller.If your PS4 console boots to Safe Mode successfully using the steps above, this means that the cause of the problem is most likely software in nature. Make sure that you check for updates to fix any possible software issue.You can also try to use the Initialize PS4 or Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software) options to fix possible software problems in this mode.
Verify hard drive is working.
Knowing if a PS4 hard drive is causing this problem is not for beginners. Since there’s no software tool in your PS4 to help you diagnose the condition of the hard drive, you’ll have to disconnect it and reboot the console without it. This is one of the effective ways to know if there’s a hard drive issue. Removing the hard drive from your PS4 will void the standard warranty of your console so you don’t want to do this troubleshooting step if your console is still within the warranty period.To check if there’s a hard drive issue, you can physically remove it from the console. You can check out Youtube videos on how to do this. Once you have removed the hard drive, try booting the console normally and see if it works. If it turns on without a problem, reinstall the hard drive and check for the problem again.
Get help from Sony: Repair.
If your PS4 still keeps restarting after a factory reset and you don’t want to mess with the hardware, consider sending it in for repair. Visit your local Sony store and see if they can help you get your console repaired. You can also visit their official PlayStation Support page for help.
Suggested readings:
- How To Fix Can’t Hear Friends After Joining A Party On Xbox One
- How To Fix Minecraft Can’t Join World Error On Xbox One
- How To Fix PS4 Internet Connection Problems | Won’t Connect
- How To Test Internet Connection On PS4 | Speed Test, NAT, PSN Status
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