The North American Launch of Sony’s Playstation 4 hasn’t gone as smoothly as perhaps Sony would have liked. Amazon and the internet as a whole have been flooded with comments that PS4’s have appeared DOA.
The issue is that the system is supposed to show a white light, but instead the light simply flashes blue. Hundreds of 1 star reviews have popped up on big retailers, such as Amazon from angry and disappointed customers. But Sony of course aren’t just sitting about idly and doing nothing.
Last week, Sony started to investigate the PS4’s issues, and at the time there were about half a dozen reported incidents. After a few days, they then were confident in stating that only 0.4 percent of the PS4’s that were shipped to customers were reported to be having any troubles. Considering that within the space of just a day (quite literally, 24 hours) the PS4 had gained a record of being the fastest selling console in history, at 1 million units – it’s not a bad number.
Sony have now put out a post which lists a potential set of four issues with the PS4 – and ways to fix them. Sony’s troubleshooting advice – link
The symptoms are the follow – Blue light which flashes on the console, no video or audio, then the console turns off.
It boils down to the following:
- The PS4’s power supply
- Issues with the hard drive of the Playstation 4
- Issues with some other part of the PS4
- Or that your Television doesn’t like the PS4 (or vice-versa).
So how do you fix PS4 Blue light of Death?
Sony suggest updating the PS4’s firmware, likely by using a USB stick. This has fixed the issue for a few PS4 owners. Re seat the hard drive of the console, by removing it and then plopping it back in. Finally, you could try and unplug your console and check the HDMI port to ensure that it isn’t damaged (the same with the HDMI cable). There have been reports that a small piece of metal at the bottom of the HDMI ports on a few PS4’s are “raised up” and basically tearing off pins. Obviously, we can’t rule out user error at this point – but as seems to be the advice, double check before you plug in your cable.
Sony also suggest performing a hard reset on the syste, forcing it into 480P safe mode. This will allow you to perform a system update – hopefully.
There has been suggestions (not from Sony, but from internet users) that non-Sony HDMI cables can also be the cause of some of the issues. So it could well be worth trying a few different cables out too. They might work on say your PS3 fine, but for some reason don’t like the PS4 that much.
Also, Sony’s support staff must be pretty damn swamped – they’re highly suggesting that you don’t call them, and instead use the live chat.
To start the PS4 in Safe mode – https://support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5044
Starting the PS4 in Safe Mode
- Turn off the PlayStation 4 by pressing the power button on the front panel. The power indicator will blink for a few moments before turning off.
- Once the PlayStation 4 is off, press and hold the power button. Release it after you’ve heard two beeps: one when you initially press, and another 7 seconds later.
- Connect the DualShock 4 controller with the provided USB cable and press the PS button on the controller.
Safe Mode Options
The following options are available in Safe Mode:
- Restart System – Ends Safe Mode and restarts the PlayStation 4 normally.
- Change Resolution – Changes the screen resolution to 480p when the PlayStation 4 is restarted.
- Update System Software – Allows the PlayStation 4 to update the system software via Internet, USB Drive, or Disc.
- Restore Default Settings – Restores the PlayStation 4 to the default factory settings.
- Rebuild Database – Scans the drive and creates a new database of all content.This operation may take a long time depending on the type and number of data items.
- Initialize PS4 – IMPORTANT: All data and settings will be lost by performing this step.Deletes all user data and restores the PS4 to as if it just came out of the box. This option is the same as [Initialize PS4 ] in the (Settings) menu. System software (firmware) is not deleted.
- Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software) – IMPORTANT: Deletes all information on the HDD, including the System Software. A message that states a USB storage device containing the System Software must be connected, is displayed. Then you can confirm the selection.
As for the bit of metal on the HDMI port – although it’s obviously not Sony endorsed, some users have taken to using a pin on the PS4’s HDMI port. The idea is fairly simple – to force the bit of metal down and into place. Obviously you will have to be very careful so that you don’t accidentally snap piece of metal in the Playstation 4’s HDMI port.
