PS5

You are able to use a USB external storage drive for your PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console. If you decide to store game data on it, then you can play PS4 titles directly from the external HDD, HHD or SSD. You can also use this option as a cold storage for PS5 games. 

Before using a USB drive, you may need to format for your PS5. When trying to do so, you may run into the following error message: 

“Can’t format this USB drive as USB extended storage. Use a USB drive that satisfies the following conditions:  

• Supports Superspeed USB (or faster) 
• Capacity of 250 GB minimum and 8 TB maximum 
• Directly connected to your PS5” 

To see how you can fix this issue, you can take a look at this troubleshooting guide from Seeking Tech. 

1. For the first step, make sure that the USB connection of the external storage device is USB 3.0 or later. The USB bandwidth should be 5 Gbps or faster. 

2. If you are sure that the USB connection of the external drive is compatible with the PS5, then you can try plugging it into one of the two USB ports located at the back of the console. 

3. As stated in the error message, you need to directly connect the external drive to your PlayStation 5 console. Therefore, you should avoid using connecting it first to a USB hub or USB pass-through device before the gaming system. 

4. If the USB drive requires its own power source, then you need to make sure that it is plugged into a power outlet and turned on. 

5. Of course, you should make sure that the USB drive has a capacity between 250 GB to 8 TB. If it is smaller or larger, then it won’t be compatible with the PS5 as a USB extended storage device.  

6. If possible, try to update the external drive as a new firmware may help improve the compatibility of the product with Sony’s gaming console.  

To update, you need to connect the USB drive to a desktop or laptop. Afterwards, check the manufacture’s website to see if there are any new firmware versions and/or instructions for updating your storage. 

7. While the external drive is connected to a desktop or laptop, you can also try formatting from there. 

In order to do so on a Windows 10 operating system, for example, open the file explorer and then right click on the USB drive. In the pop-up menu, you then need to select the “Format..” option. In the next screen, make sure you select either exFAT or FAT32 as the file system and then select the Start option. 

If none of the aforementioned steps helped with fixing the “can’t format this USB drive as USB extended storage” error, then the USB storage may not be compatible with the PlayStation 5. There is also a possibility that the external drive may be defective. In either of these cases, you can try using a different storage product to see if you can get that to work properly with your PS5.

Sony recently started releasing emulated PS1 and PSP games on the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console. In some circumstances, you are able to download these classic titles for free. To find out how to do so, you can take a look at this article from Seeking Tech. 

Requirements 

In order to download an emulated PS1 or PSP game at no additional costs on your PS5, you must previously purchase the same title on a PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita on PlayStation 3. Furthermore, you must own the digital version of the game as the PlayStation 5 won’t be able to detect a physical PS1 disc or PSP UMD. 

For the uninformed, PS1 games were released as PSOne Classics. These digital only titles can originally be bought on the PlayStation Stores of the PS3, PSP and Vita. Some PSP games were also made available digitally on the PlayStation Portable and Vita handhelds.  

It is important to note that you do not need a PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium subscription to download and play these PS1 or PSP games for free. Furthermore, not all PS1 and PSP games you bought digitally in the past may be available for free to download on the PS5 as this benefit is ultimately up to the publishers. 

How to download PS1 and PSP games you already owned digitally for free on PS5  

In order to download a PS1 or PSP that you previously owned digital for free on your PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console, you need to do the following: 

1. First off, you need to turn on PS5 if you haven’t done so already. 

2. Next, you need to make sure you are logged in the same PlayStation Network account you previously used to purchase the PS1 or PSP game on the PlayStation Store of the PS3, PSP or Vita. To switch accounts, press the PS button to open the Control Center menu. From there, select your profile picture at the bottom (which should be in between the Accessories and Power options) and then select Switch User.  

3. Afterwards, open the PlayStation Plus App from the home screen.  

4. Inside of the app, press R1 button on the DualSense controller several times to switch over to the Collections tab. 

5. In the Collections tab, scroll down until you see the Classics Collection row, where you can then select the PSone/PS2/PSP option. 

6. After getting to the “PSP, PlayStation and PS2” menu, select the game you previously bought.  

7. On the game’s product page, you should be able to select the Download option without having to pay or being subscribed to PlayStation Plus. If you don’t see the Download option, then you can try tapping the three dots icon to see if it shows up there.

8. On the PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console, you should then be taken to the Download screen, where you can choose to download the PS5 version, PS4 version or both versions of the PS1 or PSP game. 

If you have multiple PlayStation Network accounts on a PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console, then you will be able to share the following PS Plus benefits: 

• Online Multiplayer 
• Game Help 
• Being able to play games that were purchased using a PlayStation Plus discount 
• Being able to play games that were downloaded through the PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe and/or Premium catalogs. 

If you aren’t able to share these benefits, then you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech. 

1. Before we start, it is important to note that the following PS Plus benefits can’t be shared across accounts on the same console:  

• Cloud storage back up for PS5 save files 
• Game trails from PlayStation Plus Premium 
• Buying games with PlayStation Plus discount 
• Redeeming games from the Essential, Extra, Deluxe and/or Premium catalogs 

For buying and redeeming games, you need to first get the game from the PSN account that is subscribed to PlayStation Plus. Afterwards, you should be able to play the game from a non-Plus account on the same console. 

2. Keep in mind that the PlayStation Plus benefits can only be shared on one PlayStation 5 console at a time. If you previously signed into the same PSN account that has the PS Plus benefits on the other PS5 system, then you can try doing the following:  

• To start off, turn on your PS5 console. 
• Afterwards, you need to make sure to sign into the PlayStation Network account that contains the PlayStation Plus benefits.  
• You then need to head over to the Settings menu of the PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition system.  
• Inside of Settings, you need to head over to Users and Accounts.  
• From the Users and Accounts menu, select Other from the options available on the left column. 
• On the right side of the same menu, you should then select Console Sharing and Offline Play.  

• In the Console Sharing and Offline Play screen, make sure that it says that “[Console Sharing and Offline Play] is enabled for you on this PS5.” If it says, something else, then you need to select the Enable option. 

3. If you are having problems trying to play online games that requires a PlayStation Plus subscription, then make sure that you didn’t restrict internet access to your current account.  

In order to check, you can open the Settings menu of your PS5 and then select Family and Parental Controls.  

4. You can also try restoring the game licenses by taking the following steps: 

• Turn on your system and then make sure you are signed into the PSN account that is currently subscribed to PlayStation Plus.  
• Once you are logged in, open the Settings menu of your PS5. 
• From the front page of Settings, go over to Users and Accounts. 
• In the Users and Accounts screen, select Other on the left side and then Restore Licenses on the right side. 
• After getting to the Restore Licenses menu, you need to select the Restore option.

When trying to download a game on your PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, you may run into the following error code: 

• “CE-106667-6. Something went wrong.” 

To see how you can fix this specific problem, you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech. 

1. For the first step, you can try downloading the game again. For whatever reason, we tend to get this error frequently when we try to download a game for the first time. In a vast majority of cases, our second attempts end up being successful. 

In order to download a game that you previously bought, you can visit its product page on the PlayStation Store App of your console or in your Game Library.  

2. If you are still getting the CE-106667-6 error messages after multiple retry attempts, then you can try restoring the licenses you obtained on your PlayStation Network account.  

In order to do so, head over to the Settings menu of the PS5. From there, you then need to go to Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses > Restore.  

3. You can also try logging out and then logging back into your PSN account.  

The best way to do so is by restarting your PS5 as doing so will also clear out any potential bugs on your console as well.  

To restart, you first need to open the Control Center menu by pressing the PS button on the DualSense controller. In this screen, you then need to move the cursor to the bottom and then all the way to the right in order to select the Power option. Afterwards, select Restart PS5 from the Power menu. 

4. You should also check the current status of the PlayStation Network servers, which you can do by heading over to this link.  

If there appears to be some server problems, then you need to wait until they are fixed before trying to download your game again. 

5. If you are having trouble downloading from your PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console, then you can try initiating the download remotely.  

You can do so by using the official PlayStation Store website on another device that have a web browser. If you have a smartphone, then you can also initiate a download in the PlayStation Store section of the official PlayStation App.

If you are a member of PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium, then you are able to add games from Monthly Games Catalog and PlayStation Plus Collection to your library. You should then be able to download and play these titles on your PS4 or PS5 console as long as you remain subscribed to the service. 

When trying to add a game from the Monthly Games Catalog and PlayStation Plus Collection to your library, you may see the following: 

• “Something went wrong. Try again later.” 

To see how you can fix this error message, you can take a look at this troubleshooting guide at Seeking Tech. 

1. For the first step, you can try adding the same game to your library again.  

Based on our experience, adding a PlayStation Plus title may not always work on the first attempt but will work normally during subsequent tries. 

2. If you are getting the “something went wrong” multiple times, then you can try restarting your PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5. By doing so, you will log out and then log back into your PlayStation Network account. 

3. You can also try restoring the licenses on your PSN account. 

In order to do so on the PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, you need to go to Settings menu of the console and then select Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses > Restore. 

On the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro, you need to head over to the Settings menu and then select Account Management > Restore Licenses > Restore. 

4. If restoring the licenses does not work, then you can try clearing the cache of your console.  

To do so, you can try taking the following steps: 

• First, you need to completely turn off the PS4 or PS5.  
• Once the lights have gone off, unplug the power cord of the system from the power outlet.  
• Next, you need to wait for at least 2 minutes. 
• After waiting, plug the power cord of the system back into the power outlet. 
• Turn on your game console and then sign into your PlayStation Network account. 
• Try to add the PlayStation Plus game to your library again. 

5. We also recommend checking the server status of the PlayStation Network, which you can do by visiting this official website. 

If there appears to be a problem, then we recommend that you wait for Sony to fix the servers before you try adding the PS Plus title to your library. 

6. If the “something went wrong” message keeps popping up, then we recommend that you contact PlayStation for additional help.

With PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, Deluxe or Premium, you are able to download many games. With that said, you do have to be mindful with the amount of space you have on the console storage and other storage options. Therefore, you should pay attention to the file sizes of the PS Plus titles you are downloading.  

To see how you can the file size of a game on the PlayStation Plus service before you download it, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech. 

1. To start off, make sure you turn on your PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console if you haven’t done so already.  

2. Next, you need to make sure that you are in the home screen menu, which is where you can select which game to open. 

To get there on a PS4 or PS4 Pro, you need to press the PS button. 

On the PS5 or PS5 Digital Edition, you need to press and hold the PS button to go home.  

3. Open the PlayStation Plus App on the home screen. 

4. Inside the PlayStation Plus App, select a game that you want to view the file size information for. 

5. Once you are in the product page of the game, you should be able to find the file size in the box located on the right side. 

6. It is important to note that some games on the PlayStation Plus service offers both PS4 and PS5 versions to download. In this case, the file size information you find on the game’s product page is actually the total of the two versions if both are downloaded on to the storage. 

If you are only interested in only downloading one version, then you should be able to find the file size details by selecting the Download option from the game’s product page. In the Download screen, you should then be able to file sizes for both the PS5 and PS4 versions.  

Here, you can select to download the PS5 version PS4 version or both.  

Keep in mind that this step only applies to the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition consoles as you won’t be able to play PS5 games on your PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro systems.