The unit will beep once when the system turns on, but continue holding the button until it beeps again-it takes about seven seconds. When the power light is off (indicating the system is totally shut down), insert your flash drive, and then press the PS4 power button and hold it down. With all other external drives unmounted, go ahead and completely shut down your PS4. Once the update is finished, you can remount the drive. Just make sure you unmount external storage using the System > Storage menu-don’t just unplug it. If you have more than one drive attached, the PS4 will get confused and won’t know where to check for the update.
Next, you’ll need to unmount any external storage you have attached to your PS4. Download the update file, create the PS4/UPDATE folder structure on your flash drive, and then move the update file into the UPDATE folder. You’ll need to set up your flash drive the same way we described in the previous section. If updating automatically and manually through the system menu have both failed, updating through Safe Mode should essentially “force” the installation. If installing the update through the system menu still doesn’t work, you’ll need to try installing it from Safe Mode. The PS4 will handle this update just like it would if it had been automatically downloaded.
When you do this, your PS4 should automatically find the update file on your flash drive and install it.
Scroll down a bit, and select the “System Software Update” entry. When you have the update in the right folder structure, plug the flash drive into one of the PS4’s USB ports, and then open the Settings menu. Finally, copy the update file you downloaded into the UPDATE folder. Use all caps for the names of both folders. So, you’ll need to create a couple of folders on your flash drive before you copy the file over.įirst, create a folder named PS4, then create another folder inside your new PS4 folder named UPDATE. You can’t just copy it straight over, though-it has to fall into a certain file structure. Next, you need to move the update to your flash drive.
Sony does an excellent job of providing manual downloads for users who may be experiencing issues.
How to Install an Update from the System Menuįirst things first-grab the latest download from the Playstation website. If you have everything you need, let’s get started. We have guides on how to use a flash drive with both iPhone and Android. Note: If you’ll be downloading the update file with your phone, you’ll need a flash drive that’s compatible with your handset. A micro-USB cable (only if you need to install the update in Safe Mode).A USB flash drive with enough space to download the update (8 GB should be more than enough).Access to an internet connection on some other device-phone, computer, etc.Naturally, we’re going to cover both here.īefore you start, you’ll need a couple of things: You’ll want to start with the system menu, and if that doesn’t work, move on to Safe Mode. There are a two ways of doing it: through the system menu and in safe mode. The good news is that manual installation is a breeze. Again, this is a time when you’ll want to manually install an update. You might also find yourself in a situation where your PS4 doesn’t have access to Wi-Fi-maybe you’ve carried it with you on vacation. But if an update ever fails-and it does happen-then you’ll need to grab the download and flash it yourself. The majority of the time, you can count on your PlayStation to download any system updates automatically, which is nice. Why You Might Need to Manually Install an Update