PS5 won't turn on or blue light pulses and goes off

Your PS5 won't turn on: nothing at all happens when you press the button, or the light pulses blue and then everything goes off again. A scare, but it does not have to be the end of your console. At Blue Apple in Amsterdam we see this after power cuts, after an interrupted update and with power supplies or motherboards that fail. This article explains what you can test yourself and what the lights are telling you.

Blue Apple repairs PlayStation consoles in Amsterdam. Does it turn on but you see no picture? Read PS5 no picture on the TV.

What do the lights mean?

• Nothing at all, no beep: the console gets no power, or the power supply inside does not work.
• Blue pulsing, then off: the PS5 tries to start but stops. That can be software, but also the power supply, the motherboard or overheating.
• Orange: rest mode. Press the PS button on the controller or briefly hold the power button.
• White: the console is on; the problem is then the picture.

Step 1: power

1. Unplug the power cable from the PS5 and the wall. Wait a minute.
2. Plug the cable back in firmly, straight into a wall socket. No power strip with a switch or a surge protector that has tripped.
3. Try another socket and, if you have one, another power cable of the same type.
4. Press the power button on the console itself, not only on the controller.

Step 2: safe mode

If you can get the PS5 on briefly, try safe mode. Hold the power button until the second beep, connect the controller with a USB cable and press the PS button. First choose to clear the cache and rebuild the database. If that does not help, you can reinstall the system software. Note: some options erase your data. Read PS5 safe mode first.

After a power cut or interrupted update

If the power failed during an update or while the PS5 was in rest mode, the software may be damaged. Safe mode with the option to update the system software from a USB stick is often the fix. You put the software on a USB stick in the right folder, as Sony explains on its website.

It turns off after a while

If the PS5 does turn on but goes off again after a few minutes or during a game, heat is often the cause. Read PS5 overheating.

When is it a hardware fault?

• No response at all, even with another cable and socket.
• A bang, a smell or a tripped fuse in the house at the moment it went off.
• Blue pulsing and off every time, even in safe mode.
• Moisture in the console or the console was dropped.

Then usually the internal power supply or something on the motherboard is broken. A PS5 has its power supply inside the console, so it has to be tested in a workshop.

What not to do

• Do not keep switching it on and off after a smell or a bang.
• Do not open the power supply yourself: it can still hold a charge, even unplugged.

What we do at Blue Apple in Amsterdam

We measure whether the power supply gives the right voltages and test the motherboard. If the power supply is broken, we replace it. If it is the motherboard, we check whether a component-level repair is possible. You hear first what is going on and what it involves, and then you decide. See PS5 power supply, PlayStation motherboard repair or PlayStation repair in Amsterdam.

Frequently asked questions

Are my games and saves gone?

Not with a broken power supply. With PlayStation Plus, saves are often in the cloud too.

My PS5 beeps twice and switches off. What does that mean?

That belongs to starting safe mode or switching off fully. If it does not turn on afterwards, follow the steps above.

Can a power surge damage my PS5?

Yes, a thunderstorm or a fault in the mains can damage the power supply or motherboard.