Consoles, unlike PCs, do not usually cause so many problems when something related to the configuration or the operating system may fail, causing an error that generally prevents us from starting the console. However, currently, consoles such as the PlayStation 4 are increasingly similar to PCs, to the point that they also include the possibility of accessing them in Safe Mode, so in this article, we will tell you what advantages this option offers us and what each of its cases is.
Thanks to this mode, we can solve various incidents related to our PS4, such as problems with complex drive data, firmware failure, or even display-related incidents.
The first and most important thing is how we access this PS4 Safe Mode, and for this, when we turn on the console, we have to press and hold the power button for approximately 7 seconds until we hear a second beep.
You always have to do it with the front button on the console because if we turn it on using the Dualshock 4 controller, as is usually done, we will not be able to enter safe mode.
After having left the power button pressed for 7 seconds and hearing a second beep, we release it, and it will appear on your screen asking us to connect the console controller via the USB cable; this is very important since If not, it will not recognize it, and then we will press the PS button, that is, the central button of the remote.
Now that we have entered the Playstation 4 Safe Mode, we will see that a total of 8 options appear, so we will comment on what each one does.
Restart PS4
The first is the Restart PS4 sniffer, which, as you may have imagined, has no mystery since it is simply the option we must use to leave Safe mode and make the console restart normally again.
Change Resolution
The second option is Change Resolution, one of the most valuable options in safe mode since if we press it, the console will restart, but by changing the screen resolution to only 480p. Then we will be asked to select which resolution screen we want to put on our PlayStation 4.
And you may wonder why this option is so helpful. The reason is that sometimes it may be the case that connecting the console to a particular television gives us a problem. The screen goes blank because it does not support the Resolution, which in turn prevents us from being able to navigate through the console options to solve the problem by changing the Resolution in the settings, so thanks to this method through Safe mode with the Resolution at 480p it will be possible to change it before the operating system boots.
We remind you that once the problem has been solved, you can change the Resolution from the PlayStation 4 operating system itself by going to Settings, [Sound and screen] > [Video output settings] > [Resolution] and selecting the Resolution highest that works on your television, or indicate automatic Resolution.
System Software Update
The third option is System Software Update, and in it, we are allowed to update the firmware of our PS4 through a USB storage device, such as a flash drive, to which we will have previously downloaded the file with the said update. However, it is also possible to do it from a CD or the Internet.
Although perhaps now you will wonder where we can download the Playstation 4 firmware update directly to be able to save it on a flash drive, and for this, you only have to go to this official Playstation page, where you will always have the most current system software, for example at the time of writing this article the most recent is version 6.20.
And what use is this? As you already know, the PlayStation 4 notifies us automatically whenever an update is available if we have the console connected to the Internet. Still, thanks to this safe mode option, we can solve any problem that It may have occurred, such as the console shutting down unexpectedly during the process, causing a system failure, or simply if, for some reason, we cannot connect our PlayStation 4 to the Internet, and thanks to this method we can update it offline on-line.
Restore Default Settings
The fourth option is Restore Default Settings, and as its name indicates, it restores all the console settings to the default values, as if we had never changed anything in the settings.
So that there is no confusion about what this means, we have to clarify that this option does not delete absolutely anything from the content of your console, that is, the hard drive, downloaded games, saved games, and screenshots; they do not go away. To delete, you can use this option with total security.
Simply what this option modifies are the adjustments that we have made in the configuration, for example, in the Sound or video options or any other console setting that we could have modified, so it is a handy tool if, at some point, we do not know how the default options were configured. We want to change them to their original factory default value.
Rebuild Database
The fifth option is Rebuild Database; it scans the console’s hard drive to create a new database with all the content you have stored in the industry.
That is, reorganize the contents of the disk, which is helpful if, for example, we have problems such as the console has become slow, a game crashes, or even if we notice that the performance in the number of frames is lower than what we expected, we had before.
Therefore, it is a tool that helps us optimize and avoid errors, so it is convenient to use when we think it is appropriate. However, I can tell you in advance that depending on the amount of data that the disk has, the operation can take several minutes, and there are You have to be patient until it’s finished.
Initialize PS4
The sixth option is Initialize PS4, which is already one option that you must use with more caution.
It formats the console’s hard drive to bring it to its original state; this implies that all the content you have stored will be deleted, not only games, games, etc., and even user accounts will be deleted.
When we say that user accounts are going to be deleted, we logically mean that they are going to be deleted from the console since your Playstation account will continue to be in the cloud, of course, for when you log in with it again, you will only have You have to retype the username and password.
Although yes, it is recommended that you make a backup copy on a USB storage unit of your saved games or any file such as screenshots or video clips that you had on the console’s hard drive since these will be deleted (although if you are subscribed to PS Plus you can have a copy of your saved games in the cloud).
This method of Initializing PS4 is used only as a last resort when trying to fix a problem on the console, and everything else you have tried has failed. However, it is also helpful if, for example, you are going to sell or give away the console and you want to give it to its new owner without anything saved in it that was associated with your user account.
Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software)
The seventh option is to Initialize PS4 (Reinstall system software); this option does the same as the previous one, that is, it deletes all the contents of the hard drive, but also the difference is that it also deletes the firmware, as if we were saying, the system operational, to then reinstall it again, either in its same version or in a later one.
So when using it, we must connect a USB drive with the system software, which, as I already mentioned in option number three, you have a link to the official page with the file in the video description.
This option is the most radical of all, so to speak, when trying to solve a problem on our PlayStation 4, so you only have to use it if everything else has failed, and in theory, it should solve any failure. , as long as it is related to the Console Software.
Logically the Safe Mode recovery options are only helpful when it comes to a software failure and not when what has broken is a physical component.
Enable HDCP Mode
Finally, we only have the eighth option left, Activate HDCP mode, and what it does is change the HDMI protocol since if, for example, we connect the console to a 4K television that is not compatible with HDCP 2.2, it may not see any images when playing games or videos at that Resolution.
So, in that case, we have to change it from Automatic mode to Only HDCP 1.4. However, this also implies that the Resolution would be limited to a maximum of 1080p since the 4K image can only be displayed when all connected devices use the HDCP 2.2 protocol.
