If you’ve made it here, you might be feeling quite sheepish, but don’t worry, it’s surprisingly difficult to turn off the PS5, and I’d bet just about everyone with the console has confused themselves trying to do it first time.
The problem is twofold. First, the PlayStation 5 takes about the PlayStation 4 a little too much, and its physical power button is small and well hidden. Second, it simultaneously differs too much from the PS4, as the software power controls are in a completely different place. Here’s how to find both.
How to turn off the PS5 physically
First up, if you’re willing to go to the effort of standing up then the PS5’s power button is a slim black button on the front of the machine, joined by the disc eject button on the regular console, and alone for the Digital Edition.
If you stand the console vertically then the power button button is the lower of the two, while if you rest it on its side, power is the button to the left.
Either way, just press it to turn the console off.
How to turn the PS5 off via software
More often you’ll probably want to turn the console off via software, so that you can do it using the DualSense controller without getting off the sofa.
If you were a PS4 player then your instinct is probably to hold the PS button, but stop right there. Instead, simply tap this button – it’s the one made out of the PlayStation logo right between the analogue sticks on the controller, if you’re not sure.
Tapping the button brings up your activity cards, along with the menu that lets you access your notifications, party chat, downloads and more. Power settings are at the far end on the right – but pro tip: instead of scrolling all the way to the right, just tap left once and it’ll bring your cursor round to the far end.
Tap that, and you get your three power options:
- Enter Rest Mode: This puts your PS5 to sleep, but depending on your power settings it will continue to download and install games and updates, and charge any controllers plugged into the USB ports
- Turn Off PS5: This fully powers the console down. Use this if you’re going to unplug the PS5 from the mains power, or simply want to conserve power
- Restart PS5: This turns the PS5 off and on again – ideal if you’re having any technical problems and hope a restart might fix them
