How to Fix PS4 Not Reading Discs
The PS5 may be Sony’s new shiny console, but many of us still enjoy playing our PS4s. That is, if the system cannot read our disks. It’s little more than a disappointment when the PS4 refuses to play a $60 game you just popped into the drive. If you are facing this issue, these tricks may help.
First off, I buy almost all of my games digitally so I’ve never had this issue on my PS4. Instead, the issue came to my attention from this Reddit thread , in which a poster complained that their PS4 would only read their Elden Ring disc, and nothing else: neither Dark Souls 3 , nor Sekiro , nor any of their old PS4 discs. While the comments are full of jokes about how this is FromSoftware’s design – that the PS4 OP is now an Elden Ring machine – it has sparked discussion about the various steps you can take to get your PS4 to read discs again.
Turn off your PS4
Can this step fail? Certainly. But it’s important to try the simplest step before moving on to more complex options. In addition, the PS4’s “rest” mode allows you to never turn off the system completely. All technology needs a power cycle from time to time, and your PlayStation is no exception.
Just in case you haven’t turned off your PS4 since 2013, you can do so by holding down the power button on your controller and then choosing Power > Power Off PS4 . You can also hold down the PS4’s power button for three seconds to turn it off completely.
Click on your PS4
No seriously. Oddly enough, pushing the PS4 is a legitimate solution to this problem. To make it work, insert the disc into the PS4, then touch the console above the disc drive during the initial disc read. While many on this Reddit thread claim that this trick works for them, they disagree on what position the PS4 should be in when pressed. Some say it only works when the PS4 is laid flat, while others say the device must be placed vertically.
Try both orientations for yourself, and don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work right away. If nothing happens, remove the disc and try again. Some users say that it may take more than 10 attempts before the PS4 finally reads the disc.
Restore the PS4 database.
If your PS4 doesn’t have an SSD, it uses a spinning hard drive to store all your files. When the system saves new files to the hard drive, it tends to fill up all the available space, not caring which files go where. Over time, this random storage can cause memory access issues as the system spends extra time looking for related files all over the hard drive. This hard drive issue can also affect disk reading in the future.
This is where database rebuilding comes into play. When you rebuild the PS4 database, it sorts all existing files logically. Thus, the system does not have to look everywhere for different related files, since they are now stored in the same space. It can be useful to restore your database even if your PS4 doesn’t have disc-reading problems, so in a way this kills two birds with one stone.
To restore the database, you need to boot your PS4 in safe mode. Start by turning off your PS4, then be sure to connect your controller to your console and don’t use it wirelessly. Now hold the PS4’s power button until you hear two beeps. The first beep will be the normal beep you hear when the system starts up, and the second beep will be heard approximately seven seconds later.
When prompted, press the power button on your controller. Here you will find a list of options. Select Rebuild Database, relax and wait for the process to complete. This can take anywhere from three to 20 hours, so you’ll need to be patient.
Restore PS4 to factory settings.
The last software fix to try is factory reset, the nuclear option for all software related issues. If the reason your PS4 is having trouble reading discs is OS related, wiping everything and installing a newer version of the software will most likely fix it.
To get started, go to Settings > Initialize > Initialize PS4 . You can also boot into Safe Mode again and select “Reinstall System Software” to clean up your PS4.
PS4 drive repair
If you’ve ruled out a software problem, the likely culprit looks to the drive itself. The good news is that these drives can be easily fixed, whether you do it yourself or take it in for repair.
TronicsFix has a great video showing you exactly how to remove a drive and check it for problems. Perhaps your problem is the same as the example shown in the video, where one of the rollers has become disconnected from the drive. TroncsFix does a wonderful job of telling you exactly which screws to remove, when, what to look out for, how to fix it, and how to put everything back together.