PS4 Hardware Troubleshooting / Q&A Thread

Colbert said:
Many consoles that were reported as broken in this special thread were manufactured in August and September 2013. That doesn't fit exactly to the statement "3 months ago" from the IGN translation. So there is a chance that the rumor is probably not true. Unfortunately I am not able to read chinese there is still a chance that the translation is wrong.
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There is also the whole thing about Foxconn using school/slave/child/etc labour to build everything, including most of today's other most popular electronics, all of which have quality control in place to root out most of it. Throw that story out.
 
Is anyone seeing extremely slow Connection speeds in the Connection test via their ps4? I get 30+ Mbps per second via Speedtest.net but the PS4 is only showing 26.7 kbps.........

Only thing I can think of is that it's because of the PSN servers being bogged down?
 
atomsk said:
To update on my auto-eject situation, I changed where the PS4 was plugged into, and wiped down the button with a microfiber cloth.

Just finished playing an entire blu-ray movie without incident.

System is horizontal.
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Been having the same issue and followed this advice... Now I've just got the PS4 on with a disc in while I watch football. Hopefully it stays in the tray.

I thought I had it fixed earlier, but the console came on by itself and then spit out my BF4 disc. Apparently it didn't taste good.
 
Y2Kev said:
Does anyone have a console made during October? Maybe those are going to Europe?
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I think you are correct.

If we assume that the NA launch were about 800k+ consoles then Sony needs time to produce for the EU launch. If we assume that EU will receive a little bit less (about 700k+ consoles) they have only October and the first 3 weeks of November to meet the demand (based on my assumptions).

Have anyone a console from July 2013 (I don't remember when they started with production)?
 
Y2Kev said:
You can use it to Towel Trick your PS4 if it fails again.

Has anyone tried the Towel Trick?
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Pics just because

VWvLrcWl.jpg


Th5Zrdll.jpg
 
Is getting a lot of weird vertical aliasing/shimmering on the interface and especially on the on-screen keyboard normal or a sign my PS4 is going to explode?
 
is anyone else's What's New app not working at all?

when i hover over it nothing happens. and if i click it, again, nothing happens.

also: if i go to Notifications, and click on a Trophy that i just unlocked, the screen fades as if it's about to show me the details of that trophy, but nothing ever happens. there's just a light white horizontal line up near the top of the screen. i waited a minute and the trophy never loaded. had to hit PS button to back out.

weird.
 
Kagari said:
So apparently someone on IGN said they fixed the pulsating blue light by removing the HDD, turning on the system and then putting it back in. Anyone try this?
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I tried this and it didn't fix anything for me. Though I don't think I tried booting it to safe mode with the HD out. I'll give that a try since I couldn't get to safe mode with the HD still plugged in.

I will give Sony credit, it's extremely easy to take out the hard drive. Probably easier than most PCs too.

Edit: Nope, it didn't work. No safe mode or anything.
 
I'm trying following this thread, especially in order to comprehend how much the defective PS4 units represent the whole shipments across US. Are there estimates of any kind updated to...today, let's say? The fact is that, on one hand, I perfectly know this is the first launch in the social era; then, problems will be talked about and known much, much, much more than in the past...but, on the other, I can't say looking at all these reports is not giving to me some doubts, even if little.

If possible, I think a sort of recap in the OP would be pretty useful for those who can't read the last pages for any kind of reason. Such a recap could be updated once in a day.
 
I don't think my question is hardware related or psn related. My whats new section isn't loading and games wont show the third section of the xmb.
 
So if we see an October batch on the 22nd with the same issues, we'll know the problem is systemic. But I bet we know before that.
 
Mine is September from Hongfujin Yantai. No problems so far but I really didn't game that much do to no retail game to play (waiting on Shadowfall to come this week)
 
dwix said:
Been having the same issue and followed this advice... Now I've just got the PS4 on with a disc in while I watch football. Hopefully it stays in the tray.

I thought I had it fixed earlier, but the console came on by itself and then spit out my BF4 disc. Apparently it didn't taste good.
Click to expand...

I spoke too soon, went to heat up some dinner, came back and it had spit the disc out.

Fuck
 
Dante316 said:
I don't think my question is hardware related or psn related. My whats new section isn't loading and games wont show the third section of the xmb.
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I'm getting the same problem. Also netflix or the PS Store doesn't work. It's definitely something network related as it was working yesterday.
 
TheSinkingKnight said:
Look underneath the console. It's on the very bottom of it.
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Talk about fine print.
Hongfujin September 2013. Only real issue Ive seen is bluray skipped maybe once or twice on Avatar. Downloaded games work fine so far.
I don't have any disc based games to test.

Already purchased the 36 month Accidental Insurance through PS Store yesterday so I'm cool.

And let me add, if the rumor is true I don't blame the workers one damn bit.
 
fade_ said:
I'm getting the same problem. Also netflix or the PS Store doesn't work. It's definitely something network related as it was working yesterday.
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I'm pretty sure Sony disabled the whats new content and the content that shows up when you highlight your game to help lessen the strain on their servers. Even early this morning when the store was opening up nicely, the what's new section wouldn't even try.
 
I got one from the same place in China made in September.
It runs perfectly, quiet no issues installing patches, no slowdowns, nothing.
Still paranoid now after reading this thread lol :(
 
Im in the UK but wont our units already be in the country seeing as though its only two weeks away? If not we could get October models but they'll probably be September.

Also it will be good to see where they were manufactured. Ive got a feeling PAL models might be made somewhere else?
 
Schrade said:
Gonna post this since it may be a good "preventative" process. It certainly shouldn't hurt peoples' systems...


I got my PS4 yesterday from Amazon. I didn't manhandle it or anything when unboxing it. I didn't toss things together to hook it up superfast to my TV and receiver. I did things slow, methodical and made certain to plug things in gently as I would with ANY other new piece of equipment. In so many of the videos and streams I see people manhandling and utterly forcing things into place and it drove me nuts. #1 thing to remember when setting up a new system, computer, anything: Treat it like it's expensive equipment and not a fucking baby toy.

Whatever you do, do NOT EVER move the system when it has any power to it whatsoever. When hard drives are spinning it's very easy to damage a platter in the drive if you "shock" it in any way. This goes for laptops and computers as well. Laptop drives are built to be a little more stable with this but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Now, here's the steps I did just to experience things and understand how the update process works. My plan here was to format the PS4 hard drive and do a full OS reinstall in case the hard drives had been mass imaged and weren't really set up per system.

1) Examined the HDMI port to see if there was anything off or any obstructions in it. It was perfectly fine.

2) Hooked the PS4 up to my audio receiver with my own HDMI cable that was attached to my PS3 previously (cheapie 12 foot $4.00 cable from Fry's Electronics I bought years ago)

3) Plugged in my controller using the USB cable that shipped with the PS4. I plugged it into the LEFT USB port, although it doesn't really matter which port you plug it into.

4) Did NOT hook up my ethernet cable. I didn't want it connecting anywhere or doing anything until I was certain I had a "clean" system that I had set up myself.

5) First time bootup -> Powered it on just by lightly touching the capacitive power button on the front of the system. There is no need to apply any pressure at all so don't try forcing it to move. It doesn't move. I listened for appropriate noises (Bluray Drive doing a head seek, hard drive spinning up, fans working - felt for warm air flowing) and let the system boot up.

6) System booted up fine and went into the PS4 OS Setup. I skipped everything and did not customize anything or let it connect wirelessly anywhere. I just wanted to get INTO the OS. I think the only thing I did was adjust time and Time Zone.

7) Once in the OS I held the PlayStation button down on the DS4 and turned the system OFF (Did NOT put it into standby mode). It takes a little bit to shutdown completely but you'll know once all the lights are off on the system.

8) Time to update the firmware. I had already downloaded both the 1.50 firmware "Update" and the "Recovery" (859MB) files so I freshly formatted a cheap USB drive with FAT32 and set up the folders appropriately. X:\PS4\UPDATE\PSUPDATE.PUP <-- like that. I decided to do the Recovery method since it involves formatting the drive and I wanted that for sure.

9) I inserted my USB drive into the COMPLETELY OFF system and then I touched and held on the power button for over 7 seconds UNTIL IT BEEPED. Once it beeped I let go of the power button. The system went into Safe Mode.

PS4 Safe Mode: https://support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5044/~/ps4:-safe-mode

10) I chose option 6) Initialize PS4. My reasoning here is to wipe the HD while in Firmware 1.0 so I am absolutely certain it's clean before I attempt to update it. I then booted into the OS again and did minimal setup, skipping over account stuff and network setups until I got into the UI. I once again had the system turn completely off and not enter standby mode.

11) Once the system was completely shutdown I waited like about 10 seconds when all the lights were off and touch and held the power button again for 7 seconds until it beeped. It went into Safe Mode again and I chose Option 7) Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software). I then got the following error:

An error has occurred.
(CE-30776-3)

I didn't panic and calmly tried another USB drive. It was a Corsair USB drive (one of my most compatible flash drives for booting PCs and stuff) and it worked just fine. So REMEMBER: If you get that error above, just try a different USB drive that you know is brand-name. Mine was a Corsair.

12) I then went through the process with step 7 from Safe Mode and it worked this time. It spent time wiping/reformatting the hard drive and then it gave a new screw (higher resolution and with PS4 colors) and on that screen it said it was reinstalling the system software.

13) When it was done, I did the final setup on my PS4 and it has worked like an absolute champ with no system related issues at all. Any issues I've had have been due to PSN being hammered.



Now, this is not going to fix everyone's problems but it is a good way to test the system and set it up so that you KNOW you have done everything right from the beginning. I've got 30 years of experience working with computers and electronics and this is just a general process I feel should work well for folks who are just wanting to be sure they setup their PS4 in the most "stable" manner. I live this shit every day since it's my hobby and also what I do at work.
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Thanks for the input bud...and its a good thing you mentioned about how physical HDD's are so delicate..a lot of people do not realize this. I also have over 20+ years experience with electronics,computers and computer repair,etc (in my later 30's now) and one of the biggest mistakes i hear or see people make is how they move around running HDD's like it can take that kind of force...no they go out really quick if you are not careful like you mentioned.

I appreciate the guide though because after looking at it..it is very spot on and precise and it should help everyone including myself once i get my PS4.
 
Mine is still in the box. I have not opened it yet. I'm trying to sell it, just because my ps3 backlog is so big, by the time I start playing ps4 it will be 4 or 5 months from now.
 
Y2Kev said:
So if we see an October batch on the 22nd with the same issues, we'll know the problem is systemic. But I bet we know before that.
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Iv Got a US Playstation due on Monday here in the UK, also picking up an EU one on the 29th, its my Killzone megabundle.

Will likely check out where they are manufactured and what date.
 
Y2Kev said:
So if we see an October batch on the 22nd with the same issues, we'll know the problem is systemic. But I bet we know before that.
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My gut feeling is that the September batch would have been from an order to dramatically increase manufacture to meet demand. Weren't they expecting over a million pre-orders? Didn't the PS2 ship to American with only 300,000 units? If you're rushing to meet demand, changes are the standard slips a bit. That's why August people seem okay, and September people seem affected.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with any other batches.
 
PantyPhantom said:
It does a lot of things before it turns itself off and now when PSN seems to be suffering a lot don't expect it to go fast...
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Pretty sure a bunch of triple-beeps when the system was shut down totally (not standby) 5-10 minutes later are not normal

Edit: I just unplugged the USB cable 20 minutes after powering down and it started beeping like crazy.

Maybe the controller being plugged into USB is causing issues? Just a thought
 
I think my issue is the HDD. I thought the disc tray was spinning but then i realize that its probably the HDD.


IF the HDD starts spinning and stops over and over again every 3 seconds, is it defective?
 
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