PS4 FAQ - Your Questions Answered: Is PlayStation 4 backwards compatible, blu ray, region free?
Sony’s PS4 is the most popular console this generation, selling more than 70 million units worldwide.
Although the UI has been streamlined since the PS3 and Vita days, a few of the PS4s features can be a little confusing or difficult to find.
To lend a helping hand, we’ve compiled a definitive list of answers to a number of common PlayStation 4 questions:
PS4 FAQ - Your Questions Answered
Is PS4 backwards compatible?
No, the PS4 is not backwards compatible with PS3, PS2 or original PlayStation discs. Modders have recently claimed to be able to play backed-up PS2 on PlayStation 4, but this uses backdoors that are against Sony’s terms-of-service.
The only official ways to play older games on the new hardware are to buy remastered versions of games - like God of War, The Last of Us and Crash Bandicoot - from the PSN store or another retailer, purchase “PS2 Classics” like Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and Ape Escape 2 from the PlayStation store, or subscribe to PlayStation Now, which lets you stream a library of games, including PS3 games, directly to your PS4.
Do PS4 games work on PS3?
No, PS4 games do not work on PS3. If you do happen to put a PS4 disc into a PS3, it just makes loud whirring and clunking noises, before failing to recognise the disc in any capacity.
Is PS4 Blu Ray?
Yes, like the PS3 before it, the PlayStation 4 can play Blu Rays via its built-in Blu Ray drive. In fact, PS4 game discs are actually Blu Rays, so just slide one into your console as you would a game.
Is PS4 online free?
Some of the PS4’s online features are free to access, these include:
- Accessing the PlayStation store
- Sending messages to friends
- Comparing trophies with friends
- Friends’ activity feed
- Accessing TV and video apps like Netflix and YouTube
- Sharing screenshots and video to Facebook and Twitter via the share button
- Remote Play on PC and Vita
- Party Chat
- Web browser
For online multiplayer games however, you will require a PlayStation Plus subscription. This can be purchased directly from the PlayStation store, or with pre-paid cards from other retailers.
Can PS4 play DVDs?
Yes, the PS4’s built-in Blu Ray drive can also play DVDs.
Is PS4 region free?
PS4 games are region free. However, DVDs and Blu Rays are region locked. The region codes printed on the dvd case correspond to the following countries:
- Region 1 is for the US and Canada
- Region 2 is for the UK and Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, and Greenland
- Region 3 is for Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Hong Kong
- Region 4 is for Mexico, South and Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean
- Region 5 is for Russia, Eastern Europe, India, Africa (but not South Africa), North Korea, and Mongolia
- Region 6 is for China
PS4 How To Guides -
How to sync a PS4 controller
If you’ve already connected the controller to the console before, it should be as simple as pressing the PS button on the front. If that’s not working, connect the controller to the console by plugging a micro USB cable into the USB ports on the front of the PS4 - then press the PS button again.
If this still fails to work, turn the controller over and press the small reset button on the top right side of the controller using a long thin object like the end of a paper clip. It’s next to the screw, just to the left of the L2 trigger. Then connect the controller to the console with a micro USB cable and press the PS button.
How to turn a PS4 controller off
To turn a PS4 controller off with powering the whole console down, hold the PS button while on the home menu to access the “Quick Menu”. From here, select the first option “Sound/Devices”, then scroll all the way down to the bottom and select “Turn Off Device”. Then select “Dualshock 4” and press the “X” button.
How to reset a PS4
The are a few ways to reset a PS4. To soft reset a PlayStation 4 - which restarts the console but keeps all of your data - you can hold down the PS button to access the Quick Menu, select Power, and then scroll down to the bottom and select “Restart PS4”. Alternatively, you can hold down the power button on the front of the console - which is located at the base of the long strip on light, on the front of the console, level with the Sony logo on the left and engraved PS4 logo on the right. Once you’ve held the button, wait for the console to power down, then press the button again.
To hard reset a PS4 back to factory default settings - which result in you losing game and save data - you need to go to the Options icon on the home menu, select it, and scroll all the way down to “Initialisation”. In Initialisation, select “Restore Default Settings” and follow the prompts on your screen.
How to delete a PS4 user account
You can delete a PS4 user account by selecting “Settings” from the home menu. To find it, press up, and then scroll to the right until you’re one away from the end. In Settings, select the sixth option down, “Login Settings”. From Login Settings, scroll to the bottom and select “User Management”, then “Delete User”.
How to delete a PS4 game
To delete a PS4 game, hover over its icon either on the homepage or in the “Library”. Press “Options” on your controller, then scroll towards the bottom of the list that appears. Select “Delete”. Then select “OK”.
If you ever want to re-download something, you can do so from the “Purchased” section of your Library. Just hover over its icon, press “X”, and then select “Download”.
How to update PS4 games
To update a PS4 game, hover over its icon on the home menu, or in your Library, and press Options. Then go to the third one down - “Check for update” - and select it. The PS4 should now find any outstanding updates and begin downloading them. Your PlayStation will need a stable internet connection to be able to do this.