While the PlayStation 4's launch seems to have run fairly smoothly, there are still some isolated issues plaguing the system. The first reported problems were related to faults with the machine's HDMI ports, but these seem to have been cleared up relatively quickly. What continues to rear its ugly head, though, is the unimaginatively dubbed defect known as the 'Blue Light of Death'.
The malfunction, which seems to be most prevalent with systems ordered through Amazon, sees the blue power light remain on, rather than turning white as it would on a working console. This apparently indicates that the system hasn't properly linked with the television.
Ever the helpful bunch, PlayStation Support has taken to the platform holder's official forums to help afflicted customers troubleshoot their faulty consoles. While a single root cause of the problem is unclear – and thus a catch-all solution doesn't currently exist – the team suggests performing a hard reset, booting the PS4 in safe mode, and checking TV compatibility issues, among other fixes.
The biggest takeaway here, though, is the depressing lack of creativity in the naming of the hardware issue. We're certain someone could have come up with something a little more original than the 'Blue Light of Death'. Sadly, it's too late now, as the idiotic moniker appears to have stuck. Did your PS4 arrive in working order? Are these isolated incidents tempting you to cancel your pre-order? Sound off in the comments section below. And while you're down there, see if you can't come up with a better name for the defect yourself.
[source community.us.playstation.com, via joystiq.com, kotaku.com]
Comments 30
@Bliquid LOL I agree how people can be so stupid over the RROD thing jesus. I was kinda scared and asking why my system light was white and not default blue but I see now that the console light suppose to be white.
I think the name has something to do with Xboxers more than anything, and if you take a look at Amazons reviews you can clearly tell the fake from the true ones.
@banacheck I heard that too some no lifers trolls are trying to sabotage Sony and the consumers from buying a PS4 which is very sad.
Most of it is internet BULLSH*T :-/
5 people on my PSN List i have spoke to have said their New PS4's are working like a dream. I believe them(i.e REAL PS Fans/Owners) & the not all the ANNOYING gaming site stories(started by Fanboys)
Why didn't they make the default light blue instead of white? Since every time they showed a PS4 it had a blue light and also it would look cooler...lol Not really a big issue just a thought.
It's pretty sad how low the trolls would stoop. But if you think this is bad I'm willing to bet Xbox One has it even worse. PlayStation Fanboys are trying to pull Xbox One down, and Xbox fanboys are trying to pull PS4 down. If both get pulled down then no one wins including the gamers. I just don't understand the obsession they have with these brands.
@Itachi
guess it's human nature - people passionately nail their allegiance to this or that ,it'll never change . personally (while not participating in it) , l enjoy the banter , so long as it is light-hearted .
Hey everyone, just wanted to chime in on this as I am one of the unlucky ones to have received a defective "BLoD" machine, and I preordered through GameStop online not Amazon. This is a real issue, I'm sad to say! The part that has me twisted is the fact that I will have to wait 2-3 weeks for a replacement from Sony, as GameStop had no resolution for me!
"Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?"
@Bliquid haha, yes sorry, "blood" machine! Well it was shipped directly to me bundled with BF4, I Hooked it up, was lucky enough to connect to PSN long enough to DL the 1.50 update(but couldn't sign in after)but I was fine just playing through the campaign until the network was up...played for approximately 20-30 minutes and the machine just shut down, completely. I thought it was a BF crash(as happened on occasion with BF3)that caused it so I went to power back up and when I touched the power button it made an audible "click" sound but no beep and didn't boot, touched it again and it beeped and started the pulsating blue light. After a minute or two I figured it was just recovering(even though there was no output to the TV)after about 20 minutes of this I started to get concerned. I let it do this for a while longer then got online to see if anyone knew what the deal was, saw some reports from the Taco Bell winners and decided to call Sony to see what I could do. They tried to help but I couldn't power it down without unplugging it and safe mode wouldn't work. So they told me I had to send it in for service..
@eliotgballade There's nothing wrong with having a little fun. Even I've ragged on Xbox One on more than one occassion, but there is a line from where it goes from just being fun to being miserable. Reading through comments on various sites makes it clear that some people main intent is to destroy a brand. It doesn't matter what these companies do, good or bad people are just fixated with pulling them down. Sometimes human nature can be an ugly thing.
What I find funny is that its happening to systems that were shipped. I wonder if the FedEx or whatever shipping company is just tossing the boxes around and they are getting damaged that way. I haven't heard of anyone who got theirs from a store having a problem.
I had a few freezes but nothing major. I had to unplug the PS4 from the power strip that I have but that was it.
If it's just a problem linking with your TV then I suppose that's not too bad. At least the console isn't overheating and breaking or something equally as destructive.
@Tasuki Yea, I was thinking the same thing. My buddy got his from Target and hasn't had any issues..much to my annoyance btw! And he likes to rub it in at least once a day. And I also know of 2 other people who bought theirs at the retailer directly and don't seem to have any issues at all.
@ShogunRok yea some people are having that issue, but the "BLoD" is entirely different. It's a hardware failure of some kind. It wont even let you shut it down without unplugging it! This stuff happens tho, I'm confident they will resolve it an my replacement will work for many abusive years like all my other Sony products! Haha
@eliotgballade
To be honest, I don't like the banter because it all too often has descended downhill into a slanging match.
I'm a PlayStation fan so it always disappoints me when I come here and see a load of bad comments about Xbox. I'm sure there are plenty of Xbox fans that are very nice and I'm sure that X1 will be a very nice thing.... it's just not my thing that's all but I'm not going to talk like an absolute lunatic about xbox.
@Itachi What's the deal with you? Can't you use your energy to feel sorry for the real victims here, our fellow PS fans who have turned on their new consoles to the ultimate disappointment? Xbox fans have got nothing to do with that at all so why try to bring them into it and who cares whether the same thing happens to X1 - I know I don't. Gleefully predicting that the same thing will happen to X1 will do nothing for those poor souls who have had their launch day spoilt? Look, I know this comes across as being fairly hard hitting and it's not my intention to get people's back up but dude I beg you please chill with the Xbox thing.
It pulses right? I instantly thought:
PlayStation Perpetual Pulse Problem -PPPP
@Shaolin, no offense taken, but it wasn't my intent to attack Xbox and after re-reading what I posted I'm not understanding your argument here. I more or less defended both Sony and Xbox. Maybe it 's wrong that I predict something similar happens with Xbox and I really hope it doesn't, but the point I was trying to get at is that both PS4 and Xbox One are victims of fanboy hate. As for the PS4 fans that got cheated with a bad console it's unfortunate, but that's just the way it is with 1st generation anything. That's just the reality of consumer electronics. Hopefully they are being taken care of by customer service and give it another shot.
Well good news just knocked at my door! My return box just arrived! I was expecting it to be 3-5 days as per the Sony customer service rep I spoke with Friday night. Maybe I won't have to wait 2-3 weeks for my replacement after all!
@Shaolin : guess more people should consider the old adage ; "if you have nothing good to say , say nothing at all" - but that's the internet for you.
@Itachi : yes , some people cross the line - but that's the internet for you.
Are u sure! I just read a couple articles stating that the console is not bricked but rather it's a compatibility issue with the system and the TV, if the TV you have the system connected to hasn't either net port Sony suggests updating the software of your TV, its a first but give it a try rather than blaming the Machine!
@Bliquid : indeed
Mine works just fine
@Bliquid hahaha! Thanks brother!
@DoublezZ01 I'm not sure if you were referring to me or not, but if it was a compatibility issue I don't think I would have been able to play it(it worked for about 30 minutes just fine)and I also don't think Sony would have told me it needed to be sent in for service..I dunno, maybe you should call Sony and inform them how to handle this issue!(?)
@Fenriswolf- is just something I read. ... for those whose systems turned on. ..and only the blue light shows! Thank the heavens mines works just fine!
@DoublezZ01 yea it worked great for 30 or so, one of the best 30 minutes I've had in a while! Love the new dual shock btw! But yea, after it shutdown on me it would just sit there unresponsive with the blue light pulsating and never going white again.. Very lousy Friday night, lemme tell ya!
Don't own a PS4 but have a similar Wii U issue story.
My Wii U signal kept stopping on the way to the tv. TV screen would go black, several seconds later HDMI 1080P would show up in the upper right corner. Tried 3 diferent HDMI cables and 4 different HDMI ports on the tv. My PS3, cable box and up-res DVD player all work fine at 1080P on all ports. Call Nintendo, I send it in, a week later they send back a new serial number Wii U . Same problem as before though much less frequently. So apparently it is my tv that has a problem w/ my Wii U. Some people call that a tv problem, I call it a Wii U problem if everything else works fine, but it's probably my tv and some weird HDMI handshake deal.
But the good news was shipping and returning didn't take all that log, so those w/ the problem - you've waited months for the PS4, a couple more weeks won't kill you as long as Sony covers everything. Still wish my Wii U worked better though ;-(
@rjejr man....ive got till Friday to decide if I should get the warranty at game stop or if I should just get the 3 year 1 through Sony! The only thing why I don't just go with Sony is I just don't know how long they might take and or if I can talk to someone by phone or is it all email. ... so far my system has been fine. ... but ya kno im just nervous as heck as this is my first launch unit ever!
As this is a brand new release of a console, it is expected that a fraction of units sold will have problems. Hopefully this will be sorted out quickly, and I am quite sure it will, what with the advances we have made in technology. All consoles have had problems, the PS1, 2 and 3 have had their fair share of problems which were eventually solved. The Xbox 360 had the RROD problem where it baked itself to death, this was fixed with the pro and the elite consoles, all they needed was an effective heat sync. Lets just hope us Europeans and Brits don't get as many faulty consoles on the 29th!
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