About five or so months ago, you may remember there being a bit of a fuss surrounding the PlayStation 4's internal CMOS battery and how should it die alongside Sony eventually pulling PS Store support on the console, the system would effectively be rendered useless. The small component in question is used to verify the date and time Trophies are unlocked on PS4 to prevent any cheating, but while the battery is easily replaced, not being able to connect to PSN after installing a new one would mean you can't access your games anymore — physical or digital. That's because PS4 titles must connect to the network at least once before they're able to run.
This created a bit of concern amongst the hardcore PlayStation community, with some worrying about what would happen to current PS4 titles should PSN support be pulled and the CMOS battery in question die on them. Well, the good news is that this concern is no longer a problem at all as Sony has fixed the issue with the recent firmware update 9.00.
YouTuber Modern Vintage Gamer investigated the claims after tweets were put out by members of the community and has issued the video embedded above. MVG removed the CMOS battery from a base PS4 and downloaded the 9.00 firmware update, then disconnected the system from the internet upon successful installation. Whereas before a game would immediately display error CE-30391-6 and refuse to run any PS4 titles, the console now boots the game successfully and enables play. It is noted that an earned PS4 Trophy wasn't displaying, however.
Just to double-check, MVG then inserted a PS4 disc and downloaded and installed Shadow of the Colossus from scratch with the CMOS battery removed and the console disconnected from PSN. It still worked, meaning the problem has been fixed in its entirety. "We have 100 per cent confirmed that it's working," MVG concludes.
[source youtube.com, via News: PS4 Clock Battery Problem Proven, But Don't Panic Right Now]
Comments 47
Awesome. Something that most people won't think or care about but for some this will enable them to play some great games 10 or 15 years down the line.
Damn, I smashed my PS4’s yesterday because I thought they were as good as doorstops. Egg all over my face.
Nice. Glad to see Sony fixed the issue after it was brought up.
Cool, I already sold my ps4 pro after I got my ps5, but I'm glad the issue has been resolved.
Great news indeed! This means I can keep my PS4 for as long as I want. I plan to replace mine with PS5 but this update will surely let me keep it
Ahh sweet! Was this an issue with the PS3 as well though? Or am I misremembering
Good it was slightly unnerving however I wasn't overly worried about it. I had a feeling something would be done about it at some point and here we are.
"That's because PS4 titles must connect to the network at least once before they're able to run."
Are you sure about this? Cause I have played plenty of games while not connected to the internet, even for the first time.
@Octane It has to be connected to the internet if the internal battery dies.
If that battery is dead or not present, then it has to be online. If it cant do THAT, then lol your games were dead.
Great for preservation
Thank you, Sony for removing that awful DRM
Now do the same for the PS3 please.
@Octane unless they mean ps+ games , that you need to be online to play to confirm you are still subscribed.
@ralphdibny
PS3 only has a time limit on digital games.
They have an expiry time that has to be re-verified through PSN every couple of years. Physical is unaffected.
Yes. That now means all of my PS1/2/3/4 games are fine forever. I only buy physical so I'm all good. As for updates, there is an archive on the internet for every PS3/4 game that ever released. So when the PSN does eventually go down, with the help of CFW we'll be able to install game updates offline via USB.
Digital people who don't back up their games will still be out of luck though.
They need to do this with PS3 and PS5 also, it still exists with those too.
Fantastic news, great job Sony! Is another victory fought by us "whiners" 🙂
@Snake_V5
False
There has never been this ‘issue’ on PS5
You probably got caught in the all FUD propaganda surrounding PS5 and all the misinformation.
"See-ya CMOS" missed opportunity!
@JJ2 https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/ps5-confirmed-to-have-cmos-battery-failure-issue-2922693
Good to see them resolve this issue.
@Snake_V5
https://twitter.com/ign_in/status/1394644954245255168?s=21
Edit
I also saw videos showing digital worked.
Not sure to what extend it was tested though.
(Astrobot worked but yes digital is tied to PSN. The main concern was discs though and that’s never been an issue on PS5)
Good job Sony. The battery is very useful for keeping track of the time if you disconnect the PS4 or lose power and to help prevent cheating.
Great to do this at the start of the PS5 gen before they start sunsetting the PS4 store in the next X years.
This was always something that they could fix as the console reach E.O.L status with late firmware. Consoles need to fight against piracy to exist and these systems are just a part of that fight.
I had CMOS with my smoothy at lunch ot was delicious!
Long live the PS4!!!
This is great news. It won't be important for most people but anyone who treasures their physical collections/consoles should be delighted. Well done Sony for listening.
@jrt87 I still regularly use my PS3, both to play games and as a secondary Blu-ray and DVD player. Whenever I'm able to buy a PS5 down the road, I intend to keep using the PS4 the same way. My kids have a variety of games that they like to play, and this will allow us to use them on both systems/levels of our house eventually.
Great to hear. No trophies is a small sacrifice for still being able to play the games.
@roe For some... Very few... - 10-15 years from now, people will want, have, or be trying to get a PlayStation 6 and the PS4 will be ancient. - It will not matter, no matter how hard people are trying to act like they will care about the PS4 10 or even 5 years from now. - By then, PS5s will be all over the place and you can play any significant PS4-game on it as well.
@SoulChimera - You smashed multiple PS4s?... Are you just trying to sound tough or cool or get attention something?... Cause why would you do that even at the slightest hint of "uselessness" while that's far from the truth?... Are you so hungry for destruction that you'll look for any reason to do so?... Weird.
Sony invented the millennium bug 20 years too late
I don't care , I want a damn PS5 . Wtf is slouch-ryan doing ? like , really .
Definitely a positive, but if someone buys a unit after the server's go down I hope they'll still have an update that can be installed via USB.
@SoulChimera
[Fozzy voice] "Funny FUNNY!" 😆
What about the PS4 update error?
I keep all of my PlayStation consoles, so this is nice. Although I technically only need a PS5 to play PS5 and PS4 games. And my backwards compatible PS3 to play PS1-3 games.
Good job removing the time bomb you left in everyone's PS4 I guess?
@MicHaeL_MonStaR I’ll be honest, mostly cool, but I think smashing multiple PS4’s implies my immense power.
One was a launch day PS4 which has some crazy sharp edges. The second was a Pro which is triple layered for extra protection.
Fortunately I used my original Xbox Duke controller like a medieval flail and made short work of both.
@KnightRider1982 It hasn't been seen by many to be honest. Like many others on here, mine sailed through without a problem.
If you're worried by it, do a backup of whatever you can (everything preferably otherwise game save data) before you run the update. Maybe do a database rebuild just to make sure everything on the hard drive is in order before you start?
@SoulChimera. I join @MicHaeL_MonStaR in being alarmed by your attitude. I respect your immense power and can only imagine with awe the magnificence with which you yield it, but try to remember that great power must be tempered with great responsibility.
EXCELLENT News Really didn't like the sound of not being able to play my disc games etc etc if the Battery went. Hopefully the PS5 is ok to or they fix that to if it has the same problem.
@ralphdibny Yes it was, and I dont see why they couldn't push a similar firmware update to PS3, but they won't.
@sanderson72
What about Safe Mode?
@KnightRider1982 Could do but you'd need OS 9.00 on a USB stick with the correct format and directory structure. Are you expecting problems if you update it in normal mode?
Kudos to Sony on fixing this.
@sanderson72
I've not download it, because I've been advised not to until a patch has been released.
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