New PS5 Firmware Update Is Available to Download Now, Here's What It Does

Wake me up when it's Folders

No folders/themes as usual. Let me know when the XMB comes back into fashion.
PS5 UI really is a mess and they refuse to improve it - typical New Fony Sony.

Surprised they haven't started charging for OS updates.

At least it's not disabling the disc drive.... 🤣

I wonder if this one will fix the broken for years store Wishlist or store crashing on the long sales lists? I doubt it.

Also, can anyone ever get the Slideshow to work on the Welcome screen background thing? I can set it to show some cycling favourite screenshots okay, but as soon as I play a game and return to the dashboard or turn off the PS5, it forgets the setting and goes back to showing a blank default background. Another thing that's never worked for me.

Yeah and it will lock your disk drive so you won't use disks. Sarcasm 🤪

@sanderson72 I'm surprised Sony's new update didn't kill the disc drive already...

@sanderson72 the ps4 ui was so much better, i don’t know what was going through their heads to change it just for the sake of it. ps5 ui is ass backwards

@sanderson72 xmb was the don

@nomither6 So true. PS5's UI was garbage in 2020 and its garbage in 2026.

I never understood the dislike of the PS5 UI.

Personally, I've always thought PS5 was a much better UI system than PS4. Much easier to get to where I want to go for things, and quickly see what I want to see.
Not to mention that the PS4 UI was really slow and clunky (almost broken feeling at times near the end of the gen), but thats likely more to do with the SSD, and memory transfer speed.

Themes were OK, but I like the individual game windows - particularly if they have their own music (which a lot of the games I play do).

The welcome page is decent enough, with a couple of widgets I like to use.

The only loss from PS4 was folders.

@Muttt please don't give Sony any ideas 🤣

Yawn - is that it

@Rich33 Agreed. It is super smooth and does everything it needs to do or should do in a quick and reliable manner. The welcome screen and the added widgets were a fantastic addition over time, too.

Wow... they updated messenger I used last time in 2016... nice work.

@Rich33 I don't get the hate for the PS5 UI either. I find it clean and easy on the eyes.

I have a PS3 and I can't stand the XMB. Everyone glazes on it but I think it's rightfully horrid.

Maybe Sony can put these updates onto disk for those whinging physical collectors.

Won't somebody think about the stability?! The Performance?!

How will it survive without an update for two weeks. How will any of us survive? 😢

Folders and theme colours would be nice.
I'm sure it's not that hard to implement folders on the library screen for installed items. I have 300 games installed, so organisation is tricky at the moment.
The purchased screen has game lists, but games can be added to multiple lists and there's no indication that a game is on a specific list.
BTW, has the hidden list bug gotten fixed yet?

@sanderson72 PS5 has had themes for a year......

The abundance of “did they turn off the disc drive?” comments did not disappoint. Good work people. 👍

Maybe the PS6 will give us Folders, and they’ll tell us that was only possible with an all digital system. 😝

Well at least this post killed time while it installed. Lata

we need folder got over 3000 games

I’m as excited by this as my latest iPhone update.

I like how all these updates are like a gigabyte large but doesn't actually take up extra space it rewrites code using existing storage

I love how people go to completely unrelated articles to make them about digital v physical as if the dozens that have been posted about that on here the last three weeks haven’t been enough

@LN78 I can’t wait to see the bitching when Sony starts removing games from libraries. I’ll have my favourite mug at the ready 👍🏻

@ElPenitente
I never had a PS3, and didn't spend long enough on one to comment.
But I did have a PS4 / 4Pro, and was certainly not disappointed when I first saw the PS5 UI.

The update probably disables your disc drive if not used for 3 months.

@dodgykebaab No it hasn't.

Don't count the pretty pointless Welcome screen as a 'theme' if it disappears once you're off that one screen and as for the dreary funereal "music", can't change that either.

@Rich33 Change is hard for people. I've gotten so used to PS5's UI so.much when I go back to PS4, navigation seems slow all of a sudden. The icons on PS5 aren't in your face all day like the PS4 to.justify themes, they only come up small below when you press the PS button. Every game having their own background is theme enough.

@TheArt
Very true.

I got a tiny bit bored of themes - I think I actually prefer the individual game windows / backgrounds (particularly with music).
It was nice when Sony added the anniversary themes for PS5, but I soon reverted to standard. I also used the log fire background on the welcome screen over Xmas.

It probably does have a lot to do with the hardware, but the PS4 UI was painfully slow, and perhaps even more so on 4Pro (as every time you come out of a game it had to shift data out of the slow RAM into the main RAM - something that doesn't cause an issue on 5Pro).
But, I also find PS5 less cumbersome.

Would be nice to have the store not crash on me every 2 minutes…

Bring back the XMB.

@DingleberrySoup yes, because Sony giving up physical copies mean people must die.

It's time for you to get a new hobby if you feel this strongly about their decision.

I hope any changes to the displayed background actually stick now. I tried to swap from the roaring fireplace option seeing as I don't need to feel much warmer at the minute but it won't stay gone!

I’m happy with everything UI wise as it is, hence it’s my preferred ecosystem as a whole. But any improvements suggested above I wouldn’t mind experimenting with.

However, for now I shall welcome the firmware update with open arms, knowing my PS5 is now more firm than ever.

@Muttt hahaha!! Imagine that 🤯

Thanks for the update Stephen, I always look forward to reading these firmware update articles while gently sipping my morning coffee with a treat from my local patisserie.

I always go in expecting the usual 'performance and stability improvements', so imagine my surprise to see 'messages and usability' improvements! I nearly choked on my blueberry muffin!

Keep up the good work.

I stopped updating my ps5 on July 1st. Like Sony, I have other plans moving forward.

Its amazing how bait focused the internet brain is nowadays isnt it? The story is the update isnt news. And yet they've published a story on the level of "boring update incoming" for humour I assume and clicks. But man! The comments of people wading in on it! And yes. The irony is not lost that I have now contributed!

There’s a secret feature in the new update. After it finished, I put my console in rest mode and left the room. I heard a noise so I stealthily crept down the hall and peeked my head back through the door and saw a tiny little mechanical arm reach out, grab one of the discs off my shelf, and snap it in half.

Wow, you people joking about them messing with the disc drive are hilarious. Almost as much as the people who are flooding any third party that has anything remotely to do with Sony. Seriously, grow up.

On topic, going to wait to install this since some had issues with the update last time.

Look at Sony, knocking all those tough headlines right off the front page!

Will there ever be an update that will allow the option to disable any and all Automatic downloading. If I don't want to update a game it is because I don't want to update that game. Why does Sony intrude and have my PS5 auto downloading an update.

After inserting a game disc into my PS3 If a game has an available update my PS3 will ask me if I want to update. When I declined I would not be asked again as long as that disc remained in the disc drive. There was also no PS4 sneaky background downloading and installing an update that would be announced as completed in an onscren message while I am playing the game. With no option to disable the intrusion I disconnect my PS4 from the internet.

Now I have found the PS5 is intruding and auto downloading an update, it's 25GB so I have time to cancel. This happens everytime I start the game, it's a PS4 disc. I have yet to see if the update will also auto install. So now I just disconnect from the internet when I play that game. A game I want to play the original unpatched version of.

If an update is more than 500MB there should be a law that makes companies list the entire change log! 1.2GB has to be more than "improved messaging" and "stability". This size is not easy for people with poor internet to download and play in a timely manner. Some people even still have metered internet. They should also tell us why it has to be an entire firmware and not a simple update.

@NoCode23 You know you can delete the patch, right?

@NoCode23 You should have a look at this video, it goes over how to do that, and the benefits of doing so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afk76H_mxW4

@Rich33 I feel like Themes were overrated as heck. I loved my Spidey PS4 theme but after having it for two days, I immediately would just go into the game and would forget about it. The fact that people paid for that stuff is insane to me.

Generally I find the PS5 UI rather clean overall. I find Steam has too much information on screen, the Xbox is messy and the ads suck. Nintendo's is good but I barely notice it.

@Muttt "We noticed an incorrect feature in the newest update which kept the disc drive in working condition. This is an oversight on our part as this update was meant to disable the disc drive. We will implement a hotfix for this issue shortly. Thank you for your understanding"

I've been advised not to update my PS5 anymore, at least not until it's clear what they're patching in... or out. Sony are not too be trusted anymore and I wouldn't be surprised if they start blocking physical games eventually if this backlash doesn't go the way they want it to.

No more updates.. Waiting for jailbreak!!! 🏴‍☠️

It immediately gave me two random errors then continued as normal. Big whoop!

@Zaczumba
Thanks for the link to a very interesting video. I'll keep my PS5 and PS4 pro updated, but my regular PS4 will stay at 6.02. For unwanted game patches and updates it is easy to just disconnect my PS4 Pro and PS5 slim from the internet.

@Dangerously To be quiet fair, it's a really niche group of people who pay anymore attention this then the splash screen telling you it's updating something.
Definitely nothing that the ever-expanding role of government, should also be concerned with.

@colt45z Hope you thought that like that more than a year or two ago.