Initializing a PS4 Erases All Your Data, So Back Up First
Initializing a PS4 wipes it back to the way it left the factory: every account, game, save, screenshot and setting on the console goes, and there is no undo. Sony’s warning, from its page on handing on a console: “This process cannot be undone, so be sure not to delete any important data by mistake. Deleted data cannot be restored.”
Sony’s own one line description of the option, from its Safe Mode page: “Deletes all user data and restores the PS4 console to its original state.”
So initializing is the step Sony’s transfer page gives before you replace, transfer or dispose of the console. For a console that is only misbehaving, Sony’s Safe Mode page lists two options this site suggests trying before you initialize, covered below.
What does initializing a PS4 delete?
All your settings and user data. Sony’s transfer page says that when you initialize a PS4, “all settings and information saved on the PS4 console are deleted.”
The same page tells you to “back up your data and reset your console” in that order, and lays out the back up steps before the reset.
What should I back up before initializing a PS4?
Work down Sony’s list in order. The steps are its own, with its wording kept where it matters; the one step Sony prints under “Remove your PS5 console M.2 SSD” is for a PS5 and is left out.
- Write down the serial number and keep it somewhere safe.
- Take out any USB device or disc you want to keep.
- Save your games, saves and captures. Sony lists three ways: a backup file of your console data, your saved data uploaded to the cloud, or a USB drive or USB extended storage.
- If you are moving to a new console and still have the old one, Sony says: “If you are upgrading and have access to both your old and new consoles, you can transfer your data.”
- Sync your trophies by hand, so no trophy data is lost.
How do I initialize a PS4?
Open Settings, then Initialization, then choose Initialize PS4 and pick Full. Sony’s two lines: “Go to Settings > Initialization” and “Select Initialize PS4 > Full”.
Full is the option Sony’s page names. The strings Quick and quick count 0 on both pages, so this article describes no Quick option.
Can I initialize a PS4 from Safe Mode?
Yes. Sony’s Safe Mode page lists Initialize PS4 among the options, and the way in is a power button hold with two beeps.
- Turn the console off by holding the power button for three seconds.
- Once it is off, press and hold the power button again.
- Let go at the second beep. Sony: “one beep sounds when you first press, and another seven seconds later.”
- Plug the controller in with its USB cable and press the PS button.
Two Initialize options sit in that menu. Initialize PS4 restores the console to its original state, and “Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software)” is described as: “Deletes all user data and removes PS4 firmware.”
Sony’s warning for the whole menu: “Some Safe Mode options will result in the loss of data.” It says to back up to a USB drive or Cloud Storage before you pick one.
Is there a lighter option than initializing?
Two of Sony’s eight PS4 Safe Mode options fit a console that is only acting up, and this site’s recommendation is to try them before you initialize.
Restore Default Settings keeps your content. Sony: “Restores the PS4 system to the default factory settings. Restoring default settings won’t delete content on console storage such as games, apps, screenshots, video clips, and saved data.”
Rebuild Database scans the drive and builds a new database of everything on the system. Sony’s cases for it: “system feature issues or a game icon remains on Home after it has been deleted.”
If Safe Mode itself will not start, Sony says: “If you can’t start your console in Safe Mode using the steps above, you may need to turn it off and turn it on again, or check the cables. See the guide below for the steps to take before requesting a repair.” The guide Sony links there is titled “Can’t start in Safe Mode”. Under “Still having issues?” the same page says: “Please visit the PlayStation Repairs diagnostic tool for further steps and to arrange a repair.”
What Sony’s two pages do not cover
Neither page prints how long initializing takes (minutes, hour and how long count 0 on both). Neither prints a performance or speed reason to initialize (speed and faster count 0 on both; performance appears once, in the PS5 cache line): the transfer page gives it as the step before you replace, transfer or dispose of the console, and the Safe Mode page lists it as a data loss option.
Related on this site: PS4 game data, rest mode on a PS4, and rebuilding a PS5 database.
Frequently asked questions
Does initializing a PS4 delete games?
Yes. Sony’s description is “all settings and information saved on the PS4 console are deleted”. Back up first with one of Sony’s three routes above.
Will I lose my PlayStation Plus subscription?
Sony’s transfer FAQ answers this for a new console: “When you sign in to PlayStation on a new console, your subscriptions are applied to your account.”
Can I move the hard drive to another PS4 instead?
Sony’s answer is no: “If you move your PS4 console’s internal HDD and install it in another console, the HDD will be reformatted, which will delete all data on it.”
What is the difference between Initialize PS4 and Restore Default Settings?
Restore Default Settings puts the settings back and keeps your content; Sony says it “won’t delete content on console storage such as games, apps, screenshots, video clips, and saved data.” Initialize PS4 deletes all user data and restores the console to its original state.
Should I initialize before selling a PS4?
That is the case Sony’s transfer page is written for: before you replace, transfer or dispose of the console, “be sure to back up your data and reset your console.” For the end of the console’s life it adds: “Follow local regulations when disposing of your console.”