The PlayStation 5 had a successful launch, but it didn't come without a litany of issues. Despite the widespread chip shortage affecting a variety of tech industries, the PS5 managed to become the fastest-selling console in US history. The figures are great for Sony, but customers have been left with problems that plague their new hardware, specifically one related to the PlayStation 5's rest mode function.
Rest mode was introduced to Sony's consoles with the PS4 and allows players to keep their system in a suspended state for a variety of reasons. Games can remain running to ensure a quick restart, downloads and uploads can be performed so that applications remain up to date, and rest mode significantly reduces boot-up time. Especially combined with the PS5's solid state drive, rest mode helps players get into a game in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, the issues with rest mode weren't one of the post-launch PS5 problems that got fixed just yet.
Since the PlayStation 5 launched in November 2020, owners have reported console crashes and total hardware failures after putting the system in rest mode. Sony has released a handful of system updates since the console's launch, but it doesn't appear that the rest mode issues have been definitively resolved. Tom's Guide still has the PS5 rest modes issue on its list of ongoing PS5 issues. While convenient, rest mode isn't strictly necessary, so concerned (or affected) PS5 owners might want to avoid using rest mode until Sony has addressed the problem directly.
PlayStation 5 Rest Mode Can Be Disabled
The issue is not universal to all PlayStation 5 consoles, and the only way to find out if rest mode will crash the console is to try. Those who are particularly unlucky may end up with a bricked console, while others will just have to wait for the PS5 to rebuild its database after a crash. System software updates frequently come with a note about increased stability and have even solved other PS5 rest mode issues, so the issue may not be as widespread as it once was, but the safest course of action for those concerned would be to disable the PlayStation 5's rest mode entirely.
Navigating the PS5's home screen to the settings, then System, and then Power Saving should provide an option to turn off automatic rest mode. There are two separate settings for the PS5 entering rest mode after a certain amount of time during media playback, and while a game is running. Both of these can be changed so that the console doesn't go into rest mode. Those with the rest mode issue should be careful, though, since it can still be entered from the PlayStation 5 control center and by pressing the power button on the console itself. If the power button is held down until it pings twice, however, then the console will shut down completely instead.
Source: Tom's Guide