Is PlayStation Network Down? Check PSN Status

These days, live-service games are the biggest hits. Different consoles use different services that allow users to interact with each other.

On Xbox, you’ll find Xbox Live, while on the PlayStation 5, the service is called PlayStation Network, or PSN. The PlayStation Network allows you to link up with your friends and play all sorts of multiplayer games. The Esports Arena is huge these days, and it is services like the PSN that make things like this possible.

To be able to play online games with your friends, you’ll have to create a PSN account. If you do not have one, you won’t be able to link up with your friends. At times, you won’t be able to connect with your friends as the network may be down.

The PlayStation Network can be down for all sorts of reasons. With a global outage, you might find your PlayStation Network busy. At times, weekly maintenance may disrupt servers, preventing you from entering. Another reason could be a faulty internet connection. Whatever the reason, we are here to clear up the confusion.

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How Long Can PSN be down?

As we can’t predict the outages that may occur, we can never tell for how long the PlayStation network can be down. Mostly, outages last only a few minutes to a few hours. However, at times, if things are bad, the outage may last for a couple of days. This may happen during festive periods or in events such as Distributed Denial of Services.

I remember back in 2011 when we faced a major PSN outage that lasted for about 24 days or something. Due to hacker vulnerabilities, gamers had to suffer a lot during that time. The PlayStation Network was damaged regardless of how swiftly Sony acted.

Major damage was done as hackers were allowed to gather all the personal data of users. There was also a huge risk of hackers gaining control over credit card information. Sadly, Sony was two days late to acting, and the damage that was to be done was already done. This outage caused huge losses to the industry, but Sony was able to recover the damage and made a comeback with a better update.

Now you might be wondering if it is possible to play games when there is a PlayStation network outage. Yes, you will be able to play offline games and single-player ones that don’t require an internet connection. If you own digital versions of games or have games in physical copies, you won’t be able to play any games.

If you have a digital PS5, you’ll need a PSN account linked to the PlayStation Network. You can’t play disk games on a PS5 digital. Therefore, you’ll have to reply to games you have purchased with your PSN account on such a console. In order to play games, you must have them downloaded from the PlayStation Store.

In order to play such games, you’ll have to be connected to a strong and steady internet connection. If your PS5 isn’t connected to the internet or if the PSN servers aren’t working, you’ll be missing out on gaming. In addition, before your game can be launched, your PlayStation is programmed to perform a license check.

How To Check PSN Is Down?

Down servers can be a major pain in the back as they disturb your entire gaming session. We often assume our internet connection is faulty when experiencing server issues. However, in reality, the internet connection is fine, but the servers might be undergoing some maintenance.

Once the servers are down, all you can do in the meantime is wait for them to be back up. You can easily check the status of the PlayStation network server to see whether it’s up and working or not. The PSN status can be checked through your console. Moreover, it can also be checked from your browser. We’ll show you the steps for both procedures.

Check PSN Status from The Website

If you don’t have your PlayStation 5 around you and you want to see your PlayStation Network server status, there’s nothing to worry about. You can easily view the server status from Sony’s official website using your web browser.

Follow the steps below to view PSN server status using your browser:

  1. Launch your web browser.
  2. Visit Sony’s official website.
  3. Search for the terms PSN Service Status.
  4. Go ahead and sign in with your PSN ID.
  5. Enter your current region.

If the servers are working, you’ll be able to see green ticks. On the other hand, if you can see yellow or red marks, you should know that these indicate down servers. If the PSN servers are down and you lack a PlayStation Network connection, you’ll be missing out on playing games with your friends. Other than that, you also won’t be able to play games on a PlayStation 5 digital if you lack an internet connection.

To get the best out of your gaming experience on the PS5, it is essential that you stay linked to the PlayStation Network. The problem can be easily resolved unless there is some serious problem with your ISP.

Check PSN Server Status from PlayStation 5

You can also check the server status of PSN directly from your PlayStation 5 if you have a steady Internet connection. Again, this is a very simple process, and we’ll take you through all the steps to find out if your servers are up or not.

The following are steps to check the server status from your PlayStation 5:

  1. First, launch your PS5 and find your way to the settings.
  2. Select the network tab.
  3. Go to PlayStation Network Status and press the X button on it.
  4. Allow it to take time and wait for the results to come.

If all the services are marked green, it means the PSN servers are up and running perfectly. However, if the servers are red or yellow, it means the servers are faulty and down. This could be due to a global outage or some scheduled maintenance. To find out the underlying cause, navigate to Sony’s official news portal to gain some updates on the issue. This will inform you of the causes, and you may also find out when the servers will be back up and running.

Why Isn’t My PSN Working?

At times, the servers might be up and running, but your PlayStation Network might still fail to work properly. We have a problem here, and this can get very frustrating for users.

Imagine you’re in your best mood for gaming, and your PlayStation Network stops working all of a sudden, regardless of all the servers being up and running. But don’t you worry, as there is a solution to everything. We’ll show you a couple of methods you can try out to see if you can get rid of this problem.

Port Forward on the Router

You may be able to connect your PS5 to PSN by opening the PSN ports on your router.

Follow the steps below to port forward on your PlayStation 5:

  1. First of all, log in to your router.
  2. Find your way to the Advanced settings section. Once you are there, search for the Port Forwarding portion.
  3. Go ahead and enter the IP address of your computer here.
  4. You must now set the TCP ports 80, 443, and 3480.
  5. On the UDP, go ahead and type 3478, 3479, 49152 to 65535.
  6. Once you’re done with all that, save the changes.
  7. After the changes are saved, reboot your router and check for your PlayStation Network status.

After performing this procedure, you should be able to gain access to the PlayStation Network using your PS5. If you are still facing issues, contact your ISP or try the method below to see what works for you.

Change DNS

At times, your ISP’s own default DNS may be experiencing some issues technically, which may be the reason for your network malfunction. For example, if you have a slow DNS address, it might take more time for your PSN to connect. It is suggested to use Google’s DNS to fix this problem, as it is more stable and reliable compared to others.

Go through the steps below to change your DNS settings:

  1. Using your PlayStation 5, navigate your way to the settings.
  2. Now select the Network tab.
  3. Inside Network, press on Internet Connection Setup.
  4. Once done, choose the Use Wi-Fi option and then click on Custom.
  5. Now find your IP Address and set it to automatic. Also, choose the Do Not Specify option beneath the DHCP Host Name segment.
  6. Now go ahead and press on the Manual option for your DNS settings. Once done, enter the following inside:
  7. Primary DNS – 8.8.8.8
  8. Secondary DNS – 8.8.4.4
  9. At last, set the MTU Settings value to 1456. After that, for the hit on Do Not Use for the Proxy server.

Now perform a test to check your connection status. You should now be connected to the PSN server.

FAQs

Is PlayStation Network running right now?

The following are steps to check the server status from your PlayStation 5:

  • Launch your PS5 and find your way to the settings.
  • Select the network tab.
  • Go to PlayStation Network Status and press the X button on it.
  • Allow it to take time and wait for the results to come.

You can also check the network status from your browser by following these steps:

  • Launch your web browser.
  • Visit Sony’s official website.
  • Search for the terms PSN Service Status.
  • Go ahead and sign in with your PSN ID.
  • Enter your current region.

Why is my PlayStation Network not working?

The PlayStation Network can be down for all sorts of reasons. With a global outage, you might find your PlayStation Network busy. At times, weekly maintenance may disrupt servers, preventing you from entering. Another reason could be a faulty internet connection.

How long are PS4 servers going to be down?

As we can’t predict the outages that may occur, we can never tell for how long the PlayStation network can be down. Mostly, outages last only a few minutes to a few hours. However, at times, if things are bad, the outage may last for a couple of days. For example, this may happen during festive periods or in events such as Distributed Denial of Services.

What does PlayStation Network is busy mean?

When the PlayStation Network is busy, players won’t be able to utilize any online features. You won’t get updates about your favorite games, you won’t be able to enjoy online gameplay, and you won’t be able to interact with your friends.

In addition, you won’t be able to access anything requiring an Internet connection. This may be caused by problems in connecting to a network. It may also be due to busy servers and some other reasons as well.

Wrapping It Up

The PlayStation 5 has had its major share of issues ever since it was launched. Most of the issues are related to Internet problems. Not being able to connect to PlayStation Network can be super frustrating. You won’t be able to come online and play games.

Moreover, you won’t be able to enjoy multiplayer games with your buddies either. In this article, we showed you everything you need to know regarding a PlayStation Network Issue. After going through this article, you should now know what it means when PSN is not working. Either you have a faulty internet connection, or maybe the PSN servers are down.

Related:
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Nick Miller

It's Nick Miller a 25 year old tech enthusiast and senior editor at Flexgate, i try to make tech simple for the everyday person. You will find review about tech, tools and Computer hardware here.

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