Still Holding On to Your PS4? Here’s How to Back Up and Restore It

While the Sony PS4 console itself may feel like a bit of old news these days, there are plenty of gamers that are still holding onto theirs. Whether it’s in tandem with a PS5 or they’re happy with their console setup the PS4 or PS4 Pro provides. 

That said, given the age of the console, you may run into issues with it. So if you find your PS4 game data is corrupting out of the blue or you want to have a more reliable backup of your data, you’re in the right place. Below, we’ll show you how to backup and restore your data so you can be prepared if something happens to it. 

For more Playstation, don’t miss how to factory reset your PS5 and how to backup your data on your PS5. 

What you need to do to back up your PS4 console

Making a backup of your PS4 is smart for several reasons beyond replacing corrupted data. Having a background is necessary if you’re replacing your hard disk, selling your PS4 or replacing your system with a new console.

Prepare your external storage

Before you jump in, you’ll need to have a USB drive that’s formatted in either EXFAT or FAT32, along with enough storage to accommodate the data you’re trying to back up. Formatting your USB drive is straightforward and can be done natively from your Windows machine or a Mac. 

Sync your trophies manually

Your game trophies won’t be included with your backup, so you’ll have to do this manually. 

1. From the PS4 home, navigate to and select Trophies
2. From the trophies screen, press the Options button on your controller
3. Select Sync with Playstation Network

From there, all of your trophies will be uploaded to PSN, and you can continue. 

How to backup your PS4 data

Ok, with your trophies synced and your USB drive formatted, you’re ready to backup your PS4 data.

1. Insert your USB drive into your PS4
2. Navigate to Settings > System > Back Up and Restore
3. Select Back up
4. Choose the data you want to back up from the list and select Confirm
5. Add a description for your backup file and select Back up. 

You’ll get an estimated completion time for the backup, and once the backup’s done, you can remove the USB drive and keep it in a safe place for whenever you may need it. 

How to restore PS4 data

The process for restoring your PS4 data is similar to backing it up. 

1. Insert your USB drive that has your backup file on it into your PS4
2. Navigate to Settings > System > Back Up and Restore
3. Select Restore PS4
4. Select the backup file by pressing the X button on your PS4 controller
5. Select Restore

The PS4 will restart and begin the restoration process. Performing a restore with this method will also reset the PS4, leaving only the data found within the backup file you used to restore it with. 

For more, be sure to check out everything we know about the Playstation 5 Pro.