The PS4 reportedly has an error that can result in PlayStation players losing all of their games. According to dataminers, the PS4 has an error when the PS4 cmos battery dies — ERROR CE 34878-0 — that renders all PS4 digital files unusable without a server reconnection. The error also pulls the plug on disc playback. As a result, if you can’t connect to PSN, the error could render all of your games — both digital and physical — completely useless.
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Word of the error comes the way of Does It Play and Lance McDonald, the latter of which reveals the error is because Trophies on PS4 require the console’s internal system clock to be correct. It requires this to prevent players from changing their PS4 date/time to make it look they got trophies earlier or later than they actually did. And as they note, this means that if your PS4 clock battery dies, all of your games die as well until you connect to the PSN network.
Of course, this is really only a problem if PSN ever goes away. There’s a good chance your PS4 cmos battery will eventually die. In fact, it’s basically inevitable. However, it’s hard to imagine a future where PSN doesn’t exist. However, when and if that future arrives, this will be a huge problem, though thankfully it can be fixed, and it can also be avoided completely with a jailbroken console.
“Just to emphasize: you can fix this by just putting a new battery in then syncing your console to the PSN once,” adds McDonald. “We are just pointing out that the console will be bricked in some imaginary distant future when the PSN goes away (if ever?).”
That said, while it’s unlikely this puzzling engineering decision will come to haunt PlayStation players, the thought of it is enough to have them worried and outraged.
Why?!?
The first sentence sounds like “yeah, that’s bad for the trophy hunters but it’s not that important” and then completely escalated with the second sentence.
— c0de (@c0degaf) March 24, 2021
Why?! Why would you design it that way? Games not being able to play because trophies don’t work?
What a Shame
You change the battery then try to connect to the PSN and realize the PSN servers for the PS4 closed years ago.
— Komo “Thermonuclear Bomb Design Research” Tho (@KomothoX) March 24, 2021
“Congratulations, your PS4 is now a giant brick”
Jailbreaking is the only solution in this case, huh?
What a shame, Sony.
Not even physical games will work.
GREAT
So this problem is just because of those stupid trophies? GREAT. Thank you Sony. I can’t wait to lose access to all my games because of your fucking trophies.
— Emka (@Deformed_Monkey) March 23, 2021
Piracy
Does Sony want piracy? Because this is how you get piracy.
— Billum (@Billum256) March 10, 2021
Liars
So basically the thing Sony made fun of Microsoft for doing and used to gain a lot of goodwill for not doing, they were actually doing themselves.
— Hauke (@AritraTheGnome) March 23, 2021
Sony, lying about their hardware since 1995.
Concerns Validated
Yep, see Im always concerned about this kind of thing.
— Voxelsaurus Vex (@Voxelsaurus_Vex) March 10, 2021
Say Sike
Say sike right now
— Lali (@Lalinanfoni) March 22, 2021
Eye Opener
Ohh boy this is an eye opener
— Jesus Torrado (@zero3609) March 10, 2021
THIS
So you’re telling me that one day I will no longer be able to play P.T.?!
— Edward Torres (@Murderstorm117) March 10, 2021
At the moment of publishing, Sony has not commented on the information above or the concerns it’s all raised. Further, it’s unclear if this is also a problem on the PS5. That said, if any of this changes or if any additional information surfaces, we will be sure to update the story accoridngly.
