The PlayStation 5 requires a functional CMOS battery to work properly, but Sony has also made the 3V cell a mission to replace

Does it Play? has analyzed the effect of a dead CMOS battery on the PlayStation 5. A few weeks ago, we explained that a dead CMOS battery could cripple the Sony PlayStation 4, albeit only if Sony disables the PlayStation Network for its last-generation console. While Sony's u-turn on keeping the PlayStation Store open for even older consoles makes this seem less likely, a dead CMOS battery could still prove a headache for PlayStation 5 owners.

Essentially, The same pitfalls of a dead or faulty CMOS battery apply to the PlayStation 5 as they do with the PlayStation 4. Both consoles require a working CMOS battery to award trophies, but the PlayStation 5 relies on its battery to run digital games too. Apparently, Sony's latest console can play physical discs to varying successes, although this is not ideal either.

A CMOS battery may outlast the life of other parts in the PlayStation 5, including its built-in SSD. The latter is impossible to swap out as it is soldered to the motherboard, but Sony has made replacing the CMOS battery a pain, in our opinion. To do so requires separating the motherboard from its heatsink, between which Sony has applied liquid metal.

Hence, if you ever need to replace a CMOS battery, then you must have some liquid metal to hand before you re-assemble your console, too. Ultimately, this would not be an issue if Sony were to stop game purchases and trophies to a console's CMOS battery. Regardless, replacing the CMOS battery in a PlayStation 5 will always be unnecessarily difficult.

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