Sony reportedly looking into CMOS issue for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles

Sony may be investigating the way in which its PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles require a functional CMOS battery to work properly. As we reported in March, the PlayStation 4 and 5 only award trophies when they have working CMOS batteries. Theoretically, Sony has done this to prevent people from awarding themselves trophies earlier than when they actually did.

However, a dead CMOS battery also makes it impossible to play games on the PlayStation 4, irrespective if they are digital or physical copies. It is a similar story for the PlayStation 5 too, although it can play PlayStation 4 discs. Typically, CMOS batteries will last for decades, so they should outlive a console's lifetime.

In saying that, replacing the CMOS battery only restores the PlayStation 4 and 5's functionality if they can access the PlayStation Network to reset their system clocks. If, for whatever reason, Sony were to disable the PlayStation Network on either console, then the PlayStation 4 and 5 would become bound by the life of their CMOS batteries. This would also apply if Sony switched away from the PlayStation Network to a different platform, however unlikely this currently seems.

Replacing a PlayStation 5's CMOS battery is also a pain, as we reported earlier this week. Thankfully, the Does it play? team may have had some success with imploring its followers to petition Sony for a fix. Apparently, Sony has replied to some people notifying them that it is 'looking at the issue', which is encouraging. Similarly, Does it play? claims that 'internal sources' have informed it that Sony's PR team 'want to get on top of it'. If you want to petition Sony, then Does it play? has a template that you can use.

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