Here's how to reset PS5 to sell it: back up your saves to PS Plus cloud storage or a USB drive, turn off Console Sharing and Offline Play, sign out of PlayStation Network, then go to Settings, System, System Software, Reset Options and pick Reset Your Console. The reset erases every user, game, save and setting on the internal storage and drops the console back on the first-time setup screen. That screen is what a buyer wants to see. Most of your time goes into the backup, and the reset itself is a short wait. Skip the Console Sharing step and your account can keep treating that PS5 as yours even after the wipe, which is the slip that causes the most trouble later. Once it boots to setup, pack the controller and cables and get your offer.
What to have ready before you touch the reset
You need three things: the sign-in for every PlayStation Network account on the console, a way to keep your saves, and the controller with a USB cable. The sign-in is the one that stops people cold, because you can't turn off Console Sharing or sign out of an account you can't get into.
- The email and password for each PSN account that plays on this PS5
- PS Plus, if you want your saves in cloud storage, or a USB drive with room for a full backup
- The DualSense controller and a USB cable that carries data, not just charge
- A wired or steady Wi-Fi connection while the saves upload
Check one more thing. If you ever added an M.2 expansion SSD under the side cover, decide now whether it goes with the console or stays with you.
Kids' accounts count too. A family PS5 often has a child account managed by a parent, and that profile needs the same care as yours.
Reset your PS5 to sell it, in this order
Picture a launch PS5 that two people play on, with a stack of downloaded games. Here's the order we'd follow at the counter, with the rough time each step takes.
- Back up your saves (a few minutes, longer for a full USB backup). Upload saved data to PS Plus cloud storage from Settings, Saved Data and Game/App Settings, or copy the whole console to a USB drive under Settings, System, Backup and Restore. The reset wipes every save on the internal storage, and nothing brings back one you didn't copy.
- Check for an expansion SSD (a minute). Look under Settings, Storage to see whether an M.2 SSD is installed, and pull it if you're keeping it. A drive you meant to keep is easy to forget once the console is in a box.
- Turn off Console Sharing and Offline Play (a minute per account). Go to Settings, Users and Accounts, Other, Console Sharing and Offline Play, and choose Don't Enable. This is what tells Sony the PS5 is no longer your console.
- Sign out of PlayStation Network (seconds). In Settings, Users and Accounts, Other, choose Sign Out for each account. Signing out first keeps your account from being touched by the next owner's setup.
- Check your account's device list on the web (a couple of minutes). Sign in on the PlayStation website, open your account's device settings and remove this PS5 if it's still listed. It's a second lock on the same door, and it's the only one you can still reach after the console leaves your house.
- Run Reset Your Console (several minutes, hands off). Go to Settings, System, System Software, Reset Options, and pick Reset Your Console. It erases users, games, saves and settings, and all you do is wait for the restart.
- Confirm it boots to first-time setup (a minute). The console should restart on the screen asking you to connect a controller and pick a language. Stop there and don't sign in.
- Pack the console and what came with it (five minutes). Controller, power cord, HDMI cable and the stand all go in the box. Buyers price a complete console, and a missing cord is the first thing the condition check notices.
If the console won't reach the Settings menu at all, the Safe Mode reset option does the same wipe. Turn the PS5 off, hold the power button until you hear the second beep, connect the controller with the USB cable, press the PS button and choose the reset option.
Console Sharing is the step people skip
Most people assume Reset Your Console cuts every tie to their account. It doesn't. The wipe clears the console, but whether your account treats that PS5 as yours for sharing and offline play is recorded with Sony, so you switch it off yourself before the reset.
How do you know it worked? Before resetting, open Console Sharing and Offline Play again and make sure Don't Enable is selected. If you already reset without doing it, sign in on the PlayStation website and look at your account's device settings, where Sony lets you deactivate consoles remotely. That remote option is limited in how often you can use it, so don't count on it as your plan.
The other slip goes the opposite way: starting the reset while the cloud upload is still running. Open a game's saved data in cloud storage and check the date before you wipe anything.
Reset done and the setup screen showing? Pick your model on the game console buyback page and see what it's worth before you box it up.
How long a PS5 reset really takes
An hour covers most consoles. The backup is the variable.
Saved data files are small, so a cloud upload of saves usually finishes while you're making coffee. A full USB backup with installed games is a different story: that copies everything, and on a console full of big games it can run a long while. The account steps are a few minutes total. The reset runs on its own for several minutes and the console restarts by itself.
So start the backup first, do the account steps while it runs, and only press reset once the backup says it's done.
Signs it's a job for Sony or a repair shop
Stop and get help if you can't sign in to your PSN account, if the console won't boot past the logo even in Safe Mode, or if it powers off on its own during the reset.
Account recovery belongs to Sony, so use its sign-in help instead of trying a workaround on the console. A PS5 that won't start or keeps shutting down is a hardware question. Our sister shop, Wireless Kinect's repair counters, looks at consoles as well as phones, and a fixed console usually sells for more than one that won't boot.
Doing it yourself makes sense for everyone else. There's nothing in these steps a repair tech does differently, and nothing to buy.
Selling the reset PS5 through Sell Your Phone Here
Sell Your Phone Here does device buyback and trade-in for PlayStation consoles, PS5 included, nationwide. Start on the page to sell a PlayStation, choose your model and condition, and the offer comes from the site's own price list.
What moves that offer is the model, its condition and what's in the box. We break that down in what decides a PS5 offer. Then choose how it gets to us: our guide to shipping a device in or dropping it off compares both. Ship it from anywhere in the US, or bring it to one of the four stores in Lancaster and Allentown, PA, and Tampa and St. Petersburg, FL.
Running a game room, a rental business or a shop with a shelf of consoles? We buy those too. The page to sell devices in bulk takes a list instead of one console at a time, and every unit still needs the same reset.
Selling a Switch with it? The steps for wiping a Nintendo Switch before a sale follow the same idea with Nintendo's menus.
Rather walk it in than ship it? Find the nearest counter on our store locations page and bring the console with you.
PS5 reset FAQ
Is there a hard reset button on the PS5?
No. The PS5 has no separate reset button. The power button does the job: hold it until the second beep to start Safe Mode, where the reset option lives.
Will I lose anything if I reset my PS5?
Yes. Everything on the internal storage goes, including users, installed games, saves and screenshots. Games you bought digitally stay with your PSN account and download again on your next console.
How do I soft reset my PS5?
Press the PS button, open the power menu and choose Restart PS5. A restart erases nothing, so it doesn't prepare the console for sale.
How do I do a hard factory reset on a PS5?
Turn the PS5 off, then hold the power button until the second beep. Connect the controller with a USB cable, press the PS button and pick the Safe Mode reset option.
Can I reset a PS5 without the controller?
No. You need the controller to move through the menus, and in Safe Mode it has to be plugged in with a USB cable.
Does resetting a PS5 delete my PlayStation Network account?
No. Your account, trophies and purchases live with Sony and stay yours. The reset only removes the account from that console.
Should I take the expansion SSD out before I sell my PS5?
Take it out if you want to keep it. If it goes with the console, mention it when you describe the condition.
Get an offer on your PS5
Your PS5 is wiped, signed out and back on the setup screen. Pick the model, describe the condition honestly and get an instant offer from Sell Your Phone Here. Ship it in from anywhere in the US or drop it at a store, and you're paid within 2 to 4 hours of delivery once the final condition is confirmed.