How to Turn Off the PlayStation 5 with the Controller
The PlayStation 5 user interface is a departure from previous console generations, in that the power options do not have their own separate icon on the home screen. The power options are now hidden within the Control Center, which you can only find with the controller.
To open the “Control Center,” press the “PlayStation” icon button on the DualSense controller. This is the button directly below the rectangular touchpad that’s shaped like the PlayStation icon. Pressing this will make the Control Center appear and disappear on your screen, even if you’re in the middle of a game.
There are several icons in the Control Center you might recognize, including downloads, your friends list, and microphone settings. The power options in the Control Center can be found at the far right end of the row of icons.
Tap “X” on your DualSense controller when you get to the icon that looks like a power button, and you’ll see three options.
The first is “Rest Mode,” which puts your PS5 into low-powered sleep mode. The advantage of Rest Mode is that your PS5 will still download and install game updates, and your games will remain in stasis until you’re ready to resume play.
The second option is to turn your PS5 off. This is necessary to do before unplugging the console, and ideal if you know you’re not going to turn it on again for an extended period of time. While Rest Mode is a power-saving option, turning the console off will save you quite a bit more power.
The third option is to restart the PS5. This is useful if you’re having problems with your console and want to use the time-honored panacea of turning it off and turning it back on again.
Choose the option you want, and your console will either turn off, restart, or go into Rest Mode.
How to Turn Off the PlayStation 5 with the Power Button
If you don’t have access to your controller—if it becomes nonfunctional, for example—you have the ability to turn your console off via the physical power button. But you’ll have to look carefully for it.
The power button can be difficult to see, as it’s a black button on the black center stripe of the console. It’s about two inches above what would be the bottom edge of the console when it’s stood vertically.
If you have the version of the PS5 with a disc drive, it’s even with the outside edge of the mouth of the drive. If you have the digital version of the PS5, it’s the only button on the front of the console.
The power button is next to the disc eject button on the standard PS5. You can tell the difference between them either by the icons next to them (which are admittedly quite small) or by position—the power button is always closer to the bottom of the console.
Tapping the power button for a second will put your console into Rest Mode. Holding down the power button for three seconds will turn your console off completely.
How to Turn the PlayStation 5 On
When you’re ready to turn your console on again, you have three options. The first is to tap the same power button on the console. Tapping it once will turn the console on. Holding it down will boot your console into Safe Mode, which is useful if you’re having a problem with the console and want to reset it to factory settings.
Your second option is to press the “PlayStation” icon on your controller. This will turn your console on, and it will turn your controller on at the same time.
The third option is called HDMI link and it will turn your console on when you turn your TV on, or when you switch to the input for which your PS5 is the source.
To enable this option, go to your settings, which you can find by clicking the gear icon found in the top-right part of your PS5’s user interface. Then scroll down in your settings until you find the “System” option.
In the “HDMI” submenu, you’ll find a toggle for “Enable HDMI Device Link” if the option is available. Note that this isn’t available with every television.
Keep in mind that having HDMI link enabled will mean your console will go automatically into Rest Mode when you turn the TV off. It’s useful, but you might want to disable this option if you use the TV for other things besides gaming on the PS5.
