19 votes

The PlayStation 4 fails at handling text strings; can be bricked by receiving messages.

9 comments

  1. Erik
    Link
    This can be fixed by factory reset. It's a pain and you could lose some data. But it's different than "bricking," where the system is literally unusable at all; that is it becomes a literal brick...

    This can be fixed by factory reset. It's a pain and you could lose some data. But it's different than "bricking," where the system is literally unusable at all; that is it becomes a literal brick because it no longer functions as electronics.

    19 votes
  2. [2]
    frank
    Link
    If this happens to you, you do not need to factory reset your PS4. Your saves and installed content are safe. Install the Playstation Messages app (Android or iOS) Log in, and delete the offending...

    If this happens to you, you do not need to factory reset your PS4. Your saves and installed content are safe.

    1. Install the Playstation Messages app (Android or iOS)
    2. Log in, and delete the offending message. Take a moment to report the user for abuse
    3. Turn your PS4 off
    4. Press and hold the power button for 7 seconds, until you hear a second beep.
    5. Connect a DualShock 4 with an USB cable, press the PS button to wake the controller
    6. Select option 5, "Rebuild Database". This will take a few minutes
    7. Your system should restart itself when it's done, otherwise, use option 1 to restart the system
    18 votes
    1. Griddamus
      Link Parent
      Listen to Frank, he has good info.

      Listen to Frank, he has good info.

      2 votes
  3. Diet_Coke
    Link
    Wish I knew about this when I was playing For Honor.

    Wish I knew about this when I was playing For Honor.

    2 votes
  4. s4b3r6
    Link
    Curiously, this appears to only involve a couple unicode characters, unless the PS4 folds a series of unknown bytes into a single character for display. With less than half a dozen bytes in play,...

    Curiously, this appears to only involve a couple unicode characters, unless the PS4 folds a series of unknown bytes into a single character for display.

    With less than half a dozen bytes in play, it's unlikely to be an overflow error directly in the printing algorithm, though perhaps further down.

    2 votes
  5. [4]
    golem
    Link
    Has Sony made a comment about this? It feels like one of those, my cousin's brother's girlfriend's dad had this happen, kinds of things. The article seemed to not be sure if Sony has confirmed or...

    Has Sony made a comment about this? It feels like one of those, my cousin's brother's girlfriend's dad had this happen, kinds of things.

    The article seemed to not be sure if Sony has confirmed or denied these claims also.

    1 vote
    1. [3]
      Griddamus
      Link Parent
      I don't think they've acknowledged it, but i've heard a string of reports on this over the last few weeks.

      I don't think they've acknowledged it, but i've heard a string of reports on this over the last few weeks.

      1 vote
      1. [2]
        Deimos
        Link Parent
        VG247 said they received a response over email about it: (mention for @golem so they see this too)

        VG247 said they received a response over email about it:

        Sony says it is aware of the issue and is working on a fix. “We are aware of the situation and are planning a system software update to resolve this problem,” Sony told VG247 in an email.

        (mention for @golem so they see this too)

        4 votes
        1. Griddamus
          Link Parent
          Oh nice I didn’t know that they’d officially acknowledged it

          Oh nice I didn’t know that they’d officially acknowledged it