7 Ways to Fix PS5 (PlayStation 5) Freezing and Lagging

If you’re a serious PS5 gamer and love to play for long on your PS5, you may have already experienced the PS5 freezing and lagging problem at times in the middle of playing games setting up something, which is considered a nightmare for most PS5 users.

Although PS5 is a well-made, strong, and smart device, some performance issues may occur which can be a real nuisance especially when these issues take place in the middle of playing interesting games. In fact, there are many issues that happen to PS5, freezing, and lagging are the common ones. This problem involves PS5 console freezing and shutting down during the gameplay, PS5 console freezing during the installation, game lagging, etc.

There can be various reasons behind PS5 freezing issue, some of these being given below.

• The PS5 internal storage device is faulty,
• There’s no enough usable storage space in the PS5 internal storage,
• Your internet connection is slow or unstable,
• Faulty hardware or an out-dated PS5 system software version,
• System software bugs and issues,
• Poor ventilation that leads the PS5 to overheat or some hardware components to malfunction, thus the overall PS5 perfromance degrades,
• A crowded or clogged cache,
• There have been some problems in the PS5 database because it’s cluttered or malfunctioned,
• PS5 Overheating, and
• A software (i.e. game or app) glitch.

But, whatever the reason is behind the freezing or lagging of the PlayStation 5, there’s always a way out of any tickle. If you are searching for such solutions, then keep reading this guide. Here, in this article, we provide several methods through which help you easily fix your PS5’s lagging and freezing problem.

7 Ways to Fix PS5’s freezing and lagging problem

Freezing and Lagging of the PS5 system can be caused by issues related to either hardware or software or both.

Below are listed the most common solutions experts use to resolve the PS5 freezing and lagging problems.

1. Turn Off and On the PS5

Turning off your PS5 then turning it on again after a minute or so can immensely help the PS5 system resolve performance issues without the need for any additional action.

Actually, not regularly turning off your PS5, even if you’ve just had a new PS5 set up, at least once a week can reduce its efficiency and cause problems and slowdowns. So, while you think you’re saving time by not completely turning off and restarting your PS5 console, it can actually be slowing you down and causing the freezing and lagging issue of which you complain.

Rebooting both keeps your PS5 console healthy and can fix PS5 problems you may be having with memory or certain apps/games not functioning correctly.

In order to restart your PS5 the right way that will resolve your issues, please follow the steps below:

1. You need to go to the PS5 control center menu, which you can access by pressing the PlayStation logo on your new DualSense controller.
   
2. In the control center scroll all the way to the right-hand side of the menu until you’re hovering over the power button.
   
3. Click the power button and you’ll be presented with three options to power down your console. This includes ‘Enter Rest Mode’, ‘Turn Off PS5’, and ‘Restart PS5’.
   
4. Select your desired option from the three choices, in this case, ‘Turn off PS5’, which will close all games and apps, and shut down your PS5 system.
5. Once you are certain that the PS5 is completely turned off, Unplug the power cable of the PS5 when the light goes off on the console.
6. Wait for around 3 minutes.
7. Plug the power cable back in the PS5 and click on the PS button on your controller to turn on PS5.
8. Now, try to play games. It may run smoothly without any freezing and lagging issues.

If the above method does not work, follow the below methods to fix your PS5 freezing and lagging problem.

2. Checking the PS5 Internal Storage Device

You may be facing the freezing and lagging issue in your PS5 due to a faulty PS5 internal storage device that you have recently added to your console. A faulty storage device can slow down the system. So, it is always advised to check your PS5 secondary internal storage device as it may be facing problems especially when you feel your console is getting too hot on the side where that secondary internal storage device is placed.

It is also possible that the main PS5 internal storage device is degrading and losing performance and causing that problem. If you suspect such a thing, it is advised to consult a professional to fix it for you.

So, to check if the PS5 secondary internal storage device is securely attached to the PS5 or there is any physical damage to it and to change that device, follow these steps.

1. Turn off the PS5 completely by pressing the power button and holding it for at least 7 seconds till you hear two beep sounds which will confirm that the PS5 is turned off completely.
2. Disconnect the power cable and all the other cables, if there is any, attached to the console.
3. Pull the secondary internal storage out and away, towards the left of the system, in order to remove it.
4. Check if the new internal storage device is properly set on its bay cover and properly screwed to the board.
5. If you find any physical damage to the secondary internal storage device and you need to change it, take off the screw from the board and replace it with a new one.

Note: Removing the PS5 secondary storage involves taking apart the device. So, you need to be cautious.

After completing the above steps, check if the PS5 is freezing or lagging.

2. Update the PS5 applications and the PS5 itself

The PS5 may be freezing and lagging because of not being updated to the latest version. So, by updating the PS5 applications and installing the latest version of the PS5 system software, the problem may be fixed.

To update the PS5 applications, follow these steps:

1. On the PS5 home screen, highlight the application that needs to be updated.
2. Press the Options button on your controller.
3. Click on Check for Updates from the menu that appears.
   
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the updates available for that specific application.
5. Once all the updates are installed, restart your PS5.
6. Similarly, update the other PS5 applications.

As for how to update the PS5 system software to the latest version, please visit this official PlayStation 5 webpage to learn about that.

3. Free up Space On the PS5 Storage Device

Your PS5 console might undergo freezing and lagging issues if the internal storage device is full or nearly full. When the main storage device has a small amount of free space, the cache files, which are very important for the system performance, will have no place to stay in, therefore they will be pushed in a queue waiting for their turn to be stored. This will result in a system malfunction that appears to you as freezing or lagging.

Therefore it is very important to make sure you have enough free space on your PS5 internal storage device. It’s advisable that you maintain at least 10GB of free space on your PS5 main storage device for optimum performance.

To free up some space in your PS5 internal storage device in order to avoid PS5 freezing and lagging issues, please follow these steps below:

1. First, select the Settings cog wheel at the top right of the PS5’s home screen.
   
2. Then, scroll down and select Storage. This will bring you to the screen found below.
   
3. Here, you can select from Games and Apps, Media Gallery, Saved Data, and Other.
4. Games and Apps will likely be taking up the bulk of storage. Here’s where you can delete games you are done with or aren’t currently playing to create some space.
   
5. On this screen, you can individually select or select multiple games and apps to delete from the hard drive. Games like Call of Duty can take up as much as 200 GB of space on the PS5’s SSD.
6. You can also delete old saved images and videos under Media Gallery. These can pile up quickly if you’re sharing images on social media from the PS5.

If you’re playing PS4 games on PS5, an external hard drive is a solid option. PS5 games need the SSD, though, so don’t bother installing new games on a hard drive.

4. Rebuild the PS5 database

The PS5 database gets clogged over time which makes it inefficient and slow. Also, with time, when the data storage increases, the database gets corrupted. In that case, you may need to rebuild the PS5 database as this will significantly increase the console’s performance and will definitely reduce the lagging and freezing issue. In other words, rebuilding the database on your PlayStation 5 can help with issues related to your game freezing or frame rate drops.

Note: Rebuilding the PS5 database may take a long time depending on the PS5 type and data storage.

By creating a new database, your Playstation will scan the drive and create a new database of all content on the system.

1. Turn off your console by pressing the power button
2. The power indicator will blink for a few moments before turning off
3. Once the system is off, press and hold the power button again
4. Release it after you hear the second beep
5. One beep will sound when you first press, and another seven seconds later
6. Connect the controller with the USB cable
7. Press the PlayStation button on the controller
8. Select Rebuild Database

After the rebuilding process is completed, try to use the PS5 again and check if the freezing and lagging issues are fixed or not.

5. Check the internet connection

If you play online games and you have a slow internet connection, your PS5 system will definitely freeze and lag. In order to run the PS5 smoothly with the best online gaming experience, you need to have a very good internet connection. So, by checking the internet connection on your PS5, you may get to know if the internet is the reason behind the freezing and lagging of your PS5. Therefore, testing the internet connection with your console can provide insight into any issues you might be experiencing.

To check the internet connection, perform these steps:

1. Start your console
2. Select the Settings menu located in the upper right corner next to your Profile picture
3. Select Network
4. Click Test Internet Connection
5. Take a screenshot of the results

You may want to restart your Wi-Fi router, as this may help fix this issue also.

6. Check the Power Source

An unstable power source or defective power cord can cause the PS5 to freeze and lag. Check that everything related to your power connection is intact and doesn’t undergo any kind of shortage or instability.

If your PS5 started to freeze and lag after a power surge, your PS5 power supply might be defective and needs to be replaced.

7. Factory Reset PS5

Factory resetting the PS5 is the last resort you have to go for if nothing has fixed your PS5 freezing and lagging problem. This operation will literally delete everything on your PS5 internal storage device and install a fresh clean copy of the PS5 system software. Therefore, if your PS5 system would freeze and lag due a file/data corruption or system file conflicts, this method will resolve this issue.

In order to factory reset your PS5 and reinstall the PS5 system software from scratch, do the following:

1. Press the Power button on the console to turn it off.
   
2. Press and hold the Power button until you hear a second beep (about 10 seconds).
   
3. Connect a PS5 controller to the console and press the PS button.
4. Select Reset PS5 from the safe mode menu. Wait for the console to restart as normal.
   

This method should do the trick and get your PS5 out of the freezing and lagging conditions. If even this method doesn’t help resolve your issue, you need to contact a professional technician to fix it for you.

8. Contact PlayStation Support

If you have tried every method in this guide to no avail, and your PS5 is still freezing and lagging, there is a strong possibility that you have a sort of hardware failure that needs to change or repair. Just click this link and go to the PlayStation customer support and follow the instructions illustrated there.

Conclusion

The PS5 console is a great game machine that has many powerful and amazing features, but that doesn’t make it in any way perfect. It may fail and have some serious performance issues, just like any machine. So, do expect the PS5 to freeze and lag sometimes, especially when you have an incompatibility issue with a game that is not coded perfectly to fully accommodate with the PS5 system.

If your PS5 is freezing and lagging and you need further support, we are happy to do that for you. Just comment below and explain to us your issue and we will be more than happy to help.

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PS5 Freezing & Lagging FAQ

Why does my PS5 keep freezing?

There are several reasons why the PS5 keeps freezing that we have already outlined in detail in this guide. But in brief, the PS5 keeps freezing and lagging if there's a problem with the power source, the PS5 internal storage device has a performance issue, the PS5 database is corrupted, the internet connection is unstable, and other reasons that you can find in our guide.

How to fix PS5 freezing and lagging issues?

Fixing the PS5 freezing and lagging issues requires from you to try different methods until one of them works eventually. In fact, most of the PS5 freezing and lagging issues can simply be resolved with a simple PS5 factory reset, but that leads to losing all your data and games and start from the very beginning.

What to do if the PS5 freezing?

When the PS5 freezes, the very first thing to do is to restart it. If that doesn't work, try to rebuild the PS5 database and free up some free space on the PS5 internal storage device. Please read this guide for more solutions for this problem.