PS4 PRO & PS4 Slim Data Bank—The Missing Accessory

In the base PS4 model, it is too easy to upgrade and replace the stock internal hard drive with a 3.5-inch drive that carries whatever storage capacity you want. This was made possible by a special equipment called “data bank”, which’s a sort of a hard drive dock that offers a box placed on the upper surface of PS4’s body and contains within it a 3.5″ compatible drive bay and connects directly to PS4 using a SATA-USB adapter.

Just after less than 2 months of the initial release of PS4 PRO & PS4 Slim, Nyko, the largest providers of data bank solutions for PS4 consoles, announced the release of “Data Bank Pro” at CES in Jan 2017.

Data Bank Pro has been discontinued due to the release of PS4 Software Update v 4.5

The PlayStation 4 Pro and Slim Data Bank has been unveiled by the manufacturer alongside two PlayStation VR charging accessories. The new Data Bank will function pretty much like the one for the regular PS4 model, allowing players to use an additional 3.5-inch drive.

Data Bank Pro for PlayStation 4 Slim and Pro

Data Bank Pro is an essential, add-on accessory for the PS4 Slim and Pro that expands the internal memory by allowing the use of an additional 3.5-inch hard drive. The Data Bank Pro is easy to install – it plugs into the hard drive bay via the included SATA adaptor and USB cable by accessing a single screw (using an included screwdriver). Once users remove the 2.5” drive and reinstall it along with a 3.5-inch drive using the included adapter, they can easily cold-swap between the two drives with a simple flip of a switch. The versatile design allows the Data Bank to rest on top of the PS4 or alongside it, so that it can be used in both the vertical and horizontal positions. It also has a dedicated AC cord to power the drive, so it avoids pulling additional power from the console. Data Bank Pro will be available in 2017 for an MSRP of $39.99.

But, this project for developing the Data Bank Pro has put on hold after the release of PS4 software update version 4.5, which offers unlimited support for external hard drives to the extent that any external hard drive can now be used just like a fully functional internal extended storage solution. That means you can install your favorite games on it and launch them right away without any barrier. The same goes with movies and other media files. But the only thing you can’t do with an external hard drive now is using it as a boot drive where the operating system is installed.

Going to the website of Nyko, we can simply predict that this type of solution has no future anymore. The following statement is quoted from one of their blog news posts:

Given Sony’s latest software update that provides support for external hard drives, we are not moving forward on the production of this product and will continue to work on other solutions that meets the needs of game console owners.

We don’t know if there will be another provider for such an equipment, but it seems it’s a project with no future at all.

If you’re looking to upgrade your PS4 Pro or Slim with a capacity larger than 2tb using an external storage solution, we recommend that you read this article that teaches you about the best method for upgrading the stock internal hard drive to the capacity you want while gaining a huge performance boost.