PS4 Blue Light of Death (BLOD) | Fixed by Experts

As a video game fanatic, there’s no worse feeling than turning on your PlayStation 4 only to be met with the blinking blue light of death (BLOD). The light typically appears in the center of your console along with a message indicating that you have weak or no signal.

In some cases, fixing the PS4 blue light of death is easy and doesn’t require more than a restart, and in other cases it is difficult that it requires a technician to fix it.

PS4 blinking blue light of death

Before the blinking blue light sends you into a spiral, rest assured that there are some methods to troubleshoot this issue. Soon enough, you will be well on your way to playing your favorite video games again.

PS4 Blue Light Of Death (BLOD) Description

The ps4 blue light of death is a problem that occurs when the ps4 fails to turn on after being powered up. It happens most often when there are firmware issues with the console.

When the flashing Blue Light Of Death (BLOD) occurs, you cannot access anything on your PS4, even Safe Mode is inaccessible, or say: unavailable.

The PS4 screen won’t turn on, or it does without signals. This leaves you with limited options to fix this issue.

What Causes the PS4 Blinking Blue Light of Death?

fixing the PS4 blue light of death can be easy and doesn't require a technician
Unfortunately, there aren’t any exact reasons as to why the blue light of death is caused in PS4 system. However, some people believe the PS4 blinking blue light of death could be caused by issues with the PS4 internal hard drive, a faulty PS4 power cord or power supply, a defective PS4 graphics card, general software issues, or incompatible televisions.

You need to make sure that the light you are seeing is the blue light of death (BLOD), and not something else. The BLOD will pulse and turn on and off, and not just stay blue or turn a different color.

On the other hand, be sure to check your screen and check whether or not there is anything on it. If you see nothing on your screen or a notification that tells you there’s no signal, you’re in trouble.

Many people immediately try and restart their PS4 by holding down the power button, but in some cases this doesn’t work.

Fixing the PS4 Blue Light of Death (BLOD)

You can try to repair your PS4 on your own, but sometimes your device might need a professional repair service. So, let’s try every possible way to fix this issue before deciding to take the PS4 to a technician.

1. Completely Turn Off the PS4

Turn off the PS4

The first thing you have to try is to completely disconnect the PS4 from the electrical power then wait a few minutes before turning it on. Here you have to unplug the PS4 power cord from the power outlet and leave it like this 3-5 minutes until you plug it back into it.

To learn how to turn on/off the PS4, please view this section from the official PlayStation®4 User’s Guide.

Now, once the PS4 is turned off, unplug all cables connecting to it, whether it’s the power cable or any other cable belonging to a peripheral (i.e. external HDD or headset).

Your next step will be to plug all of your cables back in and turn your PS4 back on. If you no longer see the blue light of death and see a white one instead, you should be good to go. If the blinking blue light of death still appears, however, the problem hasn’t been fixed.

2. Check the PS4 Internal Hard Drive

the PS4 internal hard drive might be the reason for the blue blinking light of death
If you know your way around a PS4, your next step can be to try and see whether or not the PS4 internal hard drive is the issue. A shift in the hard drive could cause the blue light on your PS4 to appear. To check and see if the PS4 internal hard drive is the issue, do the first couple of steps that we mentioned earlier. Turn off your PS4 and unplug all of the cables from it.

You will then need to remove the PS4 hard disk cover and inspect the internal hard drive. Check to see if the alignment is correct and if it isn’t, then you will need to realign it. This will involve some more unscrewing but will be worth it if it fixes your problem.

After you have adjusted the alignment of the PS4 internal hard drive, replace the cover and re-attach the cables. Then, power your device back on. If you did everything correctly, your blinking blue light of death should be gone. If not, either you missed a step or you have a much bigger problem on your hands.

The PS4 hard drive might be failing and malfunctioning. Please read our extended guide on fixing PS4 hard drive failure for more details.

3. Check the PS4 power connection

PS4 power connection

Another thing you can try is to check and see if maybe the issue is the PS4 power connection, whether it’s the power cord, power supply or even the power outlet. Like with the rest of the troubleshooting methods, you are going to want to start by turning off the PS4 and unplugging all the cables from it.

You will want to inspect the cables and make sure that they aren’t torn or faulty in any way. If you do happen to find a flaw in them, it could explain why your PS4 isn’t working correctly and why you keep seeing the blue light of death.

If this is the case, be sure to replace whatever cables have flaws in them before plugging them back into your PS4 and checking to see if this has fixed the problem.

For expanded details on this issue, please view the following articles:

4. Replace CMOS Battery

replacing the CMOS battery might fix the PS4 blue light of death
The PS4 blue light of death might be a cause of a dead CMOS battery.

The CMOS battery is a small, round battery that lets you store the day, time, and month on your PS4. It allows you to turn off your PS4 for an extended period of time and still have the correct time and date in place when you use your PS4 again. More importantly, the CMOS battery feeds the CMOS chip with the power that it needs to store the PS4 hardware settings. These saved settings enable us to identify what hardware is on the system and what device drivers to use. When the CMOS battery is weak, the CMOS memory loses data and the PS4 can start to malfunction. One of the symptoms is the PS4 blue light of death.

You can try first to clear the PS4 CMOS memory and check whether it works or not. I don’t think it will work because it’s more about the battery than anything else, but you won’t lose anything if you try.

5. PS4 Software Issues

PS4 system software update

Lastly, you can try to check and see if your PS4 is suffering from a software problem. To check this, hold down the power button on your PlayStation 4 until you hear it beep twice (Read more on PS4 Beeps). Make sure you then put your PS4 into safe mode by continuing to hold the button down even after it has turned off. It should only take a few seconds for safe mode to kick in. When it is in safe mode, you can go ahead and press down on the PS button you see on your controller.

From there, you can restore your PS4 to its original settings. Choose “Initialize PS4 (reinstall PS4 system software) option #7. Then, restart it. If you choose this option, however, keep in mind that any data that isn’t saved will be lost. If this method still doesn’t work, your best bet would be to take your PS4 to a professional and get it checked out there.

Can It be Overheating?

Some users might think that the PS4 blinking blue light of death is caused by overheating. Well, that’s a false claim that the reality doesn’t support. The fact is that the PS4 light changes to red color when it is overheated only. So, don’t link the blinking blue light of death to overheating, there’s no correlation.

Worth it to say though that if you start to see this red light come up on your device, be sure to power it down immediately before the situation gets any worse.

Overheating is an issue on its own and will require other troubleshooting methods, or will also require you to take it to a professional (learn how to fix an overheating PS4). If you find that even a professional can’t fix the issue, it might be time for you to get a new device. If you start to see this light come up on your device, be sure to power it down immediately before the situation gets any worse.

Figuring it Out on Your Own

Although the PS4 blue light of death is meant to inform the user when there is an issue with the PS4 system, it doesn’t tell you what exactly the problem is. That’s why it can be extremely frustrating to try and find out what is causing the problem.

If you have tried all of the above-mentioned troubleshooting options and the blinking blue light of death still hasn’t gone away from the PS4, chances are the problem with your PS4 is much deeper than just your hard drive or faulty cables, and you will have to get it checked out by a professional.

Conclusion

The PS4 blinking light of death, as its name implies, is a scary scenario that we don’t wish to happen to anybody.

It indicates that there’s a serious problem within the PS4 that must be resolved as soon as possible. Therefore, don’t underestimate it and think it’s just a trivial issue that will vanish by time.

Questions & Answers

What is the PS4 Blue Light Of Death?

The PS4 blue light of death (BLOD) is that blinking/flashing light that appears when you try to turn on the PS4 but it won't start, and instead you get a blank screen with a blinking blue light.

Why am I getting a blinking blue light when I turn on my PS4?

The blinking blue light on PS4 indicates that you have a problem turning on the PS4 due to hardware issues that prevents that to happen.

How to fix PS4 blue light of death (BLOD)?

If you're not a technician, you can't do much here. Just follow our guide and implement the solutions we suggest in hope to fix the PS4 BLOD.

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6 Responses

  1. Gave says:

    When experiencing this blod, the screen also remains black. I tried it on my gaming monitor and tv with two different HDMI cables and had no luck.

    • PlayStation Expert says:

      The blue light of death could mean that your power or HDMI cables are damaged or faulty. Here’s how to find out if that’s the problem. Press and hold the Power button until your PS4 beeps twice and turns off. Disconnect all your PS4 cables

  2. Joseph says:

    Hey there,

    I’ve run a number of tests to get the BLOD to start up in safe mode, but I still need some advice.

    Because the HDD is spinning and does not boot into safe mode even when ejected, I can know that it is functioning.

    I completely disassembled everything, reapply thermal compound, and vacuumed off all the dust. The heat sink is FIRMLY tightened against the CPU during rebuilding, and the new compound includes a few extra washers for good measure.

    • PlayStation Expert says:

      – Try Another HDMI Cable or TV. …
      – Check Power Supply. …
      – Check the Hard drive. …
      – Check TV Firmware. …
      – Restore Default Settings. …
      – Contact a Professional.

  3. Nasty says:

    My PS4 Pro is currently experiencing a blue light of death issue. I tried everything with it, even taking out and replacing the HDD.

    • PlayStation Expert says:

      Here is a quick suggested solution to your problem:

      1. Hold the PS4 Power button down for seven seconds or until two beeps are heard.
      2. Remove every cable from the PS4.
      3. To discharge the internal power supply, hold the Power button down for an additional 7 seconds.
      4. Clean every air slot.
      5. Reattach the PS4 cords, then turn it back on.
      6. If the blue light of death is replaced with a brief white light upon startup, the issue is resolved.

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