When PS5 System Software Update Version: 21.02-04.03.00 arrived a couple of weeks ago, all we were told was that it would “improve system performance.” It seems like there was a fairly major change involved in that update, though. According to YouTuber Hikikomori Media, the update fixed the CMOS problem that was preventing PS5 console owners from playing digital games if the internal clock battery had died, at least for the most part.
The CMOS issue began when players discovered that if a PlayStation 4 console’s internal clock battery died, this prevented them from playing both digital and disc games offline. The issue was caused by the way the Trophy system has been set up to prevent players hacking their unlocks. As long as players could connect to the PlayStation Network, then this wouldn’t be an issue, but if Sony was ever to shut the servers down for PS4, the console would eventually stop playing games altogether. It was then found the problem also affected PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 5 consoles to a lesser extent, mainly because of issues with backwards compatibility.
Sony had promised they were working on a solution for the problem, and while the issue was fixed in September on PS4, Hikikomori Media confirms the problem is now fixed on PS5 as well, for the most part. Any PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 games that players own on disc will now install and play without an issue even if their PS5 console’s battery is dead. All PS5 and PS4 digital games will also work on the PS5 aside from those that weren’t backwards compatible in the first place. However, PlayStation Plus games will not work on a console with a dead battery, something that’s fairly understandable bearing in mind the console needs to verify Plus membership in the first place. You can see the video in full below:
Sony has yet to comment on whether this was the main purpose of the update but if we hear anything official, we’ll be sure to let you know. The CMOS issue was fixed for PlayStation 4 consoles back in September.
