Factory Reset PS4 with no controller?

[Kittet3]

I'm trying to factory reset my PS4 to give to my brother and I can't get my controller to work and it's v too much effort to keep trying. I want to remove my account from the system so he can't access it and I want either all the downloads to be deleted or him able to delete them so they don't waste space for games he can't play without my account. So it doesn't *necessary* have to be a full factory reset, but that would prob be the easiest way to do it. Does anyone know if I go to the website and use my once-a-year deactivate all systems button if that would work? or is there a physical button I can press and hold? 

 

 

[Sergen]

There's a tiny button you can press by putting a paperclip into it on the back of the controller, if you press it then it does a hard reset of the controller and should make it work again. https://youtu.be/VNyT1PfodyY?t=30

 

Deactivating the account with the website will make all your game icons have a lock icon on them, but if your account is still accessible on the console then it's possible for your brother to play those games on your account until you delete the account off the console. 

Edited November 28, 2021 by Sergen

[HuntingFever]

The only way to do a full factory reset or hard drive format is via the console itself.

[RobbieVI-]

You could try to connect to your Playstation via Remote Play on your phone and essentially use that as a controller

[Neocarleen]

I think the controller has to be plugged into the console to do a factory reset or initialisation.

Or if you have a keyboard or a mouse with an input cable with a USB type A connector, you could use those.

 

If you have a smartphone, you can download the PS Remote Play app to use your phone as a controller.

 

If none of these options work, then I would suggest going to Account Management on the Playstation website and select "log out of all devices" under Security. Maybe change your password as well for good measure. That way whoever gets your PS4 after you won't be able to access your account and can factory reset the console themselves.

[Kittet3]

3 hours ago, Sergen said:

There's a tiny button you can press by putting a paperclip into it on the back of the controller, if you press it then it does a hard reset of the controller and should make it work again. https://youtu.be/VNyT1PfodyY?t=30

 

Deactivating the account with the website will make all your game icons have a lock icon on them, but if your account is still accessible on the console then it's possible for your brother to play those games on your account until you delete the account off the console. 

so he would still have access to my messages and be able to play games as me? that's what i'm mostly trying to lock up since i can just have my mom wipe it when she gets it but i don't trust them not to go mess things up on my account between getting the console and me facetiming them to help them wipe it. unfort i think the controller is dead dead because it was having battery problems a few months ago and now it's not connecting- i think it might actually be the port that's not working.

 

3 hours ago, HuntingFever said:

The only way to do a full factory reset or hard drive format is via the console itself.

what about account deletion? i might not need a whole reset/format if i can just delete my account data off it

 

3 hours ago, RobbieVI- said:

You could try to connect to your Playstation via Remote Play on your phone and essentially use that as a controller

omg i don't know why i didn't think of this. *hopefully* it works although i kinda remember needing to click things on the console to get it started the first time

 

2 hours ago, Neocarleen said:

I think the controller has to be plugged into the console to do a factory reset or initialisation.

Or if you have a keyboard or a mouse with an input cable with a USB type A connector, you could use those.

 

If you have a smartphone, you can download the PS Remote Play app to use your phone as a controller.

 

If none of these options work, then I would suggest going to Account Management on the Playstation website and select "log out of all devices" under Security. Maybe change your password as well for good measure. That way whoever gets your PS4 after you won't be able to access your account and can factory reset the console themselves.

it was plugged in but it has either a battery or a connector problem so the console couldn't find it. unfort i don't have any other inputs although i can try remote play. ohhhhh, logging out might an easy solution as long as it doesn't auto-log me in. but i wonder what happens if they start the ps4 offline? would it still be logged in as me and they have access to my account? maybe i need to log out, start my ps4 so it knows it's logged out, and then send it?

[HuntingFever]

31 minutes ago, Kittet3 said:

what about account deletion? i might not need a whole reset/format if i can just delete my account data off it

That can only be done via the console itself.

[Neocarleen]

40 minutes ago, Kittet3 said:

ohhhhh, logging out might an easy solution as long as it doesn't auto-log me in. but i wonder what happens if they start the ps4 offline? would it still be logged in as me and they have access to my account? maybe i need to log out, start my ps4 so it knows it's logged out, and then send it?

 

If you select "log out of all devices" on the Playstation website, the PS4 will start up afterwards without automatically logging in to your account. It might still have the password saved and autofilled in the login screen, so you should probably change the password just in case.