The PlayStation 4 has four basic ‘modes’: shut down, normal operating mode, safe mode, and rest mode, which is sort of in between shutdown and normal operating mode. When a PS4 is in rest mode, you may see a blinking or glowing orange light around the center line of the console or on the controller.
While rest mode is intended to keep the PS4 in a suspended state for a rapid startup when the device is powered on, it seems this mode is a bit buggy and problematic at times. PS4 users have reported that their device gets stuck in rest mode and continues to glow orange instead of starting as normal.
If you’ve encountered this issue, continue reading to learn more about rest mode and how to recover your PlayStation if it’s stuck with a flashing or glowing orange light.
PS4 Features & Known Issues
The PlayStation 4 was released in November 2013 as Sony’s next-generation console to replace the PS3. The PS4 offers improved graphics and performance, and its base model comes with a 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive. Let’s take a look at some of the PS4’s other key features:
- Eight-core X86 AMD “Jaguar” CPU
- 1.84 Teraflop AMD Radeon graphics
- 8 GB DDR memory
- Dual Shock gaming controller – complete with touch screen in the center of the controller
- PlayStation Network – includes PlayStation Store, PlayStation Plus, PlayStation Music, and PlayStation Video services
- 4K Gaming
The PS4 was very well received by both critics and players. It was praised for its engineering and clear ‘advantage’ over Microsoft’s Xbox One, its primary competitor. Despite its excellent design, the PS4 has some known issues:
What is Rest Mode, Indicated by an Orange Light?
When you put your PS4 in Rest Mode, it will stay on but run with much-reduced power consumption. Rest Mode, which was originally called Stand By mode when the product was launched, is very similar to a computer’s sleep mode. This low-power state can still perform some important functions.
Your PS4 can essentially stay suspended in this low-power mode indefinitely unless the power is cut to the device. When a PS4 is in Rest Mode, the center lighting strip glows/flashes an orange color.
Sony designed the Rest Mode to be the default power setting instead of turning the console completely off because of some clear benefits. Rest Mode allows your PS4 to start faster, pick up a game right where you left off (because the software doesn’t have to shut down), download games remotely when away from your console, apply software updates, and charge your controllers when not gaming.
How to Put PS4 into Rest Mode?
If you’d like to put your PS4 into Rest Mode, you have three options:
- On the Home Screen, select Power, and then choose Rest Mode.
- Bring up the Quick Menu by holding the PS Button on your controller. Then select Power and then Rest Mode.
- Tap the Power button on the front of the PS4 until it beeps once.
Rest Mode Issues: PS4 Orange Blinking Light
While Rest Mode is intended to offer a range of benefits, it is known to have some issues. The most problematic Rest Mode glitch keeps users from fully booting their devices. In other words, after turning on Rest Mode, users have struggled to get their PS4 back out of this mode.
When stuck in Rest Mode the PS4 will continue to glow with an orange light, located around the center of the device. And your console won’t respond when pressing the PS Button on your DualShock 4 controller.
How to Get a PS4 Out of Rest Mode?
Suppose you can’t get your PS4 to exit Rest Mode and don’t know what else to try. What can you do to make your device respond again? We’ve compiled some options to help you recover your PlayStation 4 and exit Rest Mode below:
1. Hold Power Button
The simplest method to get out of rest mode if your PS4 is blinking orange light and unresponsive is to hold the power button. It can take up to 60 seconds, but at some point, your PlayStation 4 will safely power down. Then, you can press the power button again to normally get the console to boot.
This is not a long-term fix and definitely not ideal because it takes longer than simply booting the device from a full shutdown, but it’s a reliable short-term fix. If you try to put your device back into Rest Mode again you may end up in the same spot because this solution doesn’t address the root issue, it just works around it. The next two solutions offer better long-term fixes to PS4’s Rest Mode problems.
2. Power Down and Enter Safe Mode
You can enter Safe Mode to update the System Software or Reinstall System Software to remedy whatever is causing your console to hang in Rest Mode. It’s not a perfect solution, but other users have reported success, so we’re including it in this guide:
- To get your console unstuck, start by powering down the device by holding the power button for 7 seconds.
- Continue holding the power button for another 7 seconds to enter Safe Mode.
- Once on the Safe Mode menu screen, select the third option, Update System Software. Updating to the latest system software can fix the Rest Mode issue.
- When the installation is complete select Restart the PS4 to see if your console will now boot normally.
3. Set USB Power Settings to ‘Always’ for Rest Mode
PlayStation 4 allows you to select features you’d like to enable for Rest Mode. One of these features is USB Power Settings, which was reported to help fix the stuck in Rest Mode issue. You can apply this fix to get out of Rest Mode and prevent this issue from happening again:
- Once the PS4 has restarted, press down on the D-Pad within the Main Menu. Select the Settings (toolbox) icon.
- From the Settings menu press down on the D-Pad until you find Power Save Settings.
- Then select Set Features Available in Rest Mode. You’ll see three feature options:
- Supply Power to USB Ports
- Stay Connected to the Internet (plus Enable Turning on PS4 from Network)
- Keep Application Suspended
You’ll want to select Supply Power to USB Ports by pressing the X button.
- A mini menu will pop up on the right-hand side of the screen with the following options for the Supply Power to USB Ports feature:
- Select Always by clicking X.
- In the future, your PS4 should be far less likely to get stuck in Rest Mode when the USB Ports are always supplied with power.
4. Unplug PS4 Power Cable
You can force your PS4 out of its endless Rest Mode by unplugging the power cable from the wall power outlet. This will instantly cut power to the PS4 and stop the orange blinking light.
Wait 10-30 seconds before plugging the power cable back into the outlet. Then press the power button on the front of the PlayStation 4 or press the PS Button on your DualShock 4 controller. When your PS4 boots, it will display a message that your “PS4 was not turned off properly.”
Note: This method should be used with care and caution. You can ‘brick’ your PS4, rendering it unusable, by suddenly cutting power to the console. You can’t tell if the PlayStation 4 is applying an update.
Ideally, this method should only be used as a last-ditch effort and should not become a regular occurrence to get around the blinking orange light/ Rest Mode issues. If your device keeps getting stuck in Rest Mode, STOP using Rest Mode. It may take a few minutes every time to start your PS4 from a complete shutdown, but your console will stay in good working order.
Solved: PS4 Orange Blinking Light Fixed and No Longer Stuck in Rest Mode
It can be worrisome to encounter the flashing orange light and an unresponsive PS4 for the first time. PS4s are expensive consoles you want to fully enjoy, but this glitch keeps you from starting your PS4 from Rest Mode. Thankfully this bug is isolated to Rest Mode and doesn’t seem to pose any greater concern to the overall health of your console.
Previously known as Stand By Mode, Rest Mode is a power-saving feature Sony included with the PS4 that offers a couple of great benefits. It includes faster startup times, suspended gaming so you can start right where you left off, charging controllers when away, downloading games remotely, and updating automatically. Those are some of the key reasons many players opt to use Rest Mode. Unfortunately, this significant feature has a few hitches.
You can always try one of the four solutions outlined in this guide if your device is stuck in Rest Mode. You may opt to shut down your device by holding the power button, an effective but short-term fix. Or you can enter Safe Mode to update the System Software or set the USB Ports to always have power in Rest Mode, for a more long-term solution. If none of these options work, you can always cut power to the device by unplugging the power cable, but make sure you understand the risks first.
