PlayStation’s official Twitter account for its UK Support team is reporting that the issue with malicious messages that could crash user’s consoles has been addressed.
We’ve since fixed the issue, and it wasn’t bricking consoles, just sending them into a crash loop that can be quickly fixed in under 5 minutes. Delete the message on the PS mobile app, go into Safe Mode, use Option 5, console back to normal. ^DBOctober 15, 2018
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We’ll update you if there’s any further official word from Sony.
Original story:
Sony has acknowledged that a malicious message is somehow crashing PlayStation 4s, forcing the affected to do an entire factory reset to make their consoles function again. “We are aware of the situation and are planning a system software update to resolve this problem,” Sony told GamesRadar+ in an email.
The first news of the message and the damage it could cause came on Reddit, where user Huntstark reported (opens in new tab) that his entire Rainbow Six: Siege team had been hit with the attack.
How can you avoid the message?
The good news is prevention is as simple as changing a setting in the menu. Head to the Settings menu on your PS4. Then select Account Management, then Privacy Settings, and then Personal Info – Messaging. You want to change ‘Messages’ to either ‘Friends only’ or ‘No one.’
To be really safe, social media users also recommend downloading the PlayStation Messages app for Android (opens in new tab) or iOS (opens in new tab) and deleting any suspicious messages you see in your inbox from there, rather than risking it on your machine.
Hopefully the boffins at Sony are making this a priority, and we’ll see a software update ASAP.
Check out the best, cheapest PS4 accessories (opens in new tab) to complete your console set-up.