PS4 update 4.72 was dispatched on Tuesday, and like the multitude of security fixes before it, the 340 MB patch seemed to promise little in the way of new features or potential problems. According to this reddit thread , however, dozens of Sony faithful are having issues appearing as active on friends lists.
For all intents and purposes the bug seems to be linked to the PS4’s “Appear Offline” feature. By going to Profile > Online status from the main menu, it’s possible to hide your online activity for moments when you want a break from friendly interaction. Appearing offline is marked by a red X, while the standard online signal is shown as a blue circle.
The current problem, however, is that some users are constantly appearing as offline even when that feature hasn’t been enabled. This makes it substantially more difficult for friends to find one another when they want to play in the same lobby. Because these issues were first discovered shortly after 4.72 went live, it’s suspected that the update may be the root cause of the annoyance.
HOW TO FIX IT
If this is happening to you, Sony and some PlayStation owners have found a few tricks that work for them. The official advice is to boot your console into Safe Mode using the following steps:
- Turn off the PS4 via the front power button. You’ll know it’s totally off when the power beam on top of the console displays no light.
- With everything shut off, press and hold the power button until you hear two beeps. The first happens as soon as you press power, and you should hear the other one a few seconds later.
- A message will appear on screen telling you to connect a controller. Do it.
- Select option four to Restore Default Settings and follow the on-screen prompts. You won’t lose any save data, but controller configurations and themes may be reset.
If that doesn’t work, gamers at large have offered their own alternative solutions. As they are not endorsed by Sony, they are not guaranteed to work. That being said, none of them should cause harm to your console.
- Go to Settings > PlayStation Network and select Log Out. Turn off your controller from the devices menu, turn it on again and log back in with the proper credentials.
- Turn off your PS4 from the process described above and turn it on again as normal.
- Keep playing your game and wait it out. It may correct itself.
As a constantly updating console that has received several new firmwares since its launch in 2013, this is far from the first issue Sony has been forced to confront when revising PS4 system software. In late May a small collection of reports suggested that firmware version 4.70 was “soft-bricking” some consoles. Under this circumstance, a few units had to be sent to the manufacturer for repairs. Thankfully, this online status issue is far less damaging.
In terms of features, the PS4’s last significant system update arrived in March. It added Boost Mode to enhance software performance on PS4 Pro, as well as custom wallpaper and external hard drive support for all consoles.
Have you experienced this online status bug since updating your PS4 to version 4.72? Tell us in the comments section!
