Even if you managed to be one of the lucky ones to grab a PlayStation 5, it can be a bit of a tedious and somewhat confusing process to set up. There’s a lot of pieces involved and some steps to run through when you finally have it on. But with a little guidance, you can rocket through the whole thing and get right to playing your games.

Unboxing and preparing the PS5

This step is the fun part if you like cracking open a new purchase and seeing what your money went toward. The PS5 has a huge box because it’s a huge console. You’ll want to carefully fold open the box and pull everything out. Inside you should find the PS5 console itself, the DualSense wireless controller, an HDMI cable, a power cable, a USB C to USB A cable, the stand, and a handful of user manuals. For now, separate everything from its twist ties and have it prepared for connecting to your console and TV.

Set up the PS5 stand

From here, you should find a place to put your PS5 and decide whether or not you’re going to have it sit vertically or horizontally. Both orientations require the use of the stand. By now, you will have a good idea of just how gigantic the console is, so you can make your decision accordingly.

For horizontal use, you want to set up the stand’s rotating section to sit away from the clip. Put another way: have the indentations on the circular part of the stand (with the big protrusion) sitting parallel with the clip. Then, all you need to do is line up the clip with the small PlayStation face button symbols on the back of the PS5. It should lightly, but firmly grip onto the edge of the console’s fins and keep it level when you lay it down.

For vertical use, you need to set up the stand a little differently. First, take a look at the bottom of the PS5 and you’ll see a small circle in the middle. Pop out the circle to reveal a screw hole. On the stand, you want to turn the middle section to line up with the clip. Flip it over, and you’ll see a screw in the recessed section. Take it out, replace it with the plastic circle that you just removed for storage, and pick up the stand. All you have to do is place the stand’s clip on the bottom of the PS5 in the vertical orientation and screw it into the base. When you’re done, it should stand upright with the stand protruding out from the left and right.

Connecting the power, HDMI, and ethernet to the PS5

Now that your PS5 can sit somewhere without being wobbly or unruly while you mess with cables, you can start to hook it up. This part is pretty easy if you’ve set up any other console before. The power cable hooks right into the bottom or left side of the unit depending on your chosen orientation. And the HDMI cable goes right next to it. Plug the power cable into a wall socket, and the HDMI cable into your TV. This is also when you would want to plug in an ethernet cable too if you don’t want to use WiFi.

Pairing the DualSense and powering on the PS5

The physical part of the process is almost done. Plug the provided USB-C to USB-A port into your new DualSense controller and either the front or back USB ports on the console. This allows the PS5 to properly pair it with the system in a moment. Now, you just need to press the power button located on the front of the console and make sure your TV is powered on and set to the right input channel.

The PS5 will initially ask you to plug in the DualSense controller and to hit the PlayStation button in the middle. Do that, and it’ll take you to the next step. Choose a language, and then decide whether or not you want the screen reader to say options out loud to you. The PS5 will then prompt you to connect to a WiFI internet connection. Choose your correct SSID and enter a password if it’s required. Next, you’ll need to use the up and down d-pad buttons to adjust the display area to your TV’s borders. If you have a HDR-enabled TV, the console will ask you to mess with the brightness in the next two steps.

PS5 power options

The PS5 will then prompt you to enter a game disc if you’d like to start installing it while you finish the rest of the setup. Be sure to do this if you want to get into your game faster! Otherwise, move onto the Power Options for Rest Mode screen. Here is where you get three options: Optimized Experience, Low Power Use, and Custom. The basic differences between the first two choices are whether or not the PS5 will automatically download system and game updates while it's in Rest Mode and charge your controller. Some people like this feature off because there’s always a risk that new updates could cause problems for your system or games, and because it’s hard to track how much data and power the console uses without your input. Low Power Use mode disables all that, and Custom lets you tweak individual settings. The Power Options are entirely up to you; there’s no wrong answer here.

System updates

There’s a system software license agreement next, and then the system will have you update the system software to the latest version. Once it’s finished, the PS5 will restart and have you press the PS button again. This is where it’ll prompt you to update the controller and to do so you need to sign into your PlayStation Network email address and password or create one. Alternatively, you can use the PlayStation phone app and scan the QR code.

Privacy options

The PS5 will now ask you to decide how you want to adjust your privacy settings, or how much you want other people and friends to see your activity on the console. There’s a set of options ranging from completely open permissions to closed down ones. You can also opt to keep your current settings from the PS4. If you’re worried about people seeing what you’re playing or what you’re doing, choose the option that’s right for you. Keep in mind, you can always change it later.

PS5 data sharing and security

In order to improve the PlayStation experience, Sony asks you to share your data with them during the PS5 set up. You can choose to share only a limited amount of data or all of it. This is purely up to you, and you can change it later at any time.

Following that, the PS5 will notify you how to further secure your account by adding a passcode to prevent people from signing into your account when they use the PS5, and a prompt to enter your password whenever you make purchases. Both of these options are available in the settings.

The security options continue with 2-Step Verification. The PS5 will ask how you want to add a layer of security to your account. You can use a text message or an authenticator app. Or you can choose the option to skip it for later. We recommend doing this now because 2FA is a vital thing to have on an account that could have hundreds of dollars of games on it.

Regardless of your choice on the 2FA option, you will also get asked to add a phone number to your account to retrieve your password if you forgot it. If that doesn’t interest you, you can do it later too.

If you have a family that will make use of your PS5, this upcoming step is where you can tweak the settings for those accounts. You can do things like restrict certain content, keep track of playtime, and set up spending limits. Like all of these settings, you can change this later in the console’s settings.

The final steps

It’s almost time to actually use your PS5! The next step asks if you’d like to automatically download video streaming apps like Disney+, Hulu, YouTube, and Netflix. You can select and deselect whichever ones you want. If you aren’t interested at all, you can choose to do this later.

The Transfer Data from Your PS4 option allows you to transfer users, games, and saved data to your new console. This process has you connect both your PS4 and PS5 to the same WiFI network or connect them via an ethernet cable. The setup will run you through another option and give you a timer for how long the transfer will take. You can either do this whole section now or later.

And that’s it. The PS5 will welcome you to the console and fade the screen into the main menu. You made it! The PS5 is fully set up and you can play games or start perusing the store to your heart’s content.