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The most complete move is Sony’s built-in Data Transfer process, which copies supported games, saved data, users and settings from an old PS4 or PS5 to the new console. Put both consoles on the same network, sign in to the same account on the destination PS5, update their system software and sync trophies on the old console first. If you cannot use console-to-console transfer, reinstall digital games from your library, install disc games from their discs, use compatible USB extended storage for game installations, and move saves through PlayStation Plus cloud storage or— for PS4 saves only— a FAT or exFAT USB drive.
Choose the right transfer method first
Games and saved data are separate. A game installation contains the files needed to launch a title; a save contains your progress, settings and other player data. You can often restore a game without restoring its save, but reinstalling a game does not recreate progress that was never transferred or uploaded.
| Method | What it moves or provides | Requirements and limits |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in Data Transfer | User and account information, eligible saves, games and console settings | Both consoles must be on the same network. Use the same account on the destination, update system software and sync trophies before starting. PS4-source transfer has additional setup-timing limits. |
| PlayStation Plus cloud storage | Saved data | Membership is required. The cited US support page lists 100 GB for PS5 saves, 100 GB for PS4 saves and up to 1,000 PS4 saved-data files. PS4 saves must be downloaded manually to the PS5. |
| USB drive for PS4 saves | PS4 saved data | Use a FAT- or exFAT-formatted USB drive that is not configured as USB extended storage. PS5 saved data cannot be copied from a PS5 console to USB. |
| USB extended storage | Compatible game installations | Sony lists SuperSpeed USB drives from 250 GB to 8 TB. PS4 games can run from the drive; PS5 games must be copied to PS5 console storage or an installed M.2 SSD before playing. |
| Redownload or disc installation | Access to games | Digital purchases can be downloaded again from the destination’s game library. Disc games require the original disc in the new PS5. |
| Move an M.2 SSD | Game data stored on that expansion drive | An M.2 SSD from the old PS5 can be installed in the new PS5 when it meets Sony’s compatibility and installation requirements for the console model. |
Use Data Transfer when both consoles are available and you want the broadest move in one operation. Use cloud or USB methods when the old console is unavailable, when you need to move saves separately, or when a transfer was interrupted. Treat extended storage as a way to carry game installations, not as a PS5-save backup.
Prepare the old and new consoles
Put both consoles on the same network
Connect the old console and the new PS5 to the same home network before opening Data Transfer. Wi-Fi works, but Sony notes that a LAN cable may make the transfer faster when the consoles normally use Wi-Fi. If both consoles are already connected by network cables to the same network, you do not need to connect them directly to each other with another LAN cable.
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Use the correct account and current software
Sign in to the same PlayStation account on the destination PS5 that you used for the purchases and saves on the old console. Update the system software on both consoles. On the source console, open your trophy information and let it synchronize before migration; this prevents the new console from starting with stale trophy data.
Check storage and timing
Confirm that the destination has enough free console or M.2 storage for the PS5 games you intend to copy. Data already stored on the destination is not transferred over, so remove unwanted duplicate installations only after you are certain you no longer need them. Keep both consoles powered and connected throughout the operation. Do not begin the transfer while either console is installing a system update or changing network settings.
Transfer everything with the PS5 Data Transfer feature
During the new PS5’s initial setup
- Turn on the new PS5 and work through the initial setup until the data-transfer step appears.
- Place the old PS4 or PS5 nearby, turn it on and connect it to the same network as the new console.
- Sign in to the same account on the new PS5, then follow the on-screen instructions to select the source console and the data categories to move.
- Confirm the transfer and leave both consoles powered. The destination PS5 restarts during the process.
- After the restart, monitor Downloads/Uploads. Some data, including game data, may continue transferring after the restart. A game thumbnail appears when that game is ready to play.
After initial setup on a PS5 destination
If you skipped migration during setup, open Settings > System > System Software > Data Transfer > Continue on the destination PS5. Follow the prompts to identify the source console and select the eligible content. The same-network, same-account, software-update and trophy-synchronization requirements still apply.
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From a PS4 source, user and account information and console settings transfer during initial setup only. Eligible saves and PS5-playable games can also be transferred after setup, but Sony limits post-setup PS4-save transfer to the user currently signed in. If several people used the old PS4, have each person sign in and transfer their eligible saves as required, or use cloud storage or a USB save copy for the PS4 data that must be moved separately.
What a PS5 source can send
When the source is a PS5, Sony lists user and account information, eligible saved data, screenshots and video clips, PS5-playable games and console settings as transferable both during and after initial setup. The transfer does not overwrite data already on the destination.
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Keep the transfer safe while it runs
Sony’s explicit warning is: “Do not turn off your source and destination consoles during data transfer.” Also avoid changing network settings or running an internet connection test while the transfer is active; Sony warns that those actions can damage or lose data.
- Do not unplug either console, the router or a network cable.
- Do not put either console into rest mode manually or launch a separate network operation.
- Do not assume the restart means the transfer failed; check Downloads/Uploads and wait for game data to finish.
- Do not erase the old console until you have opened important games on the new PS5 and verified their saves.
Restore games without console-to-console transfer
Digital purchases
On the new PS5, open your game library, select a purchased title and choose the download option. Deleting a digital game does not remove your purchase access, so you can download it again from the account that owns it. The download restores the installation, not automatically the save; use Data Transfer, cloud storage or the PS4 USB method for progress.
Disc-based games
Insert each game disc into the destination PS5 and let the console install the game. Keep the disc available: the PS5 uses it to verify your license when you play. Disc installation likewise does not replace a missing save.
USB extended storage
Disconnect the extended-storage drive safely from the old console, then connect it to the destination PS5. Sony’s published US external-storage specifications require a compatible SuperSpeed USB drive with capacity from 250 GB through 8 TB. The drive must be recognized as extended storage, not as a general-purpose save-transfer drive.
PS4 games stored there can be played directly from the drive. PS5 games can be stored there to free internal space, but they must be copied back to PS5 console storage or an installed M.2 SSD before they can be played. This drive carries game installations; it does not carry PS5 saved data.
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Move an M.2 SSD from the old PS5
If the old PS5 uses an M.2 SSD, Sony says the drive can be removed and installed in the destination PS5 so the game data on it can be used there. Follow Sony’s compatibility and installation guidance for the exact PS5 model, power the console down fully before opening it, and do not treat the M.2 drive as a substitute for transferring saves.
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Use PlayStation Plus cloud storage
PlayStation Plus cloud storage is the most convenient separate-save route when the old console can still connect to the service. Membership is required. With auto-sync enabled, PS5 saves can upload automatically when you close a game or the console enters rest mode. The cited US PlayStation support page specifies a limit of 100 GB for PS5 saved data and 100 GB for PS4 saved data, plus a maximum of 1,000 PS4 saved-data files; the page does not state a publication year.
On the new PS5, open the cloud-storage controls, choose the game and download its save to PS5 console storage. PS4 game saves upload automatically under the service, but Sony says you must manually download them to the PS5. Before deleting anything from the old console, check that the newest timestamp is present in the cloud and that the save opens in the game on the new console.
Copy PS4 saves with a USB drive
For PS4 saved data, use a USB drive formatted as FAT or exFAT. It must not be formatted as USB extended storage. On the old console, copy the required PS4 saves to the USB drive; connect that drive to the new PS5 and copy the saves into the PS5’s console storage using the saved-data controls.
This method has a firm generation limit. Sony states: “You can’t copy PS5 saved data from your PS5 console to a USB drive.” Therefore, do not describe an ordinary USB save copy as a PS5-save backup. For PS5 saves, use Data Transfer or PlayStation Plus cloud storage instead.
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Which route fits your situation?
You have both consoles and have not finished setup
Use the initial-setup Data Transfer flow. It can include users, settings, eligible saves and games in one migration, and it avoids downloading every game again. Prepare the network and account first, then leave the consoles untouched until the transfer and post-restart downloads finish.
You finished setup but still have the old PS5
Run Settings > System > System Software > Data Transfer > Continue on the destination. This is the direct route for a PS5 source and can also bring over supported screenshots and clips.
You are moving from a PS4 after setup
Transfer the eligible PS4 saves and PS5-playable games through the post-setup flow for the signed-in user. For other users’ saves, use separate signed-in transfers, cloud storage or the FAT/exFAT USB method.
The old console is unavailable or the network transfer fails
Redownload digital games, install disc games, attach any compatible extended-storage drive for game installations, and restore saves from PlayStation Plus. If the saves are from PS4 games, a FAT/exFAT USB copy is an additional option. There is no equivalent ordinary USB-copy method for PS5 saves.
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The consoles cannot find each other
- Verify that both consoles are connected to the same local network, not separate guest networks.
- Check that both are signed in where required and running current system software.
- If Wi-Fi is slow or unstable, connect both consoles to the network by LAN. A direct console-to-console cable is unnecessary when both are already wired to the same network.
A game appears but is not playable yet
The destination may have restarted while larger game files continued copying. Open Downloads/Uploads and wait for the title’s remaining data. Sony says the game thumbnail appears when that game is ready to play; do not interrupt the consoles just because the initial restart has completed.
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The save is missing after reinstalling a game
Reinstalling a game restores its program files, not necessarily its progress. Confirm that you used the account that owns the save, then check Data Transfer, cloud storage or the PS4 USB route. For PS4 cloud saves, perform the manual download to PS5 console storage.
The destination has less free space than expected
Data already on the destination is not replaced by the transfer. Remove unwanted games or clips from the destination, or keep installations on compatible extended storage. Remember that PS5 games on extended storage must be copied back to console or M.2 storage before play.
The transfer was interrupted
Do not erase the old console. Restart only after the consoles are stable, restore the same-network connection, and run the Data Transfer flow again. If the old console cannot complete the process, switch to redownloading games and restoring saves through cloud storage; use USB only for PS4 saves.
Verify the new PS5 before retiring the old one
- Sign in with every account whose data you need and confirm the user profiles are present.
- Open several transferred games and verify that the expected save slot and progress load.
- Check that digital purchases appear in the correct game library and that disc games install from their discs.
- Open Downloads/Uploads and confirm that queued game transfers are complete.
- Review screenshots, video clips and settings if the source was a PS5.
- Confirm that any extended-storage drive or M.2 SSD is recognized and that PS5 games are on playable console or M.2 storage.
Only after these checks should you reset, sell or otherwise retire the old console.
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