PSN is down — PS5 and PS4 online service continues to struggle

PlayStation Store Holiday Sale
(Image credit: Sony)

PSN continues to be plagued with connectivity issues that have been affecting the online gaming service for the last four days.

The official PlayStation Network status page reports that “some services are experiencing issues” and specifically highlights “gaming and social” functionality as the key area being most impacted.  

“You might have difficulty launching games, apps or network features.” claims Sony, while also promising that it’s “working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.” 

The affected platforms are listed as PS5, PS4, PS3 and PS Vita — so essentially every single PlayStation device that can be connected to the internet. This tells us it’s definitely an issue on Sony’s end rather than a hardware one. 

According to Sony the issues first surfaced on Friday (February 26), however, gamers had taken to social media to complain about PSN problems at least 24 hours earlier. 

Not all aspects of PSN are experiencing problems. The PlayStation Store seems to be operating as normal as do PlayStation’s additional services: PlayStation Now, PlayStation Music, and PlayStation Video.

Judging by our most recent tests the service seems to be intermittent rather than completely unavailable. We were able to connect to games of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Fall Guys without an issue, but struggled to get into a match of Rocket League without seriously long wait times.

It’s been a bad few days for playing your console online all around. Xbox also experienced online connectivity issues last week which prevented users from playing games online or accessing the Xbox store. 

Unfortunately in this scenario, as the problem is on Sony’s side, there’s nothing to do but wait for the issues to be resolved. As some games and services appear to be functioning as normal as of Monday (March 1), hopefully, we’re mostly out of the woods at this point. 

In the meantime, why not check out our roundup of the PS5 games we’re most excited to play in the coming months, and if you’re still after an elusive next-gen PlayStation then our guide for where to buy a PS5 should help. 

Rory Mellon
Entertainment Editor (UK)

Rory is an Entertainment Editor at Tom’s Guide based in the UK. He covers a wide range of topics but with a particular focus on gaming and streaming. When he’s not reviewing the latest games, searching for hidden gems on Netflix, or writing hot takes on new gaming hardware, TV shows and movies, he can be found attending music festivals and getting far too emotionally invested in his favorite football team. 

Read more
How to watch Super Bowl with your PS5
PSN outage live update — Sony issues apology and make-good offer
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
PlayStation’s massive holiday sale ends this week — this is your last chance to score PS5 games from $4
PS5 Slim
Here’s the first 5 games you need to play on your new PS5
Gran Turismo 7 screenshot with a Tom's Guide deal tag
Epic PlayStation sale ends in just 24 hours — here’s the 13 PS5 deals from $3 you don’t want to miss
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
PlayStation sale slices best PS5 games by up to 80% — here’s 17 deals from $5 I’d buy now
Stellar Blade screenshot
PlayStation's massive holiday sale just got bigger with PS5 games from $4 — here's my 15 favorite deals
Latest in Playstation
The PlayStation Portal on a counter with the start screen for Horizon Forbidden West
PlayStation Portal just got upgraded cloud streaming features — here’s what’s new
God of War Ragnarok
PlayStation’s epic March sale is live with PS5 games from $3 — here’s 17 deals I’d buy
Horizon Forbidden West on PC
AI-powered PlayStation characters are being tested at Sony — what we know
The Last of Us Part I screenshot with a Tom's Guide deal tag
PlayStation launches new sale with big discounts on essential PS5 games — here’s my 17 favorite deals from $2
PS VR2 headset with PS VR2 Sense controllers
PlayStation VR2 getting a $200 price drop in March — is it worth buying now?
The PlayStation logo on a PS5 Pro
Ex-Sony executive predicts the PS6 will arrive in 2028 — what you need to know
Latest in News
A person on a laptop converting a PDF to a DOC
FBI issues warning over free online file converters that infect your PC with malware
The Find my People feature
Android Find My can now track your friends and family — here's how to use it
Foldable iPhone concept image
Are you sitting down? Here’s what the foldable iPhone could cost
Samsung HW-Q990D soundbar
Samsung’s flagship 2024 soundbar just got bricked by a new firmware update — don’t update
A hacker typing quickly on a keyboard
New MassJacker malware is hijacking digital wallets to steal large sums from users
Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence
'Adolescence' is a gripping new Netflix show that's already hit No. 1 — and it’s 100% on Rotten Tomatoes