Sony fixes PS4 text message exploit that caused bricked consoles and crash loop
A dangerous text message made the rounds on PSN over the weekend, but all seems to be safe now.
Over the weekend, PS4 users started issuing out warnings about message going around on the PlayStation Network that was causing consoles to brick. A temporary fix prevented you from receiving the message from users that aren't on your friends list, but Sony's official UK PlayStation Twitter account has shared an official fix for the problem if you run into it.
The way the exploit worked, as reported by VG247, was by putting specific characters in a text message that forced players to factory reset their consoles. Originally, it didn't seem like viewing the message on mobile devices and deleting it would resolve the problem, but it is a part of the fix the official UK PlayStation account has shared on Twitter. Here are the steps that you should take if you find yourself on the receiving end of the text message exploit:
- Delete the message on the PS mobile app
- Go into Safe Mode
- Use Option 5
This will get your console back to normal without requiring a factory reset, which deletes all of your console's data. In the earlier stages of the exploit making rounds, players thought their console was being "bricked" and restored the console to fix the issue. A bricked console takes a whole lot more than a factory reset to repair and the official PlayStation account revealed that what the exploit was actually causing was a crash loop.
Reddit users, when they learned about the exploit, recommended setting your message settings to private since receiving just the notification of the message was enough to cause the crash loop. It may be worth it to still set change your privacy settings until Sony makes a more public message about repairing the issue. Once you're feeling safe, check out the 2018 Shacknews Video Game Release Date Schedule so you can see what games will be rounding out the year. Stay tuned to Shacknews for additional updates.
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replyCharles Singletary Jr posted a new article, Sony fixes PS4 text message exploit that caused bricked consoles and crash loop
