Questions to Ask When Buying a Used PS4
A second-hand PS4 can look spotless and still be banned from PlayStation Network, run hot or carry the last owner's account, so a buyer has more to check than whether it switches on. The list starts with what to ask a Marketplace, Craigslist or eBay seller by message, then covers the account and ownership, the console's condition, the controller, the tests to run with it powered up, and finally price, payment and what to ask a pawn or game shop. Nearly all of it carries over to a used PS5 or another console, and the guide after the list says what changes.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
By message
Which PS4 is it: the original, the Slim or the Pro, and what is the model number on the label?
Why ask it
A listing that says only PS4 could mean any of three machines, and an early original and a Pro are far apart in price. The model number starts with CUH and is printed on the label on the back or underside of the console. Ask for a photo of that label and look the number up, so you know which version and roughly which year you are being offered.
Has this console, or any account on it, ever been banned or suspended from PlayStation Network?
Why ask it
Sony can block an account, and it can also block the console itself, and a console block stays with the machine through every reset and every owner. A blocked PS4 still plays discs offline, but the store, downloads and online play are closed to it. A no by message costs the seller nothing, so hold the money until your own sign-in has gone through on the console.
Does it freeze, crash or act up at all right now, even if only now and then?
Why ask it
The faults that come and go are the ones a twenty-minute test can miss: a disc that slides back out, a freeze in one particular game, a controller that drops its connection. If the seller names one, ask how often it happens and when it last did. An answer typed into the listing's chat is also what you would point to if you had to open a claim with the marketplace later.
How much storage does it have, and is the drive the one it was sold with?
Why ask it
Most were sold with 500GB or 1TB, and big recent games are large enough that 500GB fills after a handful of them. The Storage screen in Settings shows the real figure, a little under the size on the box because the system keeps some of the drive for itself, so ask for a photo of that screen. A drive swapped for a larger one or an SSD is fine when the seller can say who fitted it.
What comes with it: a controller, the power cable, an HDMI cable, a charging cable, any games?
Why ask it
Have the list in the messages before you agree on a price, because each missing piece is something you buy on the way home. The power cable is not the same shape on every model, so check in the photos that the one offered fits the socket on the back. Ask about a stand or an external drive too if either appears in the pictures.
Was it new when you got it, and roughly what year was that?
Why ask it
The year tells you more than the number of owners: a launch-era original has had over a decade for dust to settle on the fan and for its hard drive to wear. With a console bought used, ask what the previous owner said about it and whether anything was fixed at the time. Either way the history only reaches back as far as this seller's own time with it, and the powered-on test has to cover the rest.
Why are you letting it go, and what are you playing on now?
Why ask it
Moving to a PS5 is a common answer, and it fits when the listing's photos show the console still wired up at home. The one to slow down on is a sale on behalf of a friend or relative: the account on the console belongs to someone who will not be at the handover, so nobody there can deactivate it or sign out. Ask for the owner to come, or to do both steps beforehand and send a photo of the setup screen.
How heavily was it played: a few hours a week, or most evenings for years?
Why ask it
The console keeps no hour counter you can read, so this is the seller's word and nothing more. Weigh it against what you can see: dust packed in the vents, shine on the controller's sticks, scuffs on the case. A light-use story told about a console with a pad worn smooth deserves a second question.
Has it ever been opened, repaired or cleaned inside, and who did the work?
Why ask it
An opened PS4 is not a spoiled one. A dust clean and fresh thermal paste on a console this age count as care, and a repair shop's invoice for a new HDMI port or power supply is better news than a fault left alone. The answer to be wary of is a seller who had a go from a video and is not sure every screw went back.
Do you have the receipt, the order email or the original box?
Why ask it
The serial number sits on the same label as the model number, and the box carries it too, so one photo of the two side by side shows whether they belong together. Many of these consoles are old enough that the paperwork is long gone, and that by itself proves nothing. If the listing mentions a warranty, the shop or the maker is who to ask whether any cover passes to a second owner.
Can you send a short video of it switched on today, showing the home screen?
Why ask it
A fresh clip shows that it starts, gives a picture and answers to the controller, which saves a wasted trip. If the listing photos look like stock pictures, ask for a slip of paper with today's date in the shot. It does not replace your own test, since thirty seconds of video says nothing about heat or the disc drive.
Account and ownership
Have you deactivated it as your primary PS4, or will you do that while I am there?
Why ask it
This step mainly protects the seller, whose downloads and subscription stay tied to the console until it is done. It is under Account Management in Settings, and it only works while they are signed in to PlayStation Network on the console. If they cannot sign in, either the details are forgotten or the account on the machine is somebody else's, and it is fair to ask which.
Will you run the factory reset in front of me, and which kind: quick or full?
Why ask it
Sony calls it Initialize PS4, in the Initialization menu, and it clears every user, save and setting. The full version can run for a long time, so agree beforehand: either the seller does the quick one while you wait and you repeat the full one at home, or you test first and wait it out together. You should leave with a console that opens on the first-time setup screen, not on somebody's profile.
Are the games in the listing on discs, or are they downloads on your account?
Why ask it
Discs are yours the moment you carry them out. Downloads belong to the seller's account and go when the console is reset, so a listing that boasts forty installed games is describing something you will not have. Work out the bundle's worth from the discs alone, and check each case has the right disc inside.
Are you offering your account along with the console, and can we leave it out of the deal?
Why ask it
Some sellers add their login as a sweetener for the downloaded games. The person who created an account can usually recover it with their email whenever they like, and Sony's terms of service are where to check whether accounts may change hands at all. Making your own costs nothing and takes a few minutes.
Has the system software ever been modified, jailbroken or loaded with unofficial games?
Why ask it
A modified console risks a network block, and some are held on old system software on purpose, which keeps them offline. The version number is on the System Information screen, and a photo of it takes the seller ten seconds. If you want an ordinary console for ordinary play, pass on one sold as modded, however good the price looks.
Is the serial number label still on the console and easy to read?
Why ask it
A label that has been peeled off, scratched or covered over is a reason to stop, because the serial number is how a console is identified if it was ever reported stolen. Whether there is a register you can search depends on where you live, so ask the local police or the marketplace how it works there. A pawn or game shop should be able to tell you what it checked when the console came in.
Was it bought on a payment plan or from a rent-to-own store, and is it fully paid for?
Why ask it
Consoles are often bought on store credit or rented to own, and one with payments outstanding may not be the seller's to pass on. A receipt showing the whole price paid settles it. Without one, ask to see the final statement, and remember that how these agreements treat a resale differs from one lender and one place to the next.
Condition
How loud does the fan get in the middle of a demanding game?
Why ask it
Every PS4 gets louder under load, and the early originals and the Pro have a reputation for it. A roar within a minute or two of starting a game, or a fan that never settles on the home screen, usually points to packed dust or dried-out thermal paste. Both can be put right, but it is an afternoon's work or a repair bill, so it belongs in the price.
Has it ever shown a too-hot warning or switched itself off during play?
Why ask it
A PS4 that overheats puts a warning on the screen and then powers down to protect itself. Once, in a heatwave, inside a closed cabinet, describes where it was kept. Every few sessions describes a console that needs opening, so follow up by asking what the seller did about it.
Where was it kept: on an open shelf, in a closed cabinet, on carpet, around smoke or pets?
Why ask it
Closed cabinets and carpet starve the vents, and smoke and pet hair coat the inside. When you see it, shine your phone's flashlight into the side and rear vents: a gray felt of dust shows what the fan has been breathing. Smell it as well, since a smoke smell does not wash out of a console.
Does the disc drive take, read and eject every disc on the first try?
Why ask it
Listen to the drive more than to the answer: grinding, repeated clicking or a disc that goes in and comes straight back out are all faults. The earliest originals have a touch-sensitive eject button with a reputation for firing by itself. If you only ever download games a weak drive may not bother you, but it should take a real piece off the price.
Has the picture ever flickered, sparkled or cut to no signal?
Why ask it
The HDMI port is a well-known weak point on this console, and the usual cause is a cable pulled sideways or a plug forced in at an angle. Look into it with a light: the pins should be straight and evenly spaced, and a cable should seat firmly without wobbling. If the seller blames the cable or the TV, that is easy to settle by bringing your own cable.
Has it ever refused to start, sat on a pulsing blue light or beeped and shut down?
Why ask it
A blue light that keeps pulsing and never turns white, with nothing on the TV, is the fault owners of the original model nicknamed the blue light of death. The cause runs from a loose hard drive to a failed chip, so nobody can price the repair from the symptom. 'It did that once and then it was fine' means the cause is still in there.
Has it ever shown a corrupted-data or storage error, or have the menus gotten slow?
Why ask it
The standard drive is a mechanical laptop-size one, and after years of use it is a common part to wear out. It is also the easiest fix on the console: all three models let the owner swap the drive with a screwdriver, and Sony publishes the steps. So a tired drive is a reason to pay less, not a reason to leave, if you are willing to do the job.
Do the front USB ports both work, and does it hold a Wi-Fi connection?
Why ask it
The USB ports charge and pair the controller, so try the cable in each one. Under Network in Settings there is a Test Internet Connection option that reports the speeds the console is getting. If the console always sat on a network cable, its Wi-Fi may never have been used, so 'it has always been fine online' is not an answer about wireless.
Has anything been spilled on it, or has it been dropped or knocked over while a disc was spinning?
Why ask it
Liquid leaves a sticky film around the vents and corrosion that shows up months later. A knock with a disc spinning can score the disc and unsettle the drive. With the console unplugged, tilt it gently and listen: a rattle is a loose screw or a broken clip, and either means someone has been inside or something has snapped.
Does it go into rest mode and wake up again without complaint?
Why ask it
Rest mode is how most owners charge controllers and download overnight, so a console that will not wake, or that restarts with a message about not being turned off properly, is tiresome to live with. The light turns orange in rest mode and back to white on waking. It takes a minute to try, so try it.
Controller
Is the controller a genuine Sony DualShock 4, and did it come with this console?
Why ask it
Copies are common and tend to feel light, lose their connection and charge badly. A genuine pad has a label on the back with a model number beginning CUH-ZCT, but the better copies print one too, so go by the weight, the feel of the sticks and how well it stays connected. A new Sony pad costs a noticeable share of what a used console sells for, so when the bundled one is a copy, price the deal as if there were no controller.
Does either stick drift, and is the rubber on top worn through?
Why ask it
Drift is the character or the camera moving while your thumbs are off the sticks. Open a game or a menu, let go and watch for anything creeping. Worn rubber is only looks, and slip-on caps cover it, while drift is a worn part inside and means a repair or a replacement pad.
How long does the controller run on a charge, and does it charge properly from its cable?
Why ask it
The battery fades with age, and an old pad may manage only one sitting. Wiggle the cable gently where it enters the pad: a light bar that flickers on and off means the charging socket is worn. A pad that only works plugged in is fine at a desk and no good from the sofa.
Do all the buttons, both triggers, the touchpad click and the headphone jack work?
Why ask it
Press everything, including pushing each stick down until it clicks. Triggers should spring back at once, and a button that returns slowly has usually met a spilled drink. If you plan to use voice chat, plug a pair of wired earphones into the jack on the pad and listen for sound in both ears.
How many controllers are included, and does each one stay connected from across the room?
Why ask it
The second pad in a bundle is often the one with the fault, so test both. Pair each with the cable, unplug it and walk to the far side of the room. If one pad drops out and the other does not, the pad is at fault; if both do, suspect the console's wireless instead.
Testing it
Can I see it running on a TV before I pay, and can you give me twenty minutes with it?
Why ask it
Settle this before you travel, because every other question in this group depends on a yes. The seller's home is the easy place to test, with a TV, a socket and Wi-Fi to hand, so tell someone where you are going and take a friend, or an adult if you are under 18. If no powered-on test is allowed anywhere, what is for sale is a box of unknown parts, and the offer should be a parts price or nothing.
Can we start it cold, with the power cable out until I arrive?
Why ask it
A console that was already warm and running when you walked in has hidden its start-up from you. Watch the light go from pulsing blue to steady white, listen for the single beep, and notice how long the home screen takes to appear. A long wait or a screen about checking the system storage is the hard drive telling you something.
May I put in a game disc and a movie disc and play each for a few minutes?
Why ask it
Bring your own PS4 game, and a DVD or Blu-ray if you will watch films on it, since a tired drive can read one kind of disc and refuse another. The disc should be pulled in smoothly, show up on the home screen within moments and come back out on one press of the button. Scratched discs confuse the test, so use ones you know are clean.
Can we run a big 3D game for fifteen minutes so I can hear the fan and feel the air coming out?
Why ask it
Heat problems do not show on the home screen or in a video app. Put a hand behind the console while the game runs: a steady stream of warm air is healthy. A case that is hot to the touch with little air moving, a fan at full roar, or a shutdown partway through are the results that change the price or end the sale.
Can I connect it to Wi-Fi or my phone's hotspot and sign in to PlayStation Network with my own account?
Why ask it
This is the ban test, and nothing else stands in for it. If the sign-in goes through and the store opens, neither a console block nor a network fault is hiding. Signing in needs current system software, so an out-of-date console will want an update first: allow for the time and the mobile data, and if you walk away, delete your user from the console before you go.
Can I plug in my own HDMI cable and nudge the plug while the picture is up?
Why ask it
A sound port holds the picture when the plug is nudged. Sparkles, a dropout or a black screen at a light touch mean the port is on its way out, and that is a soldering repair. Using the cable you brought removes any argument about whose cable was at fault.
Can I open Settings and look at the storage, system software and update screens?
Why ask it
Storage shows the drive's true size, which settles any 500GB or 1TB claim in the listing. System Information gives the software version, and System Software Update will say whether a newer one is waiting. An update that fails or a version years out of date fits with a console kept off the network, and that needs explaining before you go further.
Price and shops
What did you price it against, and will you take less for what the test turned up?
Why ask it
Have the going rate ready before the day, taken from sold listings for the same CUH model and storage and not from asking prices. Then put a cost on each thing the test found: the loud fan, the worn pad, the missing cable. A specific figure with a reason attached gets further than asking for a best price.
Is it all right if I pay at the handover, once the test is done, and which method suits you?
Why ask it
Pay when the checks are finished and the console is in your hands. Turn down a deposit to hold it, payment in gift cards, or a transfer to an account in any name but the seller's. Whether a payment app or your bank protects a private sale differs by provider, and yours can tell you before the day.
Can you put the sale in a message: the model, the serial number, the price and today's date?
Why ask it
Sent from the account that ran the listing, that message ties the console's serial number to a seller and a day. It is what you would show if the console's history were ever questioned, or if a shop asked where it came from when you trade it in. Read the serial off the label yourself and check it against what was typed.
If you are shipping it, how will it be packed, and what happens if it arrives dead or not as described?
Why ask it
A console should travel with no disc in the drive and padding on every side, and since a mailed sale gives you no test first, the listing's wording is your protection. Ask the seller to state in it that the console signs in to PlayStation Network and reads discs, and to add a photo of the serial label. Pay only through the platform, read how long its buyer protection gives you to report a problem, and work through the Testing it group the day the box arrives.
How did you test this console, and can I see it running here in the shop?
Why ask it
A good answer names the checks: a disc read, a network sign-in, the controller, a spell under load. 'It powers on' is not a test, and a shop with a screen behind the counter can plug the console in for you in a couple of minutes.
What did you do to it before it went on the shelf: a wipe, a clean inside, any new parts?
Why ask it
On a console, refurbished can stop at a reset and a wipe of the case, or go as far as opening it to clear the dust, renew the thermal paste and fit a fresh drive. Ask which was done to the one on the shelf, and whether that work is written down anywhere. Check too whether the controller in the box is Sony's own or another maker's.
What warranty or return period comes with it, and is that written on the receipt?
Why ask it
A way back is what a shop's higher price buys, so get its length and its conditions: refund or exchange only, whether the controller is included, and whether a network ban discovered at home counts as a fault. Terms differ from shop to shop and buyers' rights differ by place, so ask how it works there and keep the receipt with the serial number on it.
Testing a used PS4: what to bring, what to run and when to leave
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
At home, before the trip
Decide which model you want
The original is the oldest and often the cheapest, the Slim is smaller and tends to run quieter but has no optical audio socket, and the Pro is the one built with 4K TVs in mind. Decide which suits your screen, your sound setup and your budget first, then check every listing's CUH number against that choice. It stops a low price on the wrong machine from looking like a bargain.
Find what they sell for, not what is asked
Search sold or completed listings for the same model and storage size, and note the range for a console with one controller and no games. That range is your ceiling for a private sale with no warranty. A shop will charge more, and the return period is what the extra pays for.
Get the account answers in writing
Ban history, modifications, whose account is on the console and whether it will be reset in front of you can all be asked before anyone travels. Silence after those questions is an answer too, and a cheap one, since it costs you no journey. Screenshot the replies in case the listing is taken down once the console is sold.
Bring what the test needs
An HDMI cable, a PS4 game disc, a DVD or Blu-ray, a micro-USB cable, wired earphones and a phone that can run a hotspot. Have your PlayStation Network email and password to hand, plus whatever second step your account asks for at sign-in. Without your own sign-in you cannot run the one check that finds a banned console.
Twenty minutes with the console, in order
Look before it is switched on
Read the label and compare the serial number with the box or receipt. Shine a light into the vents and the HDMI port, see whether any seal sticker over the screws on the back is whole, and tilt the console gently to listen for anything loose. Then ask the seller to plug it in and start it while you watch the light and the screen.
Disc first, then load
Feed it the game disc and let it start, then eject and try the film. Go back to the game and leave it running in a busy scene while you do everything else. By the time the other checks are finished the console has been working for fifteen minutes and the fan has had its say.
Work through the controller while the game runs
Let go of both sticks and watch for drift, press every button and trigger, click the touchpad, then pull the cable and walk across the room. Try the earphones in the pad's jack. Swap to the second controller, if there is one, and repeat the short version.
Reset last, then sign in as yourself
Once you are satisfied, the seller deactivates the console on their account and runs the reset. Go through the first screens of setup, join your hotspot and sign in with your own account. When the store opens, the ban question is answered, and that is the moment to hand over the money.
Shops, shipped listings and other consoles
Pawn shops
A pawn shop usually knows little about a console's past, so the test at the counter carries the weight. Ask for it to be plugged in, ask what the return terms are, and ask how the shop checks goods against stolen-property reports, since the rules for that differ from place to place. The ticket price is often open to an offer.
Game shops and refurbishers
Here you are paying for a tested console and a way back if it fails. Ask what the test covered, whether the controller is Sony's own, and whether the photo online is of the console you will receive. Get the warranty length on the receipt along with the serial number.
eBay and other mailed sales
You are buying from photos and a description, so make the description do the work. Ask for a picture of the label, a picture of the console signed in to the network, and the faults listed in the seller's own words. When the parcel comes, photograph the serial label before you plug anything in, and keep the packaging until every test is done.
A PS5 or another console
Almost every question carries over. On a PS5, ask whether it is the disc or the digital edition, check the DualSense controller for stick drift, and know that the built-in storage is not a drive you can swap, though there is a slot for adding one. On an Xbox or a Switch the menu names change but the order holds: the seller's account comes off, the console is reset, and you sign in as yourself to prove it is not blocked.
Deals to leave alone
No test with the power on
'It worked when I unplugged it' cannot be checked, however honestly it is meant. Without a picture on a screen you know nothing about the HDMI port, the drive, the heat or the ban. Offer what a parts console is worth, or pass.
It will not sign in to the network
An error at sign-in on your own account, over a connection you trust, ends the sale. The seller may be as surprised as you are, but a block on a console is Sony's to lift, not theirs, and a promise that it will clear is not something to pay for. Sign out, thank them and leave.
The seller cannot remove their account
A forgotten password is something the account's owner can normally recover with their email while you wait. If that fails, or the reset is waved away to save time, the person in front of you may not be the owner. The reset is also what hands you a clean console, so treat it as part of the sale.
Cheap, urgent and paid in advance
A Pro at half the usual price, a seller who must sell tonight, and a request for a deposit before you have seen the console tend to arrive together. Any one of them is a reason to slow down. All three make a listing to close.