There is an issue that has been troubling many PlayStation 4 users — their PS4 console can’t display anything on their TV or monitor. Usually this black screen issue comes out of nowhere, and the symptoms vary. Some get it when they try to turn on their PS4 console. They can see nothing on the screen but the console is running fine. Some see the black screen on their monitor but with TV the console works fine. In other cases, the users see the screens normally on the system, but get the black screen after they open specific applications.
If you are facing the same issue, don’t panic! There are still ways (listed below) to light your screen back on. And they don’t require any technical skills. You don’t have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that works for you.
Here’s a list of things you can try to fix your PS4 black screen issue:
Method 1: Restart your PS4 completely
Restarting your PS4 completely can clear many problems on it that may cause your black screen issue. That’s the first thing you should try if you can’t see anything displayed by your PS4. To do so:
1) Press and hold the power button on your PS4 for about 7 seconds (until you hear the second beep from the console). This will turn off your console completely.
2) Unplug the power cable from the console.
3) Wait for at least 30 seconds.
4) Plug the power cable back to the console.
5) Turn on your PS4 and see if the issue is fixed.
Method 2: Try another HDMI cable or port
If you are using HDMI for video output and you are having the black screen issue, it may be that the HDMI cable or port being used is causing the trouble.
First, you can experiment with another new cable and see if this can fix the issue. If a new cable can’t help you, then the HDMI port you are using may be down, and you can try another one and see if it works.
Method 3: Disable HDCP
HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a protection technology designed to prevent the digital content (e.g. HD movies) from being pirated. It is used with digital video standards like HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, etc.
But sometimes HDCP can be very annoying. If your TV or monitor isn’t compatible with it, your PS4 won’t output any video or audio. And that’s probably the cause of your black screen issue (if you get it when opening specific applications). You can try disabling it and see if that can help you fix the issue.
To do so:
1) On your PS4, open Settings.
2) Select System.
3) Disable HDCP (Uncheck “Enable HDCP”)
Now you have disabled HDCP on your PS4. Try opening the application or game that got you black screen and see if it works fine now.
Method 4: Have your PS4 repaired
In many cases, the PS4 black screen issue is a hardware issue. It is possible that the HDMI port on your PS4 is corrupted. But the culprit may also be other components on your console. You may need to ask a specialist for help. If your PS4 is still under warranty, go find the vendor of your device or Sony’s customer service to have your console repaired or replaced. Or you can pay the business specializing in this to fix the issue for you.
I can still hear everything like I’m signing in and everything but there is no picture, can anyone help?
My black screen is a HDMI port issue so I’m screwed. The only repair shop in my city charges $130 to fix. Ill buy another 1 before I fix it. Thanks for the advice though.
I managed to solve my problem, there are some ways, I will quote them
1. Turn ON the console with the TV **disconnected**, after turning **ON** the console, **connect** the TV, if it doesn’t work
2. With the PS turned **off**, **hold** the POWER button **about 7 seconds** until the **second beep**, you will enter the **safemode**, change the **resolution** of the console if it doesn’t work
3. Enter safemode again, and in the last option, select **HDCP 1.4 ONLY**, if it doesn’t resolve
4. **THE RESOLUTION THAT WORKED FOR ME:**
Download 3 apps to your computer, called **CrystalDisk**, **HD TUNE PRO** and **HDD REGENERATOR**
After downloading them, check the “health” of your HD in CrystalDisk and if you have any abnormality with **BAD SECTORS** make an **advanced** diagnosis of your HD in HD TUNE PRO, using a **case** to make it a **external** HD
The diagnosis will tell you if your HD is bad and where the errors are, with this data enter the HDD REGENERATOR and type option 1 “**Scan and Repair**”, it will ask you which part of the HD you want to repair, type exactly the MB that HD TUNE PRO told you were giving **ERROR**, and hit the “M” key on your keyboard, it will scan in Mb
After he finds and recovers the bad sectors found, press ESC and type 3 to start correcting in another sector, type the MB of the next sector with an error and follow until finalizing all the errors found by HD TUNE PRO
After all that, try putting the HD back on the console and see if an image appears, if so, I advise you to back up all your data and provide a new HD
And if the console still doesn’t showing image, enter safemode and try to reinstall the system software, without resetting to factory data
The PlayStation software installation file is on the SONY website with the tutorial on how to do this
I used the Case C3 Tech Hd 2.5´ Usb 3.0, Black – Ch-300bk to put the HD and use it as external
My diagnosis on HD TUNE PRO took almost 15 hours
My HD was with 603 reallocated bad sectors
Now im waiting my SSD arrive, and I’m going to use my old hard drive as an external one, just to get my data
Beware of power outages, abrupt console shutdowns, console crashes and falls, lots of dust are harmful too
Take a time to watch some videos of TronicFix and try to change your thermal paste yourself, it’s good to know how to clean your console
Mine was completely unresponsive even in safe mode (ps4 slim) and all I did was reseat the HDD and next try it fired right up. Hope this helps someone!
I tried turning on my ps4,MY ps4 turns on but when my tv is on its a black screen and I cant switch to HDMI
The PS4 is one of the most unreliable pieces of hardware I have ever had to deal with. Constant screen freezes, long loading times, slow internet, and constant console/game crashing moments. The console will even crash when I’m trying to shut the damn thing off.
Thank you sooo much, it was the HDCP, which I had no idea about before!!!!
My boys are well happy!!
Again thanks, you’ve saved my night!
im a 11 year old this sucks i turn my ps4 on after doing everything it shows the ps4 symbol then goes black 🙁
The HDCP method works on me. Thanks
I cant see any display hearing sound in and out with HDMI
my laystation4 goes black after a few seconds lease hel me
Try pushing the “P” key.
When I open the ps4 it shows me a black screen and if I remove the cable from the ps4 and put it back it terns on but after the download it gets back to the black screen. Please help
Well, I tried all of the methods, nothing seems to work,
Even tried the safe mode, n even in my safe mode, the only thing shows up is the black screen…
I hear the audio when my PS4 turns on when I connect my headphones in it… but the only thing pop ups is the black screen… ALL THE FREAKING TIME…
Go get it repaired
Thanks, helped alot. Now i can play 🙂
I remote played my ps4 from my macbook and disabled hdcp and it fixed my problem. My Ps4 was on but it wouldnt send any video. You honestly saved me 400 dollars. I was ready to buy a ps4 pro and throw this one in the trash seriously, I was gonna pick one up after I worked a few more days, but this fixed my problem thank you so much saved me 400 dollars.
ill go to xbox and fix the problem since sony doesnt think it can be done with an updaye
How can you disable HDCP if you can’t see anything on screen? Lol…
You can do it during safe mode. Hold the power button when turning on the ps4 release after the second beep once in safe mode you should be able to configure the HDCP.
What do I do now?
Thanks for the safe mode mention. I was able to update the system software which repaired the issue.
I was having the black screen issue as well. The information here helped. I tried a different HDMI ports and I still had the same black screen but I could still hear the music. I tried turning off the unit and unplugging it and that did not work. I ended up starting at the end safe mode and went to the hdcp setup and mine was on automatic. The only other option was to change it to 1.4 only and I did that. I restarted my PlayStation and it worked perfectly fine no issues. Hopefully this helps others.
Change what to 1.4
thanks so much for this, you couldn’t begin to understand how useful this was to me. I was gonna be looking for a solution for hours.
The only thing I can see is the black screen and blue light on my PlayStation
same
same here, but I am seeing white light instead
This is what I am seeing too!
Do you have the issue fixed? If you do how did you do it, this same issue happened to me a few months ago and this time nothing that worked last time is working.
I was having black screens intermittently while in a game. Turning the game off and unplugging helped.
Hi Earl,
Thanks for sharing this!
data is gone