PlayStation users have been urged to change their privacy settings or risk receiving a bug that disables the console.
PS4 users have been receiving messages that allegedly force consoles to crash, with some requiring a factory reset to fix. PlayStation support have since asked gamers to delete the message on mobile and boot their consoles into safe mode.
Hello! We are aware and investigating, but it doesn't reset your console to factory settings. All you need to do is delete the message via the PS messaging app, and use Option 5 in Safe Mode to sort your console out. Instructions: https://t.co/vecpA6wnaQ ^DB
— Ask PlayStation UK (@AskPS_UK) October 15, 2018
However, many players believe the answer lies in setting messages to private.
PS4 users took to Reddit to discuss the glitch and shared instances where their consoles crashed just from receiving the message.
The thread began: “There is a new glitch that basically bricks your console and forces you to factory reset it. Even deleting the message from the mobile app doesn’t work. It happened to me during Rainbow Six: Siege. A player from the other team used a dummy account to send the message and crashed my entire team. We all have had to factory reset. Only one of our guys wasn’t affected and he has his messages private”.
Players have called on Sony to issue bans to those players found sending the messages.
Recently, Sony announced that they’re reviving the original PlayStation console, almost 25 years after its initial release.
The console will return as the ‘PlayStation Classic’ and it’s set for release on December 3.
As well as the console, PlayStation fans will also receive two classic PS1 controllers for games that offer multiplayer modes.