You just finished a grueling three-hour session of Elden Ring. Your eyes are stinging. Your thumbs actually hurt. All you want to do is kill the power and crash, but for some reason, Sony decided that the simple act of shutting down the console should feel like a mini-game itself. If you're coming from the PS4, your muscle memory is probably screaming at you because the long-press trick doesn't work the same way anymore. Honestly, it's a bit of a localized UI disaster.
Learning how to turn off PS5 with controller inputs isn't just about saving ten seconds. It’s about preventing that dreaded "Your PS5 wasn't turned off properly" warning that pops up if your power flickers or if you accidentally pull the plug while the system is still churning in the background. That rebuild-database screen is a nightmare nobody wants to deal with on a Tuesday night.
The quick tap vs. the long press
Back in the day, you'd hold the PlayStation button and a giant menu would take over the screen. It was intrusive, sure, but it was clear. On the PlayStation 5, Sony switched things up with the "Control Center."
Here is the thing: a short press of the PS button brings up the quick-access bar at the bottom. A long press takes you all the way back to the home screen. Most people naturally long-press when they want to quit, but that actually adds an extra step if your goal is to shut the thing down. To turn off PS5 with controller shortcuts effectively, you need to get used to the tap.
Once that row of icons appears at the bottom of your 4K display, you have to navigate all the way to the far right. It’s the Power icon. It looks like a circle with a vertical line, the universal symbol for "I'm done for the day." You hit X, and then you're presented with three choices that look similar but do very different things to your hardware.
Rest Mode vs. Power Off
Don't just click the first thing you see.
Rest Mode is the default state Sony wants you in. It’s fine, mostly. It keeps your controllers charged and downloads those massive 60GB Call of Duty patches while you sleep. But if you’re moving the console, or if you live in an area where the power grid is sketchy, you want a full shutdown. Rest Mode keeps the fan spinning at a microscopic level and keeps the RAM powered.
Selecting "Turn Off PS5" is the only way to ensure the system is actually dormant. You'll know it's working because the white lights on the "wings" of the console will blink for a few seconds and then go completely dark. If they’re orange, you’re in Rest Mode. Don't unplug it if it's orange. Seriously.
Why the UI feels so clunky
There’s been a lot of chatter on forums like ResetEra and the PS5 subreddit about why this takes so many clicks. Some UX designers argue that Sony wants to discourage "hard" shutdowns to keep the system "evergreen"—always updated and ready to remote play. If you turn it off completely, you can't wake it up from your phone or a PlayStation Portal.
Basically, they made it slightly harder to find the power button because they don't really want you to use it. They want your console in a low-power state, tethered to the servers.
But for those of us who care about our electricity bill or just don't like the idea of a $500 machine running 24/7, finding that Power icon is a daily ritual. You can actually customize that bottom bar to make it slightly faster. If you press the "Options" button (the tiny one with the three lines) while the Control Center is open, you can move the Power icon further to the left. It won't save you a ton of time, but it feels less like a marathon.
Using the Media Remote or the App
Did you know you don't even need the DualSense?
If you're using your PS5 as a glorified Netflix box, you might be using the official Media Remote. The process is the same, but it feels a bit more natural. However, the real "pro tip" for the lazy among us is the PlayStation App on your smartphone. If your console is in Rest Mode, you can actually use the app to trigger a remote start, but interestingly, you can't really "shut down" via the app in the same way.
It’s a one-way street for the most part.
What about voice commands?
If you're in the US or UK, you might have the "Hey PlayStation" voice command feature enabled. You can literally say, "Hey PlayStation, turn off console." It works surprisingly well, though it feels a bit weird talking to your TV when you're alone in the room. Sony's voice recognition is decent, but it struggles if you have game audio blasting or a fan running nearby.
When the controller won't cooperate
Sometimes, things break. Your controller might desync, or the battery might die right as you're trying to log off.
If you can't turn off PS5 with controller because the DualSense is flashing blue or just totally unresponsive, you have to go old school. There is a physical button on the front of the console. If you have the original "fat" PS5, the power button is the bottom one (it's hard to see against the black plastic).
- To enter Rest Mode: Press and release the power button quickly. You'll hear one beep.
- To turn off completely: Press and hold the power button until you hear two beeps.
If you only hear one beep and let go, you’ve just put it in Rest Mode. Wait for that second beep. It’s the "all clear" signal that the internal software is beginning the hibernation sequence.
External drives and the "Safe to Remove" problem
If you have an external SSD or HDD plugged into the back for your PS4 library, turning off the console properly is even more critical. I've seen dozens of cases where people use the "Turn Off" command, but they pull the USB cable too early.
The PS5 still talks to that drive for a few seconds after the screen goes black. Wait for the lights on the console to stop blinking entirely before you mess with any cables. If you don't, you risk "repairing" the drive the next time you boot up, which can eventually lead to file corruption.
Moving forward with your setup
To make your life easier, take thirty seconds right now to jump into your settings. Go to Settings > System > Power Saving.
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In here, you can set how long the PS5 stays active before it turns itself off automatically. I usually set mine to 20 minutes for media playback and one hour for games. This way, if you fall asleep watching YouTube or get distracted by a phone call, the console does the work for you. It’s a failsafe.
Also, make sure "Enable Turning On PS5 from Network" is toggled off if you want to save every possible watt of power.
The reality is that the DualSense is your primary tool, and while the UI shift from the PS4 was jarring, the "tap and scroll" method becomes second nature after a week. Just remember: Tap for the menu, scroll to the end, and wait for the beeps if you're doing it manually. Your hardware will thank you for the clean shutdown.
Actionable steps for a healthy console:
- Reorder your Control Center: Press the PS button, then Options, and move the Power icon to the first slot on the left to shave off scrolling time.
- Check your light cues: Always verify the "wings" are dark, not orange, before unplugging the console or moving it to a different room.
- Update your DualSense: Occasionally, power-off glitches are tied to controller firmware. Plug it in via USB whenever the system prompts for an update.
- Use the 'two-beep' rule: If the screen is frozen and the controller is dead, hold the physical power button until that second beep sounds to force a safe shutdown.