How to Easily Free Up Space on Your PlayStation 5

So you’ve tried to download a game to your PlayStation 5, only to find that your console’s storage is already full. This is actually a common problem that owners face, given that the PS5 only comes in three storage capacities: 2TB for the PS5 Pro, 1TB and 825GB for regular PS5 consoles. While this may seem generous on paper, modern games can take up a lot of space. Before you know it, they have already filled the internal storage with their associated data.

To get the most out of your PS5, it’s a good idea to regularly free up space in the console’s storage. The easiest way to do this is to erase games and data. Maybe you’ve already finished a game or you’re no longer interested in it. To delete games, you need to go to Settings. Next, choose Storage > Console Storage > Games & Apps. Select the games you want to delete and tap Delete. To delete data saved on your PS5, open Settings again. Go to Saved Data and Game/App Settings and click Saved Data (PS5). From there, navigate to Download or Remove from Console Storage. You will then see a list of data saved to your built-in console storage. Mark them and click Delete.

But what if you want to keep your games and data instead of deleting them? Well, you still have three ways to free up space on your PS5 without giving up on your games.

The PlayStation 5 supports two types of external storage: USB flash drive and M.2 SSD. You can transfer your game data to either location to free up space on your console. But it’s important to note that they don’t work the same way. Between the two, M.2 SSD performs much better and is also the most convenient way to upgrade your PS5. You can easily launch the games you moved to the SSD, set it as the installation location for new games, and update games directly on it. Unfortunately, you can’t do all of this on the USB stick. The games must be either in the built-in storage or on an external SSD to be played, so you’ll need to copy them from the USB drive first.

That said, the M.2 SSD is easier to use if you want to quickly reclaim space in your PS5’s internal storage. To use an M.2 SSD with your console, make sure it is supported. It must be an NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 with a minimum of 250 GB of space (up to 8 TB allowed), 2230/2242/2260/2280/22110 form factor, and a sequential read speed of at least 5,500 MB/s.

If your SSD is supported, proceed with its installation. PlayStation has YouTube tutorials on how to do this on the PS5 Fat and PS5 Slim models. After installation, turn on the PS5 and format the SSD to prepare it for use. You are then free to move your games to external storage. Simply go to your Storage > Console Storage > Games & Apps. Now, click on a game and choose Select items to move. If you want to move more games than you initially selected, check the boxes for those games. Tap Move to continue.

Although the M.2 SSD is convenient, you may not be comfortable opening the console to install it. In this case, you can free up space on your PS5 with a USB stick instead. This simply connects to the console’s external ports – no tools or disassembly expertise required. This is also one of the best ways to use the PS5 USB port to upgrade your device. If you play a lot of PS4 titles, using USB expanded storage makes even more sense because you can play them directly from the drive. That said, you will need to copy the PS5 games to the internal storage first.

For this, you’ll need at least one SuperSpeed ​​USB 5Gbps drive, with a capacity between 250GB and 8TB. ​​Once you have your external drive, simply plug it into the front USB-C port near the base or one of the two USB-A ports on the back. Connect the player directly to the PS5 – not a USB hub – to ensure proper operation. Next, it’s time to format the disk. You won’t get an on-screen auto-format guide like on the M.2 SSD, so you’ll have to manually go into the settings to do it:

1. Click Settings at the top.
2. Go to Storage.
3. Select USB Extended Storage.
4. Press the Format as USB Extended Storage button.
5. Tap Yes to confirm.

Your USB drive should now be ready to store your PS5 game data. To move games, follow these steps:

1. Go to the home screen.
2. Press the Options button on your controller.
3. In the menu that appears, click Move games and apps.
4. Mark the games you want to transfer to the USB drive.
5. Tap Move.
6. Click OK.

The M.2 SSD and USB flash drive only store gaming data. If you prefer to move your saved data, your only option is to transfer it to the cloud. Cloud storage, however, requires a PlayStation Plus subscription, which gives you 100 GB of storage for data saved on PS5. After subscribing, you can either set your PS5 to automatically sync data to the cloud or manually download the data. To set automatic synchronization, here is what you need to do:

1. In Settings, go to System.
2. Select Power Saving.
3. Click Features available in rest mode.
4. Tap Stay connected to the Internet.
5. Back in the main settings, navigate to saved data and game/app settings.
6. Choose Saved Data (PS5) from the side panel.
7. Go to Sync Saved Data.
8. Click Automatic synchronization of saved data.
9. Enable Enable automatic sync.
10. Enable auto-sync for some or all games.

If you want to manually download only certain games to the cloud, you can do so from the settings:

1. Click Saved data and game/app settings.
2. Choose Saved Data (PS5).
3. Go to Download or Remove from Console Storage.
4. Tap Upload to Cloud Storage.
5. Mark only the saved data you want to download. You will see the data size next to the game title.
6. Tap Download to continue.

Once the download is complete, you are free to delete the saved data from the console. But remember that you will have to download it again on your PS5 when you want to play the game. Downloading the saved data from the cloud is also done through the saved data and game/app settings in Settings. Go to Saved Data (PS5) and click Download or Remove from Cloud Storage. Make sure to select the Download to Console Storage tab. From there, choose your data and tap Download.