Have you ever wondered why some games show a locked padlock symbol on your PlayStation 4? Have you ever wondered how to unlock these locked games? There may be a few helpful tips in this blog that could help you get the most out of your PS4 gaming experience. Especially when it comes to locked games. Read on to find out more.
Unlocking All of Your Locked PS4 Games
Sony’s immensely popular gaming console has millions of fans all over the world. The 8-generation console gaming system came with the most processing power in any Sony device until the more recent PlayStation 5. Even then, the APU in the PS4 still packs quite a punch, so users can still hold on to them for a few more years. With 4K and HDR 10 support, and an app ecosystem with official apps from Netflix and Charter Spectrum internet the console pushes the boundaries of home entertainment hardware. This blog will focus on:
The Best Games on PS4 So Far
The PlayStation 4 has given us some of the best gaming memories over the past decade. As a rule, the better the games on a console, the better its chances of success. And the PS4 has indeed been successful, even by Sony’s standards. Along with the annual EA release of FIFA, PS4 players can also game away on Call of Duty – Modern Warfare and Death Stranding. These games, among many others, have helped people have many fun moments with friends as well as on their own. That’s not to mention the extensive gamer ecosystem that allows you to play and make friends with other players during games.
Why Some Games Get Locked
There is a huge catalog of PS4 games to choose from in the PlayStation 4’s native PSN (or PlayStation Network). However, that only makes it more irritating when you see a locked symbol over games you already own. It’s like wanting to go for a spin in a sports car but being unable to do so because someone is blocking your driveway. Annoying and unnecessary.
You can see if a game is locked if it has a padlock symbol on it. When opening locked games, you will usually see the padlock symbol. It will likely be accompanied by a message telling you that you don’t own a license to play the game you are trying to open. Of course, if you are trying to play a pirated game, shame on you for trying to hurt the gaming ecosystem. You should only buy from a game distributor licensed by the game developer to sell the title.
However, the padlock sign may not always mean you don’t have a license. Sometimes, network quality and strength can cause the PSN to take time to sync with your console. But if the problem persists, you may need to take more proactive action than waiting for the sign to go away. More often than not, users that share games see these problems the most. But the two fixes below can help you unlock and resume playing.
Unlock By Restoring Game License
Sometimes, the problem lies with PSN being unable to validate your game license. If you’re unable to access the game, but it is still active, try allowing the PSN a few minutes to authenticate that you are a licensed user. However, the problem may not fix itself sometimes. You may have to restore your game license on your own. Here are a few easy steps to do so:
Access the PlayStation Network Account seeing locked games.
Go to the Account administration panel in Settings.
Navigate to the Restore Licenses button and select it.
Once you follow these steps, you should be able to validate your game license. However, you may need to download the game you want to play with a valid license. Here’s how to do that:
Find your purchased games in the PS4 game library.
Press the Download button on the games you want to play.
Wait for your game to download and finish installing on the PS4.
That’s it! You’re now ready to start playing. But if the padlock symbol persists, try the next method.
Unlock With Current Console as Primary PS4
If you’re playing a shared game on another PS4, you could still be having problems with the locked games. Luckily, that’s not hard to fix. The PSN allows you to designate a primary PS4 and other PS4 consoles as secondary. In most cases, the primary PS4 has all your licenses stored on the console itself. This means you likely won’t have to restore licenses on that console, since it already has them.
However, a secondary PS4 will have to connect to the PlayStation network to be able to find and restore your game licenses. Moreover, if your network is patchy and experiences problems during the license validation, the lock symbol may come back. However, a few simple steps like the ones below can help you fix this in no time:
- Go to Account Management in the Settings screen.
- Find and deactivate the PS4 as the primary console.
- Remain on the same window, and reenable it as the primary console.
The padlock symbol should be gone now. Hopefully, the problem shouldn’t repeat itself. But if it does crop up again, just try one of the two methods above again. You should be able to get back to gaming in no time at all.