Web agency » Digital news » How to Backup and Restore PS4 Backup Data

How to Backup and Restore PS4 Backup Data

Whether you saved 10 hours or 100 hours playing a game, starting over because something happened to the save file is heartbreaking. Don't let this happen to you! Back up your PS4 save data and save yourself the pain.

Why back up your recorded data?

Suppose you are playing a game with a known issue that has not yet been fixed. This particular issue causes crashes which some people believe could corrupt the backup data. You've read the horror stories on Reddit and Twitter and want to take action to protect your backup data.

By manually backing up your save file, you can take a snapshot of your progress at a certain point in time. Then even if the worst happens, you won't lose any progress since the last snapshot. It will still sting, but it's better than a complete overhaul.

Now imagine you turn on your PS4 one day only to find an error on the screen. The system indicates that the hard drive is corrupt and needs to be formatted if you want to use your console. You just lost your entire backup data library.

Fire, flood, or any other kind of sudden hardware failure can render your hard drive useless. With automated online backup, when you finally have your console up and running, your backup data will be waiting for you.

What if you are staying at a friend's house and want to jump into a game where you left off at home. With Sony cloud saves, you can simply log into your PSN account and upload your save file. When you are done playing, you can also download your updated save file so you don't lose your progress when you play at home again.

Backing up your save data and, by extension, your progress, gives you peace of mind. It's also handy to have on-demand backup file downloads in case you need them.

Automatically save PS4 data to the cloud

To automatically back up your save data to the cloud, you need to subscribe to PlayStation Plus. You can then do so through the PlayStation Store or the PlayStation Plus icon on the PS4 home screen. In the United States, the service is $ 59,99 per year or $ 9,99 per month. With a subscription you also get two free games per month and the ability to play online.

If you're already a PlayStation Plus subscriber, cloud saves are probably already turned on. You can store up to 100 GB of backup data in the cloud.

However, you can only download save data automatically from your main console. If you only have one PS4, you don't have to worry about it. If you're playing on multiple consoles, you can make this a primary PS4 for your account by going to Settings> Account Management> Activate as Primary PS4.

Next, make sure that your console stays connected to the internet when you activate rest mode. This ensures that the console can complete the download as soon as you are done playing. To activate it, go to Settings> Power saving settings> Define the functions available in idle mode> Stay connected to the Internet.

Now make sure that the “Enable automatic downloads” option is enabled under Settings> Manage saved app data> Automatic download. If it's already enabled, your backup library is already secure in the cloud. You can also specify automatic download settings for specific games if you want.

When you first enabled this setting, you might have to wait a few hours for all of your backup data to be transferred to the cloud. It depends entirely on the amount of data you have and the download speed of your internet connection.

Manually backing up PS4 data to the cloud

You can also manually upload backups to Sony servers. If you've turned on automatic downloads, you can probably just leave that alone and let your PS4 handle it.

The main reason you can download saves manually is if you are playing on a PS4 that is not set as your primary console. If you want to maintain progress across multiple consoles, you will need to manually download the save files stored on other PS4s.

Manual downloading is very easy, but there are two ways you can do it. If the game is on the Home screen, highlight it, then press the Options button. Select “Upload / download recorded data”. From there, you can choose “Download All” or “Select and Download” if you want to download a specific backup file.

You can also access these options through the console preferences. Just head to Settings> Manage App Saved Data> Data Saved to System Storage, then choose “Upload to Online Storage”.

Wait for the PS4 to read the disc (this may take a minute or two), then select the game you want. You can also click Options and choose "Select Multiple Applications" to download entire folders instead.

When you import a backup file, you will be asked if you want to overwrite the corresponding files that exist in storage. Not all games support multiple save files, but many do. If you are playing a game with only one save file, you need to make sure that the version you download is the one you want to keep.

Backup PS4 Data to USB for Free

If you don't have PlayStation Plus, you can still back up your save data manually. You will need a spare USB stick. Make sure it's empty, as the PS4 may need to format the drive before you can use it, which will erase the content.

You can also format the USB drive to exFAT or FAT32 (NTFS and APFS will not work) beforehand if you wish. You can do this in Windows or in "Disk Utility" on a Mac.

First, connect the USB drive to one of the USB ports on the front of your PS4. Then go to Settings> Manage saved data of apps> Data saved in system storage> Copy to USB storage device. If you don't see this option, make sure the USB drive is fully inserted and properly formatted.

Wait for the PS4 to scan your drive. On the next screen, you can select an individual game, highlight all the files you want to save, and then select “Copy”.

If you want to backup multiple apps, press Options, then choose “Select multiple apps” to copy entire folders of backup files for multiple game titles.

Manual USB backups are the best protection against single backup files that get corrupted. If a corrupted save file is automatically sent to PlayStation Plus, you will lose the old (uncorrupted) version. You can also turn off automatic downloads, but doing so puts your other backup files at risk.

You never know when something is wrong. However, if you're playing a game with a known issue (or one that's crashing a lot), manual USB backups are worth it. Then if something is wrong and your cloud backup file is not good, you can restore manually and lose less progress.

Restore data backup from cloud or USB

Manually restoring your backup data is easy - just go to Settings> Manage Saved App Data. There, you can choose “Data saved to online storage” or “Data saved to USB storage device”. Select the source from which you want to copy the data, and then select "Download to system storage".

On the next screen, you will see a list of games. Press the Options button on your controller to use the "Select multiple apps" option and restore multiple games at once. You can also select a specific game and restore specific save files if you prefer. Select “Download / Copy” and your backup data will be restored.

Can you share PS4 save files?

Your save data is linked to the PlayStation Network account it was created on, not the console. This means that you can download and transfer your save data to any other PS4, as long as the same account exists on that console.

However, this also means that you cannot share save files with other players - they are only accessible to you.


Looking for more PlayStation tips? Learn how to speed up your PS4 downloads so that your games update faster.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★