Technologies

Here’s How to Factory Reset Your PS5 or PS4

It’s a good idea to protect your personal information before selling or giving away your PlayStation. Here’s how to erase your data from your console.

Yes, even the PlayStation 5 isn’t new anymore. That console came out in 2020, which means it’s currently in the second half of its life cycle. Since then, new consoles like the Nintendo Switch 2 have hit the market. If you’re tiring of your PS5, you have more options than storing it in the top of your closet where it will just collect dust. You could give the console away or sell it for some extra cash.

Regardless of whether you’re ready to give yours away to the recent grad in your life or if you’re looking to sell your device for some extra cash, you have plenty of options. There’s one important thing you need to do to your console before you get rid of it: reset the system and wipe your personal data.

Factory resetting is a crucial step that you should take whenever you’re selling or giving away a piece of technology. Your old PlayStation is no exception. While you might not be storing the same kind of information on your PS4 or PS5 that you would on your laptop or smartphone, this step can save you a great deal of stress by taking care of any leftover information.

Read on for everything you need to know about resetting your PS5 or your PS4. For more, here’s what to know about buying a used iPhone and our picks for the best place to sell your electronics.

Resetting the PlayStation 5

You have a few options when it comes to factory resetting your PS5. To access these options, navigate to the Home Screen and then select Settings > System > System Software > Reset Options.

After selecting Reset Options you will be presented with three options: Clear Learning Dictionary, Restore Default Settings and Reset Your Console.

Clear Learning Dictionary will clear the history of all the terms that you have typed on your PS5.
Restore Default Settings will restore all of the settings on your PS5 to their default setting, but leave your data intact.
Reset Your Console will restore all of the settings to their default options and erase all of the data that has been saved to your PS5.

If you are looking to factory reset your console before selling it or giving it away, select Reset Your Console to fully wipe all of your data from the device and factory reset the console.

Resetting the PlayStation 4

The process for factory resetting your console is a bit different for the PS4. First, you will need to navigate to Settings > Initialization. Much like the process for factory resetting the Playstation 5, you will be presented with three options after selecting Initialization: Clear Learning Dictionary, Restore Default Settings and Initialize PS4.

Clear Learning Dictionary and Restore Default Settings operate the same as they do on the PS5. Initialize PS4 operates in the same way as the Reset Your Console option does on the PS5.

If you are looking to factory reset your PS4 before giving it away or selling it, selecting Initialize PS4 will do the trick.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Jan. 23

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 23.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hope you’re familiar with a certain blond actor (8-Across)! Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Attach, as one plant to another
Answer: GRAFT

6A clue: Email button with a backward-facing arrow
Answer: REPLY

7A clue: Make very excited
Answer: AMPUP

8A clue: Two-time Best Actor nominee Nick
Answer: NOLTE

9A clue: Total dork
Answer: DWEEB

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Word that can precede piano, total or staircase
Answer: GRAND

2D clue: Cut again, as a lawn
Answer: REMOW

3D clue: Company whose logo has a bite taken out of it
Answer: APPLE

4D clue: Champagne glass
Answer: FLUTE

5D clue: Laid-back kind of personality
Answer: TYPEB

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Technologies

‘Is Microsoft Down?’ Outlook and Teams Go Dark in Widespread Outage

It’s not just you: Numerous Microsoft services weren’t working most of Thursday, and the outage is continuing.

Thursday has been a tough work day for many — or maybe, a great one, depending on how eager you are to access work-related programs. Microsoft services, including Outlook, Teams and Microsoft 365 are experiencing a significant outage that’s still going on as of early evening, Pacific time. Microsoft hasn’t announced an expected time when everything will be back up and running.

You can follow the official Microsoft 365 Status account on the social-media platform X, which has been regularly posting updates about the outage.

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The first post there, from 11:37 a.m. PT, said that the company was «investigating a potential issue impacting multiple Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview. Further information can be found in the admin center under MO1221364.»

The admin center is the dashboard for IT admins managing Microsoft 365 services.

You can also monitor Microsoft’s Service Health Status page. That page is noting that «users may be seeing degraded service functionality or be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services.»

A representative for Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Ring’s Latest Feature Lets You Verify Shared Security Videos

With so many fake videos out there, the home-security company is adding a level of protection.

Popular home security brand Ring announced that videos shared from its devices can now be verified, so customers know they’re watching an authentic, unaltered video. Ring says the new verification process is similar to a security seal on a package or medicine bottle, indicating that no one has tampered with it.

The new feature is available starting Thursday, and it doesn’t matter which Ring device recorded the video. All videos downloaded directly from the Ring app are automatically verified and include a security seal for authenticity.

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When someone sends you a Ring video, you can now visit Ring’s verification page, paste the video link, and determine immediately whether the video is verified. The website doesn’t send your video anywhere. It stays locally on your device, and all verification checks happen within your browser. The verification website only accepts MP4 files, the format Ring videos are saved.

Videos downloaded before December 2025 or edited videos cannot be verified. Ring says that even minor adjustments, such as shaving a couple of seconds off the beginning or end of a video, or even adjusting brightness levels, will render it unverifiable.