A PS5 might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you imagine playing media from a USB drive. But if you’re using your PS5 as a comprehensive entertainment system, you might want to play your own downloaded or created media eventually.
Obviously, you’ll need an external USB drive and your PS5, but you will also need a computer. Any OS that can read and format a USB drive will do. Once that’s ready, read the rest of this guide to get started.
First, Format Your USB Drive
PS5s work with external storage drives in exFAT or FAT32 formats, and your USB drive might not be in any of those formats. In that case, you have to get a computer and format it.
Before you get started, ensure that you’ve backed up any existing data on your external USB drive as formatting your USB will delete all existing data.
Here’s how to change your external USB to the right format on a Mac:
As soon as it’s done, your drive will now be in the new format. Read our guide onhow to format a USB driveto figure it out for Windows, and see our guide onhow to format your USB drive on Linuxfor the Unix-like OS.
Once you’re done formatting, you should create folders on the root directory of the drive titled “Videos,” “Music,” and “Photos.” You can copy and paste the music, videos, and photos you want into it.
The PS5 supports videos in MP4 (H.264/AAC), MKV (H.264/AAC), and WEBM (VP9/Opus) with a max resolution of 3840 x 2160 and music in FLAC, MP3, and AAC.
How to Play Videos and View Photos From a USB Drive on a PS5
The next step is accessing the videos and photos you’ve stored. We grouped them together because the way to get to them is very similar. Don’t be tempted to go into the Media section of your PS5—that’s for streaming apps and subscriptions.
Follow the steps below instead:
You can skip to the next video or photo by pressingR1. And you can skip 10s ahead or behind using therightorleftbutton on the D-pad, respectively.
How to Listen to Audio or Music From a USB Drive on a PS5
You won’t find your music files in the PS5’s Media Library. Instead, you have to go to the PS5’s dedicated music panel. Here’s how to use it:
The music player has on-screen instructions on how to navigate it with the controller. you’re able to also toggle on shuffle or repeat by selecting thethree dotsafter the skip button. We also noticed that there’s no way to fast-forward through audio, so you can’t move quickly to a point you want.
You don’t have to keep this panel open, you may close it and play video games while listening to audio from your USB drive.
Enjoy Your Own Media on a PS5
Streaming services are nice and all, but some of us have music, movies, photos, and videos that they just can’t provide. You can bring them to your PS5 using your own external USB drive and view photos, watch downloaded movies in 4K, and listen to whatever music you want. Utilizing your USB drive on your PS5 will help turn it into the ultimate entertainment system.
