Troubleshooting The PS4 Controller Flashing White Light Issue
The PlayStation 4 is one of the most sold, and highest grossing consoles of all time. A revolutionary step into gaming, the device generally comes with a DualShock 4 wireless controller within the box. Any number of additional controllers can be bought separately as per the user’s convenience. Even though the PlayStation4 is near perfect, it does have a few errors, one of which is related to the controller that we shall address today through this article.
What is the PS4 Controller Flashing White Error?
The controller starts flashing a white color light that indicates some misconfiguration of its software with that of the PS4 console. This may be due to a software issue in the PlayStation, a wrong selection of some setting, or it could just be a glitch. Regardless of the cause, the controller does not pair with the console and therefore prohibits gameplay.
Now that we know the common causes of this issue, let us try to solve it.
How is the PS4 Controller Flashing White Error fixed?
Reboot your PlayStation
Try the easiest and the first recommended step before the advanced steps are attempted. Most of the time, a simple reboot of your PlayStation can solve all the issues. If the flashing white light persists after a restart, try following the following steps.
Force reset your controller
The reset button is located next to the L2 key screw on the top-right. This button is not accessible through your fingers and needs a sharp object to be pressed. Use a pin to long-press this button for around three to five seconds. An important point that must be noted is that the controller must be on and the flashing white light must be visible when you force reset your controller.
Once the controller is reset, turn off your PlayStation 4 and let it stay turned off for around a couple of minutes. Once the wait is done, turn the console on and the error should be fixed.
If the error persists after this, try the next step.
Use a USB cable to connect the controller
A wired connection may sometimes fix the issue. For this, you need to turn the PS4 off, put it to sleep mode, and finally disconnect it from its power supply. Now that this is done, hold the power button to exhaust all the stored power in the PS4. This should require approximately thirty seconds. After completing this step, use a micro USB cable to hook up the controller to the console. Now on turning on the console, the flashing white light should be gone. You can disconnect it and use it wirelessly again.
If this step fails to fix the issue, please try the next step.
Tweak settings using a second controller
If the above steps fail, use a second controller and verify if that works without any errors. If it does, use the following steps. Select Settings on the menu. Among the visible options, select Devices and then Bluetooth Devices. You should be able to see only the second usable controller now.
After this, hold the PS button and the Share button simultaneously till you see a flickering light on the light bar. Both the controllers should now be visible on the screen. It can also be confirmed by a green light on the controller. Using the second controller, select the main one to be paired. Select Yes when you are asked to pair. This should solve the issue.
Even after all these methods if you still face any issue, you could try one final step that is given below.
Use Safe Mode to Troubleshoot
NOTE THAT THIS STEP MAY ERASE YOUR EXISTING DATA SO SAVE/BACKUP BEFORE YOU BEGIN THIS PROCESS
Here is how you access safe mode. Similar to your mobile device, long press and hold the power button until you hear two sounds. The device will initially turn off when you press it first, and when you continue to hold it down, the second sound comes. Using a micro USB cable, connect the controller to the PlayStation. Once it is connected, hold the PS button on the controller and you have successfully accessed Safe Mode on your PS4.
You will now see a list of options on your screen. Select Rebuild Database. Choosing this option will run a scan through the entire console’s database and create a new drive of data.
This final push almost always fixes this issue. If the problem is still not solved even after these four steps, contact the nearest Sony store, or the dealer from whom you purchased the PlayStation to provide further assistance.
We hope that the article has provided a solution to fix the flashing white light error on a PlayStation controller.
