How to remote play PS5 on Windows
If you’re a PS5 owner you’re not left out of any remote play action from your PC.
Much has been made of Xbox Game Pass Cloud streaming, and remote play for Xbox on Windows has been a thing for what feels like an eternity now. But what about if you’re a PS5 owner, what options do you have?
It doesn’t get talked about nearly as often, but Sony does offer official remote play support for Windows, and it supports both the PlayStation 4 and the PS5. It’ll only work on the same local network, so you can’t use it when you’re away from home, but in the same way as Xbox remote play, if you’re on a laptop and can’t use the console directly, it’s a solid alternative.
Here’s what you need to know about getting PS5 remote play set up.
How to set up PS5 remote play on the console
Before you can take advantage of remote play, you’ll have to enable the feature on the PS5. The console doesn’t need to be connected to Ethernet; it will work over wireless, though obviously, you may get better performance from a wired connection.
To enable remote play on the PS5 follow these steps:
- Open up Settings on your PS5.
- Go to System.
- Select Remote Play from the sidebar.
- Ensure Enable Remote Play is turned on.
The next thing you need to do is ensure that the console can be turned on remotely when you access the Remote Play client.
- Open up Settings on your PS5.
- Go to System.
- Select Power Saving from the sidebar.
- Select Features Available in Rest Mode.
- Ensure Stay Connected to the Internet is enabled.
- Ensure Enable Turning On PS5 from Network is enabled.
It’s important to remember that if you want to use Remote Play, your console needs to be in Rest Mode when you turn it off. If you do a full shutdown, you won’t be able turn it on remotely from the Remote Play client on your PC.
How to set up PS5 remote play on Windows
Sony has an official Remote Play client for Windows which mostly makes the whole process very straightforward. It’s simply a matter of downloading the client, installing it, and logging in with the same Playstation Network account that is attached to your PS5. This is how the client will locate the console you want to play from, then all content will be streamed over your local network.
Playstation 5 Пробую PS Remote Play (Игра с PS4 на PS5), (С iPhone на PS5)
However, during the install process, you may encounter an issue with a media pack that needs to be installed. For some, simply enabling it in Windows’ Optional Features menu in Settings will be enough, but you may also find it isn’t there to be enabled.
The way around this, and a method that should work for everyone is as follows. It’s worth doing this before you install as it should make sure you have no issues with the process and don’t have to start it again.
- Open Control Panel on your PC.
- Click on Programs.
- Click Turn Windows features on or off.
- Locate Media Features.
- Ensure the check box is ticked.
- Click OK.
Now, when you go to install the Sony Remote Play client you should be able to breeze through the whole process uninterrupted.
Once installed, open up the client and log in with your Playstation Network account credentials. You’ll need to add a new connection to your PS5 console, and assuming it’s either powered on or in Rest Mode, the app should be able to do it on its own. If you have multiple consoles the only thing you’ll need to know is the identifier for the one you want to use, which you can find in Settings System Software Console Information.
To play your PS5 games on your PC, hook up a DualSense controller over USB-C and the Remote Play client will automatically detect it. Unfortunately, you can’t use a wireless Xbox controller or any other alternative PC input device, though the keyboard can be used when you need to enter text.
When the console and controller are being used for Remote Play, you will be unable to access it locally, but as soon as you disconnect the console will return to normal. When you close the Remote Play client you also get an option to put the console back into Rest Mode, which is a nice touch.
How good is it?
A lot will depend on your network conditions, but performance seems generally pretty solid. Streaming does seem limited to 720p, though, and on the PS5 there are minimal settings in the Remote Play client you can actually tinker with. If you have an HDR display, you can enable HDR streaming, but otherwise, it’s all automatic.
Quality-wise it seems on par with Microsoft’s Xbox remote streaming. It would be nice if the PS5 had resolution settings the same as the PlayStation 4 in the client, but it seems to do a decent job at managing it automatically.
It isn’t something you’ll want to use for multiplayer situations, though. There are times you’ll notice a touch of input lag, and in fast-moving games, in particular, the stream quality can take a knock. Nevertheless, it’s a perfectly usable option for those times you want to play some games but perhaps someone else is hogging the TV.
How to Set Up PlayStation 4 Remote Play for Gaming on the Go
Modularity and portability are some of the main sales drivers for services like Apple Arcade and Google Stadia. You can bring your tablet, phone, or laptop with you wherever you go and play all your favorite games. That’s the beauty of these services compared to static gaming setups like the Xbox, PlayStation 4, or desktop PC. However, what if we told you that there is a way to have a portable PlayStation 4 gaming experience? From the version 7.00 update onwards, you can use the PlayStation 4 Remote Play feature and play your PlayStation 4 games anywhere.
Of course, there are a few steps to take to get this setup going. It’s a great option when you don’t want to be glued to your TV while playing PlayStation 4 exclusives. Here’s everything you need to know about setting up PlayStation 4 Remote Play on all your mobile devices.
What Is PlayStation 4 Remote Play?
Like most gaming services, there are a couple of things you need to set up before you can start using them.
PlayStation 4 Remote Play app
Firstly, you’ll need the PlayStation 4 Remote Play app installed on your computer or mobile device. You can download it from the Playstation website or from Google Play Store or the App Store.
Internet Connection
Secondly, you’ll need a strong broadband internet connection to get the app to work. Unfortunately, it won’t work on mobile data, so it’s best to use a high-speed broadband connection instead. For the best experience, plug in an Ethernet cable to your laptop or desktop to reduce lag and latency.
PSN Account
You’ll also need to have a Playstation Network (PSN) account. This is the same account you use to sign in on your PlayStation 4. If you don’t have an account yet, you have to create one first. It’s important because it’s what the PS Remote Play app uses to connect to your console.
Wireless Controller
Peripherals
Lastly, you may also want to ensure you have peripheral hardware capabilities such as microphones for voice chat. However, this isn’t always needed depending on what games you play.
PlayStation 4 Remote Play Restrictions
While convenient, PlayStation 4 Remote Play does come with restrictions. For starters, not all PlayStation 4 games support Remote Play, such as games that typically utilize the Playstation Camera or VR. Certain games also hinder PlayStation 4 Remote Play from displaying video content through the app. That means the gameplay experience is slightly hit-or-miss depending on what you play. It’s best to test it with your PlayStation 4 nearby before you leave to ensure everything works well.
These aren’t the only restrictions that PlayStation 4 Remote Play has. You also can’t use it to share screen, share play, and do broadcasts, which means that you can’t live stream away from your PlayStation 4 console. Furthermore, you cannot use PlayStation 4 Remote Play when you’re playing a game booted from a Blu-Ray disc or DVD; you can only play digital games. PS VR in VR mode is also not available when using PlayStation 4 Remote Play.
How to Set Up PlayStation 4 Remote Play on Your PlayStation 4
Regardless of whether you’re using your phone, tablet, or laptop, you must first set up your PlayStation 4. The process is quick and easy, and you need only do it once. Here’s how to set up PlayStation 4 Remote Play on your console:
- Open your PlayStation 4
- On your PlayStation 4’s function screen, navigate to Settings
- Go to Remote Play Connection Settings
If you have multiple PlayStation 4 consoles, you can only set one as your primary device.
After doing this, you’re good to go and ready to use the Remote Play feature. However, if you want to use it in rest mode, there are additional steps to take:
PS5 Remote Play Setup in Windows PC with HDR Resolution
- Go to Settings
- Choose Power Save Settings and select Set Features Available in Rest Mode
- Check the box next to Stay Connected to Internet and Enable Turning on PlayStation 4 from Network
With this, you should be able to remotely access your PlayStation 4 even when you’ve set it on rest mode. The next step is just to set it up on your device of choice.
How to Set Up PlayStation 4 Remote Play on Windows
One of the best ways to utilize Remote Play is to connect it to your Windows PC. Whether it’s a laptop or desktop, you can connect your PC to your PlayStation 4 with the proper settings in place.
System Requirements
Here are the requirements for a Remote Play PC setup:
Once you have all the hardware and software requirements in place, you’re ready to start the setup process. You’ll first need to download the PS Remote Play app on your Windows PC. If you’re a PS5 owner, you can use this same app for your PS5 too.
Windows Setup
Whenever you connect your Windows PC to your PlayStation 4, you have to follow these steps:
- Switch on your PlayStation 4 console or enable rest mode
- Connect your Dualshock 4 controller to your Windows PC (either via USB cable or the DualShock 4 wireless adaptor)
- Open the PS Remote Play app on your PC
- Sign in to PSN with your Playstation Network account (the same details you use for your PlayStation 4)
- Optional: If you want to optimize your gameplay experience, you can tinker with the settings on the app. Here, you can change the video quality for the resolution and frame rate.
- Select PlayStation 4. This will trigger the app to search for PlayStation 4 consoles connected to your account. If you’ve used PlayStation 4 Remote Play on that console in the past, you should be able to easily reconnect.
How to Set Up PlayStation 4 Remote Play on Mac
Windows isn’t the only desktop operating system that you can use to connect to PlayStation 4 Remote Play. Mac users also have that option available to them as long as they have the proper specifications and requirements.
System Requirements
Make sure you have the following requirements set up to easily connect Remote Play:
If all the hardware and software requirements check out, then it’s time to install Remote Play on your Mac. Like the Windows version, this is a free app from the store to download.
Mac Setup
Whenever you want to use PlayStation 4 Remote Play on your Mac, just follow these simple steps:
- Switch on your PlayStation 4 or enable Rest Mode
- Connect your DualShock 4 controller to your Mac device using Bluetooth. Alternatively, you can also use a USB cable for a wired connection.
- Open the PS Remote Play app on your Mac
- Sign in to your PSN (the same account you use to sign-in on the PlayStation 4)
- Optional: If you want to optimize your gameplay, go to Settings. Here, you can choose the settings you want (framerate resolution) for better video quality and gameplay.
- Select PlayStation 4. This will trigger the PS Remote Play app to search for PlayStation 4 consoles connected to your account. It should show your PlayStation 4 console’s display on your Mac once it connects successfully. After your first connection, you should easily reconnect to that PlayStation 4 in successive sessions.
How to Set Up PlayStation 4 Remote Play on Mobile
If you don’t have a laptop/desktop to connect to, then you might want to connect to your mobile device. You’ll first have to download the Remote Play app to your Android or iOS.
System Requirements
Mobile devices don’t have many requirements or specifications to use Remote Play, and they are as follows:
At least 15 Mbps upload and download speeds for best performance
You cannot use cellular data to use PlayStation 4 Remote Play. You must use a Wi-Fi connection
Unlike its desktop counterparts, you can use Remote Play on your phone without an external controller; your phone acts as the controller for your games! If you so choose, you can still connect a controller to your mobile device if it’s easier for you to play this way.
Android iOS Setup
After ensuring you have all you need, it’s time to set up your mobile device. You’ll need to follow these steps every time you use PlayStation 4 Remote Play:
- Switch on your PlayStation 4 console or turn on the rest mode
- Open the PS Remote Play app on your mobile device
- Sign in to your PSN account (the same account you use to sign in on your PlayStation 4)
- Select PlayStation 4. This will trigger the mobile app to search for your PlayStation 4 console based on your PSN. Once it connects, you can immediately use PlayStation 4 Remote Play and launch your favorite games. After your first connection, you can easily reconnect to the same PlayStation 4 console in succeeding sessions.
Final Word
PlayStation 4 Remote Play is a handy tool when you want to play while you’re away from your console. It could be when you’re out on a trip, visiting relatives, or even around the house in another room. Regardless of the situation, PlayStation 4 Remote Play is an easy feature to set up and makes gaming convenient.
Yes, there are restrictions that you have to keep in mind and games you can’t access using PlayStation 4 Remote Play. However, these are a good trade-off for a solid gaming experience and “portable” access to all your favorite games.
PS Remote Play
When you want to play your Playstation from your computer’s screen, you can use PS Remote Play, which can be used to play games, access your PS settings, and more from your PC screen.
When you want to play your games remotely from your PlayStation 4 or PS5, you will want to play them with your keyboard and mouse, on your computer screen, or with a controller.
Control Playstation 4 or 5 From Your PC
Some users prefer the PC screen as it makes it easier to play their games and make settings, especially if they don’t want to use the TV, as others might use it simultaneously.
For this purpose, PS Remote Play was created. This application is meant to help you control your PlayStation 4 remotely from your computer’s screen without connecting the two devices.
You only need to have your PlayStation 4 and your computer connected to the same network, and then you can allow this app to do its magic.
Configure the App and Get Started
You must enable the Remote Play function on your PS first. Before you use this app and access your Playstation remotely, you must go through a couple of configuration options. You can access them on the Settings screen.
You must also ensure your PS is your network’s primary, or the connection won’t work.
You must ensure your device is in the “Rest” or power-saving mode. You’ll need your PS controller to use your device as you want.
Connect Your Sony Account
The last step of the connection is accessing your Sony account. From there, you will start using the application’s features and accessing your PlayStation 4 or five remotely.
You can use it to play games, configure your PlayStation 4 remotely, and perform other actions you might wish to perform remotely.
Conclusion
To conclude, PS Remote Play is a useful application that lets you access your Playstation remotely, play games, configure it, and much more.
#Chiaki
Disclaimer: This project is not endorsed or certified by Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.
Chiaki is a Free and Open Source Software Client for Playstation 4 and Playstation 5 Remote Play for Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Android, macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch and potentially even more platforms.
#Project Status
As all relevant features are implemented, this project is considered to be finished and in maintenance mode only. No major updates are planned and contributions are only accepted in special cases.
#Installing
You can either download a pre-built release or build Chiaki from source.
#Downloading a Release
Builds are provided for Linux, Android, macOS, Nintendo Switch and Windows.
- Linux: The provided file is an AppImage. Simply make it executable ( chmod x.AppImage ) and run it.
- Android: Install from Google Play, F-Droid or download the APK from Sourcehut.
- macOS: Drag the application from the.dmg into your Applications folder.
- Windows: Extract the.zip file and execute chiaki.exe.
- Switch: Download the.nro file and copy it into the switch/ directory on your SD card.
#Building from Source
Dependencies are CMake, Qt 5 with QtMultimedia, QtOpenGL and QtSvg, FFMPEG (libavcodec with H264 is enough), libopus, OpenSSL 1.1, SDL 2, protoc and the protobuf Python library (only used during compilation for Nanopb). Then, Chiaki builds just like any other CMake project:
git submodule update.-init mkdir build cd build cmake. make
For more detailed platform-specific instructions, see doc/platform-build.md or switch/ for Nintendo Switch.
#Usage
If your Console is on your local network, is turned on or in standby mode and does not have Discovery explicitly disabled, Chiaki should find it. Otherwise, you can add it manually. To do so, click the “” icon in the top right, and enter your Console’s IP address.
You will then need to register your Console with Chiaki. You will need two more pieces of information to do this.
#Obtaining your PSN AccountID
Starting with PlayStation 4 7.0, it is necessary to use a so-called “AccountID” as opposed to the “Online-ID” for registration (streaming itself did not change). This ID seems to be a unique identifier for a PSN Account and it can be obtained from the PSN after logging in using OAuth. A Python 3 script which does this is provided in scripts/psn-account-ID.py. Simply run it in a terminal and follow the instructions. Once you know your ID, write it down. You will likely never have to do this process again.
#Obtaining a Registration PIN
To register a Console with a PIN, it must be put into registration mode. To do this on a PlayStation 4, simply go to: Settings. Remote Play. Add Device, or on a PS5: Settings. System. Remote Play. Link Device.
You can now double-click your Console in Chiaki’s main window to start Remote Play.
#Acknowledgements
This project has only been made possible because of the following Open Source projects: Rizin, Cutter, Frida and x64dbg.
Also thanks to delroth for analyzing the registration and wakeup protocol, grill2010 for analyzing the PSN’s OAuth Login, as well as a huge thank you to FioraAeterna for giving me some extremely helpful information about FEC and error correction.
#About
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 as published by the Free Software Foundation.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with this program. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/.
Additional permission under GNU AGPL version 3 section 7
If you modify this program, or any covered work, by linking or combining it with the OpenSSL project’s OpenSSL library (or a modified version of that library), containing parts covered by the terms of the OpenSSL or SSLeay licenses, the Free Software Foundation grants you additional permission to convey the resulting work. Corresponding Source for a non-source form of such a combination shall include the source code for the parts of OpenSSL used as well as that of the covered work.
