How to use an external hard drive on PS5

The PlayStation 5 is a remarkable system, but it doesn’t come with much storage space. Breaking from the 1TB the Xbox Series X offers, the PS5 only offers 825GB. Worse, after accounting for the storage space the PS5 takes up by default, users are left with just over 650GB of space.

You could install a new SSD in your PlayStation 5, selecting from the best SSDs available, but using external storage to expand your space is simpler. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to use an external hard drive on PS5.

How to use an external HDD or SSD on PS5

Before you can use an external hard drive on the PlayStation 5, you need to make sure it’s compatible. It doesn’t matter if your external drive is a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), you can use it on PS5 as long as it uses USB 3.0 or later. USB 2.0 external hard drives won’t work. Because they won’t work, you’ll need to connect your external hard drive to one of the two USB-A ports on the back of the PS5. The USB-A port on the front is only rated for USB 2.0, so it won’t work. Also, plug the drive directly into a console (don’t use a USB hub or extension cable).

The only other requirement is that your external hard drive is between 250GB and 8TB. If you’re still shopping for one, check out our guide to the best external hard drives.

If you’re using the same external hard drive on your PS5 that you used on your PS4, the process is simple. Plug in your external hard drive, follow the prompts, and you’re set. Games that you already installed on your external hard drive on your PS4 will show up on your PS5. If this is your first time, plug in the drive and select Format as Extended Storage when the prompt comes up. This will remove all data from the external hard drive, so make sure to offload any data if you’re repurposing another drive.

Once the drive is plugged in and formatted, head to the Settings menu. There, follow Storage > Extended Storage, and make sure the Always Install PS4 Games to Extended