What Happens When You Restore Licenses on PS5? A Complete Walkthrough

As PlayStation gamers, we’ve all dealt with that gut-wrenching feeling when we can’t access our precious game libraries. Maybe you purchased a hot new release, only to get hit with confusing license errors. Or perhaps you temporarily switched your account to a friend’s PS5, breaking the license link between your games and console.

Not to fear – restoring licenses on your PS5 offers a quick fix, safely syncing your game data with PlayStation Network servers. Let’s dive into exactly how and why this troubleshooting method works.

A License Refresher

Modern consoles rely on digital rights management (DRM) to protect games and verify you own them. This validation process checks whether:

1. Your account owns the license to play the content
2. The content is being accessed on an authorized device

When these two conditions are met, the DRM system unlocks the game. Behind the scenes, your PS5 console stores these licenses locally and checks in with PSN periodically to sync up.

If that sync gets interrupted, say by using your account on a friend’s device, you can end up locked out from games you rightfully own.

Thankfully, restoring licenses gets everything lined back up, confirming your ownership on PSN’s end. Now let’s walk through the process.

Step-by-Step: How To Restore Licenses on PS5

Restoring your game licenses is a breeze – it only takes a minute. Just follow these steps:

1. From your PS5 home screen, navigate to Settings > Users and Accounts > Other
2. Scroll down and select Restore Licenses
3. A "Restoring…" progress bar displays – wait for it to finish
4. You‘ll get a screen saying "Your licenses have been restored successfully"

And voila! Behind the curtain, your PS5 just checked in with PlayStation Network to fix any mismatches between locally stored licenses vs. ownership rights tied to your PSN account.

Here‘s a visual guide:

Navigate to Settings > Users & Accounts > Other	Select Restore Licenses option

Pretty simple right? Now your licenses are synced up latest with PlayStation‘s servers.

Of course, questions may still be swirling in your head, like:

• Will restoring licenses delete any games or save data?
• How is this different than factory resetting my PS5?
• When should I use the restore licenses option?

Not to worry, we’ll tackle all that next.

Restoring Licenses DOES NOT Delete Games or Save Data

This is the most common misconception about restoring licenses – gamers worrying it may accidentally wipe their precious game progress or uninstall titles.

Rest assured, restoring licenses does NOT:

• Delete or remove any games already installed
• Impact your saves, settings, screenshots or videos
• Affect your PS+ cloud storage files
• Revoke access to content you own

Sony also officially confirms this in their documentation:

“Restoring licenses will not delete content. You will still have access to your content."

Think of it like renewing your library card. Yes, the number stays the same, but restoring licenses updates your membership as active in PlayStation’s databases.

Difference Between Restoring Licenses and Factory Resetting

While restoring licenses syncs up your ownership info, a full factory reset erases everything saved locally on your console.

Factory resetting your PS5 will:

• Sign you out of all accounts
• Delete all games, saves, settings, etc.
• Revert settings back to their defaults

So factory reset when selling your console or want a 100% fresh slate.

Whereas restore licenses leaves all your data, profiles, and downloads intact – it just checks in with PSN to fix any mismatches.

Now let‘s move onto when and why restoring licenses is the go-to troubleshooting step.

When Should You Restore PS5 Licenses?

If you run into issues launching digital games, missing add-ons, getting signed out of apps, or seeing lock symbols on your library, restoring licenses should be the first fix you try.

Why? Because it instantly verifies your content ownership with PlayStation Network – the source of truth.

Here are common situations where restoring licenses resolves problems:

• Disc icon or lock symbol displays on game tiles
• Errors when trying to launch digital titles
• Issues with installed DLC or in-game purchases
• Primary PS5 conflicts after using your account on another console
• General issues related to licenses, access rights, etc.

For example, PS5 owner Gamer456_YT recent posted on reddit about free upgrade issues:

“I claimed the free next-gen upgrade for AC Valhalla but its still locked with a symbol on the game tile. Already tried restoring licenses but still getting an error about valid license when launching. Please help!”

As you can see, even savvy gamers lean on restoring licenses as an initial troubleshooting step. While it didn’t solve Gamer456‘s particular problem, it resolves a majority of common access issues.

Next let’s explore some specific scenarios and error codes.

Restoring License Troubleshooting Examples

Refer to this table for examples of common license errors and how to resolve them:

As you can see, in most cases, restoring licenses does the trick. Other issues like banned accounts require contacting PlayStation support or resolving outstanding payment problems.

Now if you already restored licenses but still have problems, don’t tear your hair out just yet! Keep reading for more advanced troubleshooting tips.

Beyond Restoring Licenses: Additional PS5 Troubleshooting

While most license errors respond well to a good ol’ restoring, occasionally that alone doesn’t cut it.

Let’s explore a few other factors that could be blocking access to your games even after a restore:

Console Sharing and Offline Play

Your PlayStation 5 can only be the primary console on one account at a time.

That gives that account holder – plus any other profiles on the device – full offline access to digital titles.

But if someone else activates your PS5 as their primary system, it strips those offline permissions from you, restricting even games you rightly own.

To fix, deactivate their console sharing access under Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Console Sharing and Offline Play.

Then toggle it back on for yourself. Now restoring licenses should allow offline gaming again.

User Profile and Save Data Conflicts

If youLet’s explore profile and save conflicts can also muddy up your licenses. Say Jamie buys a game on their user profile, but then Jesse plays it on their own account saving progress.

If Jamie restores licenses or logs in elsewhere, their version may no longer sync up properly with Jesse’s saves.

A license restore alone won’t untangle that scenario – you’d have to manage the save files manually. So check all profiles using that content or upload saves to the cloud as a backup.

Weird Regional Storefront Issues

To squeeze the best deals, some deal-hunter PlayStation fans buy games from various regional stores, like nabbing DLC on sale only available in Europe.

But if your account loses access to just that regional store due to payment or activation issues, then titles from that region may fail license checks until it gets resolved.

So if one game from your UK account fails license checks, while your other US purchases seem fine, region lockouts could be the culprit.

As you can see, the PlayStation licensing ecosystem does trip up occasionally in corner cases. But for most common problems, restoring licenses remains that easy first step.

Now let’s move onto tighter account security steps to reduce headaches down the road.

Protect Your Account and Licenses

Alongside routine license restores, a few best practices will keep your account and game access safer:

Set up two-factor authentication. Adding an authenticator app or SMS code prevents unauthorized logins even if your password leaks.

Check login notifications. Watch for system emails or alerts about profile access from unrecognized devices.

Remove payment methods you don‘t recognize. If your PSN account gets hacked, saved payment info lets criminals make fraudulent purchases.

Use unique, complex passwords avoiding dictionary words or personal info.

Beware console sharing with those outside your household. While it seems generous to give your cousin access to your game library, it leaves you vulnerable if they misuse credentials.

Keep contact info updated for easy account recovery.

Following those tips hardens your line of defense from account takeovers – letting restoring licenses tackle more routine issues like sync mismatches.

Takeaways: The Power of Restoring Licenses

Essentially, restoring licenses gives PlayStation Network a little kick, prompting it to check that your games lineup properly matches entitled content for your account.

Without even deleting a single game or save, the process rights any wrongs – unlocking access to purchases you properly own.

While less common bugs still trip up faithful gamers, restoring licenses serves as an easy first step before digging deeper or pleading your case to PlayStation support.

So next time you spot any strange errors or lock symbols on your dashboard, don’t panic – just fire up that restore licenses magic. In a few clicks, your access will be back to normal.

What licensing headaches have you encountered before? Did restoring licenses save the day or were other workarounds needed? Sound off with your experiences below!