Now that the PS5 has released, there seem to remain some unanswered questions around certain aspects of it’s function.
One of the areas I found to be lacking is around USB hub support.
Sony have finally added USB ports to the rear of the console, which was my main bugbear since forever.
However, for those of us with a lot of USB accessories, 2 USB ports on the back simply aren’t enough. If you have an external drive, PSVR, Steering wheels, gear sticks, and other USB controllers connected, and don’t want to use the front ports, you are kind of stuck – at least, out of the box.
On the PS4, I remediated this by using a powered USB hub plugged into the front, as well as an external disk (external USB disks have to be plugged directly into the console, not via the hub). This worked fine for all of my accessories, but not on the PS5.
So what is the problem?
On the PS5, with exactly the same set up (one port on the back of the PS5 for my external drive, the other with the same USB hub connected) – aside from the fact the PSVR camera now has to connect using a USB adapter (request yours here – you just need to provide your VR Processor Unit serial number – it’s also FREE!), which consumes yet another port, the solution simply didn’t work.
I had to unplug/replug the various USB accessories into the hub numerous times and then sometimes the PS5 recognised they were connected (shown in Settings > Accessories > Camera > Adjust PlayStation Camera). After a reboot though, the camera showed again as being disconnected.
I also tried different USB ports, and also a different USB hub, with the same issues.
This is my main, go-to USB hub that worked fine with the PS4. I also tried with this hub with the same results.
After playing around for several hours and rebooting the console numerous times, I believe I have found a solution.
The cause?
The cause seem to be relating to supplying power to the hub. Both hubs I was testing had an external power supply, which I usually always use in case there is not enough power supplied through the USB port in the host device.
The solution?
Simply unplugging the power from the USB hubs resulted in both working consistently, even after the console was rebooted. I had the following all connected to the hub, as well as an external HDD connected directly to the back of the unit:
- PS VR Processing Unit
- PS VR Camera via USB adapter
- Thrustmaster Steering Wheel
- Thrustmaster Gear Shifter
- USB powered lighting
- Move controller dock
- PlayStation Classic
All of the above operate successfully at the same time, however, only when the PS5 console is switched on (or in standby if USB power is allowed), when power is supplied to the USB ports. Not 100% ideal for lighting and PlayStation Classic that I would generally use when the PS5 is off – but at least it works without fiddling around with cables or using the front ports on the PS5.
It seems like the PS5 does not like external hubs to have their own power supply. Maybe this is just my unit, as I have not seen other people reporting this type of problem, or maybe its because most people don’t use USB hubs – who knows, I thought it would be worth posting an article in case anyone else encounters this issue.
It could be relating to the fact that the ports are SuperSpeed USB 3 on the back of the PS5, which can supply much more power than older USB ports – as such the power adapter for the USB hub is no longer required, or interferes in some way with the PS5 detecting connected devices.
Whether it will be patched in a future OS? Well, I’ll have to leave that to Sony…
Let me know if you had similar issues in the comments!
I have the same issue and i solve it same way as you, but nie i have another problem. Camera is detected, but sometimes it display black screen
Hi Pukki, I have not seen this on my end, now it is set up it works pretty well. Have you tried a different port on the PS5 and on the hub?
You say sometimes, does it randomly fix itself, or do you do a reboot or something?
Do you have the same issue with the black screen if you just plug the camera adapter straight in to the back of the PS5 instead of using the hub? If so, you might have a faulty camera adapter perhaps?
This Black Screen is caused by camera freeze. If I unplug and plug it again, camera start working. Today I played Moss and IT happened twice. I will try to plug it directly to ps5
Hey.
it’s really excellent blog.
I think I have exactly same issue with my new PS5.
Last night , I upload one post about same case but with Pulse 3D headset with USB hub condition.
it’s here. Sorry it’s written in Korean language.
https://blog.wise-leader.com/ps5_pulise_3d_01/
I tried to test it with PC and no such an disconnection experience. So I concluded that this problem is owned by PS5 machine.
oh….this post was published Nov 2020. and it’s now May 2021.
Sigh……SIE has not still fixed it…
Thanks for your comments, I haven’t had chance to retry again with the hub connected to the power, but it sounds like the issue still exists based on your findings. Hopefully they will fix it in a later release. Or maybe it is a “feature” that means you don’t need to use another power socket. Either way, I have yet to see any documentation or user guides covering it from Sony.
Update: Seems like Sony may have fixed this. I plugged my hub into power and have had it powered for the last few weeks – I’ve been using VR no problem at all.