How to use an external hard drive for extended storage on your PS4_details

With the arrival of system software update 4.50, you can now use an external hard drive to expand the storage space for games and apps on your PlayStation 4. The HDD you use for this must be USB 3.0, and sizes are supported from 250GB up to a whopping 8TB! Follow these simple steps and your new storage will be up and running in minutes.

First, you need to format the drive to make it compatible with PS4 storage. Plug in your HDD then head to Settings > Devices > USB Storage Devices and select it. Choose the Format as Extended Storage option and follow the prompts to prepare it for use.

Once formatted, the external hard drive will become the default install location for any future downloads, as well as any games you install from disc. Note that only games and apps can be stored on the external drive, with saved data and captures remaining on the system storage.

To manage the storage devices on your system go to Settings > Storage, where you can hit Options to choose between system and extended storage as your default location for future downloads and disc installs.

To transfer games and apps from your system storage to the external drive, select System Storage > Applications followed by pressing Options then Move to Extended Storage. Tick everything you want to transfer then hit Move and they'll be copied over. Once completed, you can seamlessly launch those items as normal but they'll now be running from your external hard drive. You can also use this method to transfer games between PS4s.

Finally, if you need to remove your external hard drive from your PS4 for any reason, hold down the PS button to bring up the Quick Menu, then select Stop Using Extended Storage to safely shut it down before unplugging it.

And there you have it - a quick and easy method of increasing your PS4 storage, without removing a single screw.