Over the weekend multiple Reddit and ResetEra users stated they encountered an issue. Random PlayStation Network messages resulted in a “soft lock” of their consoles, forcing them to perform a factory reset. While this doesn’t render the console unusable and affects only the account targeted, a factory reset means your hard drive will be wiped. Not to mention, the process can take a few hours to complete.
Many of the publications that reported on this issue reached out to Sony for a comment. The company has responded in an email to VG247, stating, “We are aware of the situation and are planning a system software update to resolve this problem.”
The bulk of these issues seem to stem from matches in ranked multiplayer games. But even if that doesn’t apply to you, better safe than sorry. It is recommended cto change your message setting to “Friends Only” or “No One” until Sony resolves this issue via the aforementioned update. To do so, simply go to Settings > Account management > Privacy Settings > Personal Info / Messaging > Messages > and select Friends Only or No One.
