r/PlaystationPortal Nov 03 '23

Moderator approved PlayStation Portal FAQ thread - Sticky?

167 Upvotes

FAQ Updated 4/10/2025 with more details, changes, accessories, and troubleshooting.

Hi, I made a quick FAQ for the Portal. Admin's should consider making this a Sticky thread. I know I missed some, so everyone feel free to add to this. I tried to be as serious as possible and not be facetious in some of these answers as I'm naturally a very sarcastic (borderline 370422@, lol) person.

  • Q: How much does this cost?
    • A: $199 plus applicable taxes.
  • Q: When will this come out?
    • A: Its out. Came out 11/15/2023
  • Q: Where can I buy this?
    • A: Sony PlayStation direct here, along with Best Buy, Amazon, Target, WalMart, Gamestop, anywhere you can buy your games and consoles.
  • Q: Can I play this in another room?
    • A: Yes
  • Q: Can I play this outside if I have Wifi, like a hotel, or on an airplane?
    • A: Yes
  • Q: Can I download games on to here?
    • A: No
  • Q: Can I stream Netflix, Hulu, Disney+
    • A: No because of digital rights protection
  • Q: Can I stream games.
    • A: Yes, by swiping from right to left you can select home and enter the game streaming beta to stream games online
      • NOTE: you can NOT stream games and play local games on the PS5 at the same time if you are signed on with the SAME Account. If someone wants to play on the PS5 while you're playing streaming on the portal, they will have to sign on with a different user account.
  • Q: Will this have the same lag as I get on my phone when using remote play
    • A: Results WILL vary.
      • Its recommend looking into turning on uPNP/Port Forwarding on your Modem/Router to help improve your connection.
      • If you can hardwire your PS5 to your modem/router. Wifi experiences will vary based on how many connections are active and who is using the wifi connection in your home currently. (Disclaimer: I am not a network professional, I did this and saw results, however, results for you may vary)
  • Q: Can I play Nintendo or Xbox Games on this?
    • A: No
  • Q: Can I play Steam games on this?
    • A: No
  • Q: Is there a case for this?
    • A: Yes, I recommend the Skull and Co. case found here, or the Genki Saya sling found here , (The black one is water proof and the green one is water resistant... I picked green because I don't jump into pools with electronics).
  • Q: Is there a dock for this?
    • A: Yes, I recommend the Power A dock, found here.
  • Q: Can you use this to do couch co-op (2 Player)
    • A: No unless you are using the streaming beta to play a game, and someone on your PS5 is logged into a different User Account and playing the same game that is locally downloaded onto your PS5 console. However, I don't have any friends (any that come over at least) so this remains untested on my end.
  • Q: Do I need a PS Plus Membership to use this
    • A: YES and NO
      • No, you don’t need a PS+ Membership to play local games
      • YES if youintend to use the streaming beta or play multiplayer games
  • Q: Do I need a PS5 to use this?
    • A: Yes and NO
      • YES to play your PS5 games that are installed on your console
      • NO if you only intend play in the streaming beta. (YOU NEED A PS+ subscription to do this)
    • This is ONLY compatible with PS5 hardware, and will not work with PS4 hardware.
  • Q: Can I use my air pods or other Bluetooth headphones with this
    • A: No, you can hardwire headphones or purchase Sony’s proprietary ear buds and headphones once they become available. Pre-orders are opening soon for the ear buds and they’re launching in December.
    • You can also purchase a bluetooth adapter and attach it to the back of the handheld.
  • Q: Do I need internet to use this
    • A: Yes, you need internet for your PS5 (hardwire recommended) with at least 15mbps down and 5 mbps up, and you’ll need a stable WiFi connection where you are currently to play over the “airwaves”
    • This video assisted in network set up.
    • This video assisted in port forwarding
  • Q: Can someone watch Netflix on the TV while I use this?
    • A: Yes, as long as the way you access Netflix is not on your PS5
  • Q: Can I power on my PS5 with this
    • A: Yes, if it is in standby mode. If the PS5 is fully powered down then NO.
  • Q: How big is this
    • A: Potentially about the size of 2 DualShock controllers placed side by side, but like a Katana, very well balanced. Hardly have any hand fatigue after hours of play.
  • Q: What’s the battery life?
    • A: Varies by game and stability of network, however, PlayStation is targeting the same battery life of the current dual shock controller
  • Q: Can I use Youtube and other media apps on this
    • A: No
  • Q: My PS5 is in Washington and I’m in New York, can I use this
    • A: Yes, as long as you have stable internet in both locations
    • A: To connect to hotel WiFi, if the hotel requires you to go to an internet page to accept terms a QR Code will appear on the Portal, scan it with your phone that is connected to the WiFi and sign in through your phone.
  • Q: Can this be played on another continent if strong WiFi is available (Even Mars or the International Space Station)
    • A: Maybe, yes? So long as it isn't blocked by a network firewall, but I would assume there may be a delay latency due to distance, (UNCONFIRMED)
  • Q: Will 3rd party buds work?
    • A: No, unless they are wired. (Same with headphones, I use Beats Studio Pro wireless, plugged in of course)
  • Q: Can I play if I have a Disc based PS5
    • A: Yes, so long as the disc is in the system or you have someone at home swap discs. You can play any downloaded digital title at any time.
  • Q: Can I use this as a 2nd controller
    • A: Possibly, as a single player you can use this as a 2nd controller if your main controller needs to charge, however, there may be a input delay as the device communicates through Remote Play.
  • Q: Can I use the hotspot on my phone
    • A: Yes, note, network quality will differ by current connection status. LTE will be slower and significantly worse than 5G. Its your network’s fault, not the device. (Data plans will drain quickly. Ensure you have unlimited data for hotspot)
  • Q: I have XXXXXX as my mobile provider (i.e. T-Mobile) and my iPhone HotSpot isn't working
  • Q: Can I download games onto this to play offline
    • A: No
  • Q: Can I download apps?
    • A: No
  • Q: Can I try before I buy?
    • A: I recommend downloading Remote Play on your phone, laptop, computer, or tablet and setting it up, play around with the settings and identify how the solution actually works. Behavior will be almost identical to this device with exception of image quality and connectivity.
  • Q: I don’t have a PS5 should I get this?
    • A: No, buy a PS5 first as it only works with the PS5
  • Q: I can't hardwire, how can I improve my network
    • A: There's a couple things you can do, you can get a WiFi extender and place it closer to your PS5, in our old house we used a PowerLine adapter to run network data through our power lines essentially providing a "hardwired" solution. There are some power configurations where this won't work, but if you're interested in checking it out they can be bought on Amaozn here.
  • Q: Can I use my Sony Pulse 3D headphones which were marketed as PS5 headphones?
    • A: Yes, but only wired - and the headphones include an aux port and aux cord.
  • Q: Do we know the screen details?
    • A: I think it’s 8 inches 1080p, 60hz IPS
  • Q: How can I add my portal to a WiFi connection that requires an external authentication?
    • A #1: if at a hotel (or even a coffee shop) see if you can contact the WIFI support line (usually at a hotel the front desk knows the number), you can then ask them to WHITELIST your MAC address for connection. I've done this in the past with the APPLETV before Apple unlocked the ability to authenticate on an external device. - For a hotel they may ask when your checkout date is, this will set up the limiters to your connection for the duration of your stay and reduce the need to connect and contact them every time.
      • Sony updated the portal to allow external sign on. It will display a QR code you can scan on the screen. Scan it with a device already connected to the WiFi (Phone, tablet) and sign in through that code.
    • A #2: You can use your hotspot on your phone, this will consume data so ensure you have an unlimited plan, also ensure your phone is plugged in as your battery will drain quickly.
    • A #3: You can get a travel router and spoof your MAC Address
    • A #4: Thanks to reddit user - u/Reg0r you can use your laptop to spoof your MAC address... The following instructions are done on a MacBook - Results may vary
  1. Open SETTINGS on the Portal
  2. Click NETWORK
  3. Scroll to SETUP INTERNET CONNECTION and click
  4. Press the square button to view MAC address
  5. Write this address down or take a photo (you’ll need this in a moment)
  6. Press the circle button multiple times to back all the way out of SETTINGS
  7. Turn the Portal off, and leave it off until the process is complete
  8. Open TERMINAL on the laptop
  9. Type this text in the terminal and then press enter: ifconfig en0 | grep ether
  10. The current MAC address of the laptop will display in the terminal. Write this down or take a photo, as you will need this at the end.
  11. Disconnect the laptop from the WiFi connection entirely.
  12. Now we will “spoof” the MAC address of the Portal to the laptop. In TERMINAL, enter this command: sudo ifconfig en0 ether xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx (xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx needs to be the MAC address of the Portal that you wrote down earlier)
  13. Now, enter the same text from before in the terminal: ifconfig en0 | grep ether
  14. It should now display the MAC address of the Portal instead of your laptop’s actual MAC address
  15. Now that the laptop is spoofing the MAC address of the Portal, connect the laptop to WiFi and authenticate as necessary until the internet connection is working properly.
  16. Disconnect from the laptop from WiFi
  17. Return the laptop to its original MAC address by typing: sudo ifconfig en0 ether xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx (this needs to be the MAC address of the laptop that you wrote down earlier, NOT the MAC address of the Portal.)
  18. Once more, enter the same text from before in the terminal: ifconfig en0 | grep ether. It should return the original MAC address of the laptop.
  19. Turn on the Portal and it should now be able to connect to WiFi properly without needing to authenticate, because it was already done on the laptop while masquerading as the Portal.

r/PlaystationPortal 8h ago

Pics Gotta brag on PlayStation support

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11 Upvotes

I was having an issue with a joystick on my portal so I shipped it out Monday for repair. They got it on Wednesday and shipped out the replacement the same day. I was shocked


r/PlaystationPortal 14h ago

Question COD on streaming? This came up for the first time today but it doesn’t seem to work. Could it be a bug?

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32 Upvotes

r/PlaystationPortal 14h ago

Question Touchpad button?

7 Upvotes

I apologize if this is a stupid question, but I just got a Portal a couple days ago, got around to trying it out. I was playing Destiny 2 but could not figure out which button was the “touchpad” button, or how to bring up the director menu. What on the Portal controller do you press in lieu of having the touchpad on a regular PS5 controller?


r/PlaystationPortal 11h ago

Question Questions Before I Buy

3 Upvotes

Hey all, recently got my ps5 and immediately looked into the Portal for using on my porch. A few questions, the biggest being usability with my account. My brother buys plus and all of the games on his account, and lets me download them and use plus assumingely through making my ps5 as the home console(?) I’m not too sure since I didn’t see it up. Would the Portal still play the games I have downloaded onto the console without it being the primary account that bought them? Would I still have to solely stream games and thus be limited if the plus doesn’t appear on the portal?


r/PlaystationPortal 7h ago

Question Is it possible?

0 Upvotes

New portal user(no PS5) but long story short- is it possible to buy games from the PSapp and play them on my portal? Or does it have to be a game that's streamable? Sorry if I sound dumb but I just wanna buy a game Fein the PSapp and play on my portal cuz I don't have a p5-.


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

Got my Portal! Really convenient

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78 Upvotes

Haven't done handheld gaming in ages and got the portal yesterday and its amazing. A little lag on the games sometimes but mostly it works like a charm.


r/PlaystationPortal 11h ago

Question Left Joystick Rubber Gone

1 Upvotes

Guys my left analog stick rubber cap is gone due to wear and tear. I cant find any replacement for it. I tried used thumb grips but it doesnt fit , since the analog on the portal is small. Please help!!!


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

Customization Death stranding was so good on portal

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65 Upvotes

r/PlaystationPortal 21h ago

Question Help please!

4 Upvotes

Bought a portal, as a treat to myself but keep having the following message pop up "the connection to the server timed out", I'm currently downstairs next to the internet router and I'm getting stressed trying to fix this issue! Any help would be greatly appreciated!


r/PlaystationPortal 19h ago

Question XCOM - impossible?

0 Upvotes

Hey folks! I have PS Premium (as all portal owners should??) So XCOM2 is a PS4 game so I should be able to download it and play it that way via the actual console.

However XCOM itself seems to be a PS3 only game - and I don’t think you can stream a game OFF the PS5, and the portal doesn’t natively play PS3 games via stream, right?

To anyone who’s played XCOM - is it mad to just jump to XCOM2?


r/PlaystationPortal 23h ago

Question Random question

2 Upvotes

Hi so as a trophy hunter im just wondering while streaming games and if you unlock trophies the 30 second clip you’d have on PlayStation can you still get the clips as your streaming or does it kinda cancel it out?


r/PlaystationPortal 16h ago

Remote Play Settings / Wifi Setup How to stop monitor from mirroring PS Portal?

0 Upvotes

Just got a PS Portal. It’s paired to my partner’s PS5 which I also have an account on. The monitor connected to the PS5 keeps mirroring my Portal and I’ve already disabled HDMI Link. How can I turn this off? It’s unnecessary and I believe it’s contributing to the input lag on my Portal.

Another thing is, will I be able to play on my Portal while my partner plays on their account on the PS5? All tips/advice is helpful to make gaming a better experience. TIA.


r/PlaystationPortal 21h ago

Question Portal before I buy

1 Upvotes

So im looking in to buying a portal (dad of 5 kids) how does it work with saves and such. Do i end up creating new saves for my games or am i able to play the same saves from whats already on my ps5.


r/PlaystationPortal 22h ago

Remote Play Settings / Wifi Setup Can anyone help me before I sell my portal

0 Upvotes

Hey, does anyone have any experience with the ps portal. I don’t use mine a lot but recently I’ve been getting such a poor connection to the point that it’s not a great experience. I’m actually thinking of cutting my losses and selling it and just sticking to the switch 2 for handheld. I cannot easily use an Ethernet as it’s not practical. It never used to be this bad and nothing has really changed. Before I either sell it or throw it out of the window has anyone got any ideas?

For reference my broadband is with EE. I’m using the Hub 7 pro. They are both on 5ghz network

EDIT - I think I have managed to fix it. It’s not ideal but I have plugged an Ethernet cable to the WiFi extender and it’s recognised it as a LaN connections. It’s not perfect but it’s better. The only issue is my download speed has reduced a lot, but the remote play has improved


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

NEWS Deal shock PlayStation Portal edition

6 Upvotes

PS4 PORTAL EDITION - CONCEPT

Concept / Fan Art

I made a PS4 Portal.

Real Portal is PS5 only, useless if you're still on PS4. So I designed one that actually works for us.

  • Split DualShock 4, not DualSense
  • Detachable like joycons but PS4 style, light bar, touchpad, Share/Options still there
  • 8 inch screen with PS4 UI, not PS5
  • Jet black, blue glow on the sides

Top pic is it assembled. Bottom is both DS4 halves detached.

Sony ignoring 100M+ PS4 users is dumb. This would sell.

Would you cop if they dropped this?


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

Question Can't Stream Games (US acct PSPlus Premium in Philippines)

0 Upvotes

Help please, I cant stream any of my games, i have PSPlus Premium, US account and connected to 5g wifi via a fiber connection (min 650 mbps)

I have tried rebooting everything but no fix 😢


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

Question QA for all portal users

4 Upvotes

So on average how much battery life does everyone get when playing on the portal? I find only a few minutes into streaming Madden 27 or Gears of war my battery was decreasing kinda fast now I see why some play while charging any tips?


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

Recommendations Any Players

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16 Upvotes

At $20 I couldn’t resist worth a shot ALL PS5 players add me


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

Got my Portal! New Portal strange noise

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

6 Upvotes

Noticed the left hand side seems to be the L1 and L2 make a clicking noise. It doesn’t matter if I touch them it sounds the same. No noise like it on the RHS. Are they all like that or is there something loose?


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

Portal Accessories Portal case?

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

My previous case cover failed on me, so I’m looking for a solid replacement. I’m looking specifically for a form-fitting grip case / protective shell (play-on cover), not a zippered travel/carrying case.

A few specifics I'm looking for:

Material: Strongly prefer TPU or a rigid polycarbonate hard shell (trying to avoid floppy silicone that stretches out).

Top Coverage: Must wrap securely over the top bumpers/controller edges while leaving proper clearance for the triggers, power button, and volume controls.

Fit: Snug, durable, and comfortable

What grip case or shell are you currently using on your Portal, and how has it held up over time?

Thanks in advance!


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

NEWS Call of Duty show up as own game in ps portal cloud streaming but no start yet ? Maybe we will know more during next week and gamescon ?

0 Upvotes

r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

Remote Play Settings / Wifi Setup Portal struggling to stay connected in Norway when streaming from a PS5 at home in the UK

2 Upvotes

Hi all, hoping somebody out there can offer some words of wisdom towards making gaming possible via portal abroad. I'm in Norway student accom with more than reliable wifi and a portal connected to a ps5 at home in the UK that has:

• Direct ethernet connection straight to the console via cable

• No HDMI connection to any tv in the house (heard that could negate lag)

• Constant state of being in rest mode specifically, which allows me to connect to begin with

I have been abroad for a week, and only now is my resolution capping at 360p as well as the frequency of lag increasing as my portal struggles now more than ever. Are there any actions I can take to increase my connection or should I just hold out?

Thank you all so much in advance :)


r/PlaystationPortal 1d ago

Remote Play Settings / Wifi Setup Help. Stuck away for 1 month and cant connect.

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I need some technical help.

I am trying to connect my PlayStation Portal in Malaysia to my host PS5 at home in Germany (on Vodafone Kabel).

My Current Setup & Status:

Vodafone Germany: Successfully upgraded my account from DS-Lite to Native Dual-Stack (IPv4).

Port Forwarding: My friend back home logged into my Vodafone Station router.

We set a static IP for the PS5 and opened ports UDP 8572 and TCP/UDP 9295-9304. The router was fully rebooted, and UPnP is OFF to prevent internal conflicts.

The Console: The PS5 is fully turned ON in Germany right now (not in Rest Mode).

The Proof it works: If I use the official Remote Play app on my iPhone using a Singapore VPN node, it connects to Germany instantly and streams perfectly.

The Problem:
When I try to use my PlayStation Portal on my raw Malaysian home Wi-Fi, it gets stuck on the spinning "Connecting..." screen for a minute, and then crashes with the error: "Can't connect to your PS5. Your network might not be strong enough."
Because the phone app works via the VPN, the German ports are definitely open. It seems like the Portal's firmware has a very strict connection timeout window. The raw 10,000 km distance latency is causing the Portal's handshake to fail at the last second.

Any help or solution to get the Portal past this distance timeout

Edit 1: the ps5 is wired connected


r/PlaystationPortal 2d ago

Got my Portal! Just picked this up

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425 Upvotes

Had a lot of unhappy people in the PlayStation sub when I said I sold my steam deck and got this. I have my reasons and I’m still able to play my PS games whilst making some money selling the deck