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goonergaz · Apr 10, 2017

Sorry if this is old news, I had no idea until just now - I assume it was part of the most recent f/w update.

Essentially if you have more than one console in the household (or maybe elsewhere) using/sharing one account - you now no longer have to deactivate the primary console prior to activating a new one.

Previously you had to either access the primary console and deactivate it or go online and 'deactivate all' which had a 6 monthly limit.

A welcome update and as I had no idea I figured others might like to know.

adamsapple · Apr 10, 2017

Now if only they'd make changing PSN IDs easier too.

Certinty · Apr 10, 2017

How does this work?

If I activate on one PS4 then take that PS4 offline then activate on another then surely I can play my games on both?

YoRHa No.2 Type B · Apr 10, 2017

Certinty said:
How does this work?

If I activate on one PS4 then take that PS4 offline then activate on another then surely I can play my games on both?

That would be too good to be true.

Grindlefly · Apr 10, 2017

I'm interested in this as I just got my son a ps4 for his birthday. I would like us to share my library and have one ps plus as will be pissed if I have to pay twice. I want him to have his own account though. This is doable yes?

TheChewyWaffles · Apr 10, 2017

Grindlefly said:
I'm interested in this as I just got my son a ps4 for his birthday. I would like us to share my library and have one ps plus as will be pissed if I have to pay twice. I want him to have his own account though. This is doable yes?

Yes. Make his console the primary.

hidys · Apr 10, 2017

I don't know if I'll ever buy a Pro but this is still good news.

Grindlefly · Apr 10, 2017

TheChewyWaffles said:
Yes. Make his console the primary.

Excellent. Thank you for the quick response

TPFInferno · Apr 10, 2017

Certinty said:
How does this work?

If I activate on one PS4 then take that PS4 offline then activate on another then surely I can play my games on both?

The PS4 is tied to your account. So when you activate a PS4 as a primary, that Unique ID of the PS4 indicates the primary system for your account. I assume Sony made it so that you couldn't activate a primary without unregistering/deactivating a PS4 that already is tied to the account, probably due to some wonky programming logic.

Instead, that ID now gets overwritten with the one that you are currently activating, so it wouldn't be possible to have multiple PS4s activated as your primary for the account.

timmyp53 · Apr 10, 2017

TheChewyWaffles said:
Yes. Make his console the primary.

Would that make his game library available to play on both console's? Or is it still limited and only one person can be logged in to same account therefore licences will only be available for one console at a time?

Grindlefly · Apr 10, 2017

timmyp53 said:
Would that make his game library available to play on both console's? Or is it still limited and only one person can be logged in to same account therefore licences will only be available for one console at a time?

The idea is that he has his own account. I would imagine if on the same account it would cause issues?

hobozero · Apr 10, 2017

Wonder if this is in response to so many accounts being hacked and people having their Primary statuses stolen.

Hey, that reminds me: EVERYONE SHOULD USE TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION.

VolticArchangel · Apr 10, 2017

Wait, are you saying that they're allowing you to activate your primary account on 2 consoles, simultaneously, like how PS3 in its early years was, with 5 consoles (and later reduced to 2 or 3 due to 3RD party pub outcry on game sharing)? Can someone confirm this to be true?

Currently on PS4 and X1, you could only activate one account as primary/home and the other to play the downloaded games, the account they were purchased from must be online.

timmyp53 · Apr 10, 2017

Grindlefly said:
The idea is that he has his own account. I would imagine if on the same account it would cause issues?

Yeah content/license wise I don't think what this does changes anything. Either you or your son willl still be locked out of content Unless you guys play at different times.

Gravy Boat · Apr 10, 2017

timmyp53 said:
Would that make his game library available to play on both console's? Or is it still limited and only one person can be logged in to same account therefore licences will only be available for one console at a time?

What ever console is using the account with all the games as the primary account, can access those games from any account on that system. So he puts his account as the primary on his sons PS4, and his son can log into his own account and access those games. Simultaneously, the dad can be on his own PS4 on his own account playing the same games.

timmyp53 said:
Yeah content/license wise I don't think what this changes anything. Either you or your son willl still be locked out of content Unless you guys play at different times.

Not true. The only stipulation is that the dad would need to be connected to the internet to play his games, even if he's not playing online multiplayer.

IndoAssassin · Apr 10, 2017

timmyp53 said:
Would that make his game library available to play on both console's? Or is it still limited and only one person can be logged in to same account therefore licences will only be available for one console at a time?

You can play on any PS4 your game library. The difference is the console that is your primary means you don't have to be connected to the internet to play. And anyone's account on that PS4 can play those games even without connecting to the internet and even without the primary account logged in.

However any other console means you have to login to your account on the internet to play games from your own library on that console.

David Ricardo · Apr 10, 2017

TPFInferno said:
The PS4 is tied to your account. So when you activate a PS4 as a primary, that Unique ID of the PS4 indicates the primary system for your account. I assume Sony made it so that you couldn't activate a primary without unregistering/deactivating a PS4 that already is tied to the account, probably due to some wonky programming logic.

Instead, that ID now gets overwritten with the one that you are currently activating, so it wouldn't be possible to have multiple PS4s activated as your primary for the account.

What is preventing people from activating PS4 Pro as primary, and keeping their OG PS4 offline so it still thinks its primary? Or doing it like 10 times. Taking ps4 pro offline, and activating as primary in another console, rinse and repeat?

arcticice · Apr 10, 2017

I doubt Sony did this just to help its consumers. The main reason could be to stop selling of cracked accounts, which had started to happen a whole lot more.

I don't know how they work, but I have seen a lot of disgruntled people in a couple of PS4 related Facebook groups i'm in. I for one am glad for this as cracked accounts were becoming a huge concern

timmyp53 · Apr 10, 2017

David Ricardo said:
What is preventing people from activating PS4 Pro as primary, and keeping their OG PS4 offline so it still thinks its primary? Or doing it like 10 times. Taking ps4 pro offline, and activating as primary in another console, rinse and repeat?

Multiplayer and trophies mostly I guess. I guess this could technically mean game sharing has returned in a very very limited manner.

RecRoulette · Apr 10, 2017

Just a reminder that if you do this, if you try to download games from the store it will go to the primary PS4, also you can't automatically upload saves to the cloud from the non-primary PS4. You have to do it manually.

Definitely worth letting you play games across two consoles, just a couple of things to keep in mind.

timmyp53 · Apr 10, 2017

VolticArchangel said:
Wait, are you saying that they're allowing you to activate your primary account on 2 consoles, simultaneously, like how PS3 in its early years was, with 5 consoles (and later reduced to 2 or 3 due to 3RD party pub outcry on game sharing)? Can someone confirm this to be true?

Currently on PS4 and X1, you could only activate one account as primary/home and the other to play the downloaded games, the account they were purchased from must be online.

No same system we have now just without deactivation step for changing primary from what I can tell. Glory days of game sharing are gone man.

goonergaz · Apr 10, 2017

Certinty said:
How does this work?

If I activate on one PS4 then take that PS4 offline then activate on another then surely I can play my games on both?

I believe Sony stopped this (I used to do this with my daughter) - but if it's just you then you don't need to make any PS4 primary - just log on

goonergaz · Apr 10, 2017

timmyp53 said:
No same system we have now just without deactivation step for changing primary from what I can tell. Glory days of game sharing are gone man.

well you can still share, there's 2 options;

1) someone owns the account the games are bought on and the other person has the primary console
2) share an account but only one person can play at a time - just chose who has the 'primary' and when

But yes, not like the good old days

jroc74 · Apr 10, 2017

Even tho it wasnt that bad before, yes this is even easier.

WAR recon zero · Apr 10, 2017

this attacks game sharing directly. Also, it's easier to recover a lost primary due to a hack

HotHamBoy · Apr 10, 2017

WAR recon zero said:
this attacks game sharing directly.

How so?

Falchion · Apr 10, 2017

goonergaz said:
well you can still share, there's 2 options;

1) someone owns the account the games are bought on and the other person has the primary console
2) share an account but only one person can play at a time - just chose who has the 'primary' and when

But yes, not like the good old days

I use option 1, it's really nice but I wish the functionality was improved with the whole system.

IbukiLordSA · Apr 10, 2017

I have no idea what the OP is saying, badly worded or me just not understanding?

I have 2 PS4's in my house, one is primary and one is secondary.

Can I now just change them on the fly? What is this change doing?

Icebergslim · Apr 10, 2017

TPFInferno said:
The PS4 is tied to your account. So when you activate a PS4 as a primary, that Unique ID of the PS4 indicates the primary system for your account. I assume Sony made it so that you couldn't activate a primary without unregistering/deactivating a PS4 that already is tied to the account, probably due to some wonky programming logic.

Instead, that ID now gets overwritten with the one that you are currently activating, so it wouldn't be possible to have multiple PS4s activated as your primary for the account.

Would have been nice if this was in the op considering he never actually explains how its changed.

Hesemonni · Apr 10, 2017

chandoog said:
Now if only they'd make changing PSN IDs easier too.

Regretting that xXFuckMachine6969Xx ID now, eh?

WAR recon zero · Apr 10, 2017

HotHamBoy said:
How so?

When resells were sold, there were 2 slots: a locked one (secondary) and a main one

so, 2 mains cannot use the account at the same time. a locked spot needs to use the account it was resold into. So, the locked can steal the main.

goonergaz · Apr 10, 2017

IbukiLordSA said:
I have no idea what the OP is saying, badly worded or me just not understanding?

I have 2 PS4's in my house, one is primary and one is secondary.

Can I now just change them on the fly? What is this change doing?

Yes, if you want a machine to be primary all you need to do is go into the system menu and make the console primary. Previously you had to deactivate the other console first either via the same menu or via the net (but that was restricted to once every 6 months.

It was a PITA before as my daughter would always forget to deactivate so I'd go to play a game but it was locked...now if it's locked I can just activate my console as primary

Icebergslim said:
Would have been nice if this was in the op considering he never actually explains how its changed.

From OP

"Previously you had to either access the primary console and deactivate it or go online and 'deactivate all' which had a 6 monthly limit."

goonergaz · Apr 10, 2017

WAR recon zero said:
When resells were sold, there were 2 slots: a locked one (secondary) and a main one

so, 2 mains cannot use the account at the same time. a locked spot needs to use the account it was resold into. So, the locked can steal the main.

I've read this several times and have no idea what you're saying? Especially as you said its an attack on game sharing...seems only so if you don't trust the other person, but even they you add 2 step login to protect yourself

IbukiLordSA · Apr 10, 2017

goonergaz said:
Yes, if you want a machine to be primary all you need to do is go into the system menu and make the console primary. Previously you had to deactivate the other console first either via the same menu or via the net (but that was restricted to once every 6 months.

It was a PITA before as my daughter would always forget to deactivate so I'd go to play a game but it was locked...now if it's locked I can just activate my console as primary

Damn so it even lets you do it offline? That is pretty cool. Nice change.

itshutton · Apr 11, 2017

YES! Finally automatic save uploads. I don't think people who haven't been hacked will know how much of an improvement this is.

Aztechnology · Apr 11, 2017

chandoog said:
Now if only they'd make changing PSN IDs easier too.

It's just embarrassing at this point. Mainly for me. My username sucks on PlayStation.

F34R · Sep 7, 2017

goonergaz said:
Sorry if this is old news, I had no idea until just now - I assume it was part of the most recent f/w update.

Essentially if you have more than one console in the household (or maybe elsewhere) using/sharing one account - you now no longer have to deactivate the primary console prior to activating a new one.

Previously you had to either access the primary console and deactivate it or go online and 'deactivate all' which had a 6 monthly limit.

A welcome update and as I had no idea I figured others might like to know.

This doesn't seem to be working.

I just set up my new LE PS4 Pro (the Destiny one). I sign in, etc., and then it wants to activate as my primary. I agree. It tells me it can't activate it because it's already activated on another system. Tells me I have to deactivate it first. Sooooo...

I pull the PS4 I just boxed up, turn it on, and it isn't showing as activated now either lol. I log onto the acct on the pc, and it is showing I'm activated on 1 ps4 already. I tried to deactivate it via web browser, but it says I can't. I can only do it via the console. I can't because I don't have the option now for some reason.

My account hasn't ever been used on another PS4, ever. This is a launch PS4, and it's the only one I've used. It was set as my primary as of an hour ago.

I submitted a support request to deactivate the "old" ps4, gave the serial number, etc. So I guess we'll see if they do it or not. While I wait for that, I don't have a primary PS4 now.

Megatron · Sep 7, 2017

For most of us they did that back in 2013.

bitbydeath · Sep 7, 2017

chandoog said:
Now if only they'd make changing PSN IDs easier too.

You could add a custom one in the real name field and opt to share that out instead.

F34R · Sep 7, 2017

So, this makes it a little more "wtf". So, I had another accounts on the original PS4, and that PS4 was the primary console for those accounts as well. So, I created the new user for one of the accounts, activated the pro as that accounts primary ps4, and that worked just fine.

I'm wondering why it didn't work for my original account, but it did for the NZ account.

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