To pause a download on PS4, highlight the game or app tile on your home screen, press the Options button on your controller, and select “Pause and Resume.” This works for any active game or app download, but not for system software updates, which must finish once started.
How to pause a download on your PS4
Pausing a download is a straightforward process that takes about five seconds. It’s useful when you need to free up bandwidth for streaming, online gaming, or video calls, and you can resume the download later without losing progress.
Step-by-step instructions to pause and resume
- From the PS4 home screen, locate the tile for the game or app that is currently downloading. The tile will show a progress bar and a download icon.
- Highlight that tile using the D-pad or left analog stick.
- Press the Options button on your controller (the small button to the right of the touchpad).
- In the pop-up menu, select “Pause and Resume.” The download will stop immediately.
To resume the download later, repeat the same steps and select “Resume” from the menu. The download will continue from where it left off, so you don’t lose any progress.
Managing your download queue
If you have multiple downloads running simultaneously, you can view them all and control their order. Press the PS button to go to the home screen, then navigate to the Notifications icon (the bell icon) in the top row and open the Downloads tab. Here you’ll see every active download, its progress, and its status.
This pushes that download to the top of the queue, so it finishes before the others. This is especially handy if you’re waiting to play a specific game while other large updates are downloading in the background.
Downloads and rest mode
Putting your PS4 into Rest Mode will not pause downloads. In fact, Rest Mode is designed to let downloads continue in the background while the console uses minimal power. This is useful for downloading large games overnight, but it means you can’t use Rest Mode as a way to stop a download.
If you want downloads to continue in Rest Mode, you need to enable the setting first. Go to Settings > Power Saving Settings > Set Features Available in Rest Mode, and ensure “Stay Connected to the Internet” is turned on. If this setting is off, downloads will pause when the console enters Rest Mode and resume when you power it back on.
Need more help?
For authoritative information directly from Sony, you can access the official PlayStation User’s Guide from your console. Go to Settings > User’s Guide/Helpful Info > User’s Guide, and browse the sections on downloads, network settings, and system features. This built-in guide is always up to date and covers every PS4 model, including the PS4 Pro. If you’re looking for similar instructions on other platforms, the same principles apply to remote download Xbox games, though the menu paths differ, and you can also download free games to Xbox 360 to build your library without a subscription.
