Your PS4's rest mode brings a host of benefits that make your gaming experience smoother, quicker, and much more enjoyable at little cost.

Here's a quick explainer on your PS4's rest mode, with five benefits that this mode gives you.

What Is Your PS4's Rest Mode?

The Enter Rest Mode on the PS4 Quick Menu

To get everyone up to speed, your PS4's rest mode is like a computer's sleep mode. If you set your PS4 to rest mode, you're putting it in a low-power state where it can still carry out some really useful functions (which we'll get to in a bit).

In fact, rest mode is the first power option you get when you're looking to power down your PS4: it's clear that Sony meant this to be the default setting for your PS4 instead of completely turning it off.

Despite being in an active state, your PS4's rest mode shouldn't give you a huge electricity bill. While your price will vary depending on what electricity plan you have in place, rest mode should only add a few dollars to your bill each year.

You can put your PS4 in rest mode in three different ways:

  1. From the home screen, select Power, then Enter Rest Mode.
  2. Hold the PS button on your controller to bring up the Quick Menu, head to Power, and select Enter Rest Mode.
  3. Tap the Power button on your PS4 until it beeps once.

You Should Keep Your PS4 in Rest Mode To...

Now, let's look at five reasons why you should set your PS4 to rest mode instead of turning it off completely.

1. Start Your PS4 Faster

A black PS4 with a controller facing it

Rest mode enables a faster start-up from your PS4.

Just like when you turn on your computer from sleep mode, your PS4 is in a low-energy state and is ready to turn on at any given moment. So, when you start up your PS4 from rest mode, it doesn't have to start up from scratch, meaning that it should be ready to use within a few seconds.

As with a lot of the benefits of your PS4's rest mode, the long-term improvement this brings is wonderful and fits our current society. It's likely that you keep your phone, tablet, laptop, and other electronic devices locked or on standby instead of fully turning them off. So, why not do that with your PS4 as well?

2. Pick Up a Game Where You Left Off

The Set Features Available in Rest Mode section on a PS4

The biggest benefit your PS4's rest mode gives you is that you can jump back into your games exactly where you left off.

All you have to do is keep your game running while you set your PS4 to rest mode, and ensure you have the Keep Application Suspended box checked in the Set Features Available in Rest Mode section, which you can find in your PS4's Power Saving Settings.

As the PS4 reaches the end of its lifecycle, load times in games have become increasingly longer and can bog down your gaming experience. The PS4 doesn't boast an ultra-fast SSD like the PS5, so you'll usually see long load times whenever you start a game or load a save.

If you keep your PS4 in rest mode, however, you'll be able to bypass these problems and instantly jump back to the exact place you were. That's pretty incredible.

This is a benefit that really keeps on giving and can save a ton of time, especially when it can take several minutes before you can actually play the game if you start it up cold. You'll see your PS4 in a new light once you start to instantly snap in and out of your games.

3. Download Games Remotely (via the PS App)

If you set your PS4 in rest mode, you open up the option to download games to your PS4 with your phone.

This is a practical option when you're away from your console and see a game you want on sale, or if your favorite game has a great add-on you want. And, with game file sizes getting bigger and bigger, you'll love being able to download a game while you're away and return to see it either finished or making good progress.

You'll need the PS app (available for free for both iOS and Android) on your phone to do this, which brings a nice range of features, such as the option to download your in-game screenshots to your phone with PlayStation Messaging.

4. Download Game Patches and Software Updates

The Automatic Downloads section on a PS4

Similar to the ability to download games remotely, your PS4 can automatically download software updates while in rest mode for both the system and PS4 games.

And, like the size of games, update files can be massive, and it can be a pain to wait for them to download while you're using your PS4. This can be especially egregious of games shortly after their launch, where the patches keep on coming, or multiplayer games, where the map packs keep on coming.

So, even though you shouldn't buy games at launch, if you end up doing so or the game you're playing has regular updates, things will be way more convenient if you keep your PS4 in rest mode and let it automatically update your game.

However, while you can automatically download software updates to your PS4 while it's in rest mode for free, you'll need to be a PS Plus member if you want your PS4 to automatically download game updates while in rest mode.

5. Charge Your Controllers Even When You're Not Gaming

A person holding a white PS4 controller

Another great benefit your PS4's rest mode brings is that you can charge your controllers while in it.

Wireless controllers are great, but it's annoying to start up your PS4 and find that you're playing this gaming session with your controller plugged in because it's low on charge. Thankfully, you can charge your PS4 controllers while in rest mode, which means they should be good to go for your next gaming session.

And, you can set this option to turn off after three hours, meaning that you won't be racking up any unneeded charges, however small they might be.

Your PS4's Rest Mode Helps Enhance Your Gaming Experience

Now that you know how great your PS4's rest mode is, give it a try instead of turning your PS4 off completely. Perhaps put it in rest mode mid-game and enjoy the feeling of teleporting right back to where you were in your next gaming session.

In addition to rest mode, there are other tips and tricks you can learn to get the most out of your PS4. So, try out all that you can find.