Skip to main content

How to turn off PS5 controllers automatically

A person holds up a PS5 controller.
Kamil S / Unsplash

It's perfectly understandable that sometimes you get up and forget to turn off your gaming controllers. When you're setting down one of the best PS5 games, it can take a minute to come back to the real world.

It's also reasonable that you wouldn't want to go through the process of doing so anyway, especially when you're in a hurry to get somewhere or are dealing with multiple controllers when playing PS5 multiplayer games. That's where the PlayStation 5's power-saving options come into play, allowing you to have your DualSense controller turn off automatically after being idle for a selected period of time. Here's how to make it happen.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • DualSense Controller

If you're using a different PS5 controller, this automatic shutdown may not be possible.

How to turn off PS5 controllers automatically

When you're ready to access the power-saving features for your PS5 controllers, follow the steps below.

Step 1: Go to Settings on your PS5, which looks like a gear and is located in the top-right corner of the main menu.

PS5 UI showing Settings locations
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Scroll down and select System.

PS5 settings menu
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: Scroll down and select Power Saving and then choose "Set Time Until Controllers Turn Off." Now you can choose to have the DualSense controller automatically turn off after 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, or never.

PS5 settings menu
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Billy Givens
Billy Givens is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience writing gaming, film, and tech content. He started as a…
PlayStation Plus rolls out the big guns for its free July games
Lilith of Diablo IV.

PlayStation Plus just announced the latest free titles coming in July, and the service also announced its 15-year anniversary (and that doesn't make us feel old at all, not even a little). July is bringing three more games to the mix, along with new game trials for PlayStation Plus members and multiple special offers to mark the occasion.

If you're looking for something to keep you entertained while hiding away from the too-hot sun, check out these picks.

Read more
3 new PlayStation Plus games to play this weekend (June 20-22)
A crew in FBC: Firebreak.

More and more I am finding myself getting more excited for the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium game announcements than the Essential ones. It always varies, but months like this are some of my favorites. We are getting treated to a day one release, a ton of sleeper hits that didn't get enough attention, and one influential PS2 classic that is great to have available as a PS5 game. Today also just so happens to be the first day of summer, so what better time than now to close the curtains, crank up the AC, and play some great games courtesy of PS Plus? This is my hand-picked selection of PlayStation Plus games you need to play this weekend.

FBC: Firebreak

Read more
I played Lumines Arise and now it’s my most anticipated game of the year with a bullet
Psycadelic iguanas surround a puzzle well in Lumines Arise.

June 4 was a big day for me, as I got my Nintendo Switch 2 that morning. You think that I would have rushed to try out Mario Kart World even Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour first, but neither christened my device. Instead, the first thing I played was Lumines Remastered. The PSP puzzle game has become a go-to console testing game for me over the years, as it’s a great test for control precision and screen latency. As I was playing it, sinking back into its familiar rhythm, a very serious question crossed my mind: Is Lumines the best game ever made? Then, came a second, more pressing question: Why the heck haven’t we gotten a new one in ages?

Little did I know that my prayers would be answered hours later when Sony’s State of Play kicked off with the shock announcement of Lumines Arise, the latest project from the developers of Tetris Effect. I couldn’t believe it. It felt like I had willed it into existence somehow. I couldn’t wait to play it -- and I wouldn’t need to. As fate would have it, it turned out that I already had an appointment to demo it at Summer Game Fest (one I booked for a then “unannounced” game by Enhance). I was nervous to try it out. Could it really live up to what had ballooned into some very lofty expectations?

Read more