PS5 Disc Drive Pairing Explained

[alexfree]

Everything you ever wanted to know about PS5 disc drive pairing (and what would cause you to loose it) https://alex-free.github.io/ps5-disc-drive-pairing-explained/.

 

[tglaria]

"Everything" is a bit optimistic from my understanding.

I would like to know
how does the pairing work?
what files are modified?
is it on the console or in the drive itself or both?
What's stored in a backup that doesn't keep the pairing, or does it?

And that's just starting.

Good idea, but the word "everything" doesn't quit fit the description for me.

 

[alexfree]

"Everything" is a bit optimistic from my understanding.

I would like to know
how does the pairing work?
what files are modified?
is it on the console or in the drive itself or both?
What's stored in a backup that doesn't keep the pairing, or does it?

And that's just starting.

Good idea, but the word "everything" doesn't quit fit the description for me.

Fair. My understanding is:
1) PSN servers generate a unique key based on the drive that the console accepts. The console can not generate this key on it's own by design.
2) Not sure if this is known or documented anywhere publicly anyways yet. I hear people are working on reverse engineering it.
3) It's definitely at least on the console side in some capacity, which is why resets are fine on a PS5 Slim Disc Edition that is factory paired, but it looses this if you wipe the whole OS. PS5 fat Disc Edition must be storing it differently since it can never loose the pairing.
4) Backups never affect pairing under any circumstances nor does it store any pairing.

 

[console]

That's good guide for everyone to know.

If what internet broke down then system become garbage to trash away into landfill.

 

[alexfree]

That's good guide for everyone to know.

If what internet broke down then system become garbage to trash away into landfill.

Fat never becomes garbage. SLim Disc Edition FW 8.0+ never really does either unless you reinstall os via pup or update via pup in that sitch

 

[Dimitris_Sf]

great this simplifies everything related to pairing!Allthouth some weeks before i talked to somebody on reddit that got his PS5 Slim disc version fw>8.00 with the drive unpaired

Edit : cosnole bought from a shop new in the box

 

[Okaris]

Fair. My understanding is:
1) PSN servers generate a unique key based on the drive that the console accepts. The console can not generate this key on it's own by design.
2) Not sure if this is known or documented anywhere publicly anyways yet. I hear people are working on reverse engineering it.
3) It's definitely at least on the console side in some capacity, which is why resets are fine on a PS5 Slim Disc Edition that is factory paired, but it looses this if you wipe the whole OS. PS5 fat Disc Edition must be storing it differently since it can never loose the pairing.
4) Backups never affect pairing under any circumstances nor does it store any pairing.

I read from another post that you can back up the bd pairing information using https://git.etawen.dev/earthonion/ddd_pair_dump/releases.

Has anyone tried this successfully? I tried running the payloads on my PS5 pro but it doesn't seem to generate any files to backup. Or does it only work on slim models?

 

[alexfree]

I read from another post that you can back up the bd pairing information using https://git.etawen.dev/earthonion/ddd_pair_dump/releases.

Has anyone tried this successfully? I tried running the payloads on my PS5 pro but it doesn't seem to generate any files to backup. Or does it only work on slim models?

From what I’ve been told it’s never been tested if it restores correctly

 

[awin59]

I have a PS5 Slim Disc edition that I just had to reset to factory settings from safe mode after a crash when playing a backup that was installed in the internal SSD after using the P2JB > unpatch patch disc drive > BD-JB method.
I was able to reset to 12.0 firmware but now my disc drive needs to be registered, I assume this means connecting to Sony's server and update to the latest firmware.
Does it mean I can't use BD-JB and my disc drive anymore if I want to continue using jailbreak ?

 

[kam821]

I have a PS5 Slim Disc edition that I just had to reset to factory settings from safe mode after a crash when playing a backup that was installed in the internal SSD after using the P2JB > unpatch patch disc drive > BD-JB method.
I was able to reset to 12.0 firmware but now my disc drive needs to be registered, I assume this means connecting to Sony's server and update to the latest firmware.
Does it mean I can't use BD-JB and my disc drive anymore if I want to continue using jailbreak ?

Did your Slim come with a pre-paired drive?
What was the factory firmware version on your PS5, and has it ever been updated in the past?
What exactly do you mean by "reset to factory settings"?
Once the drive pairing is gone, it's gone, it's pretty much impossible to restore it without updating to the latest firmware and online pairing.

 

[awin59]

Did your Slim come with a pre-paired drive?
What was the factory firmware version on your PS5, and has it ever been updated in the past?
What exactly do you mean by "reset to factory settings"?
Once the drive pairing is gone, it's gone, it's pretty much impossible to restore it without updating to the latest firmware and online pairing.

I bought the Slim 2 years ago. Don't remember what was the factory firmware but I also don't remember having to pair the drive when I first plugged it in (note that the PS5 is currently asking me to register the drive, not to pair it).
I have regularly updated it until september 2025 and been on 12.0 since then.

After the crash I encountered today, I was basically stuck on Safe mode. 8 options were displayed on screen and only the last one was available to select : 8 - Reset PS5 (Reinstall System Software). So I did what's described here : https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/reinstall-playstation-system-software-safe-mode/ using a 12.0 firmware I found online.

 

[Okaris]

Unfortunately as @alexfree has mentioned, no one has reported if the disc pair backup works correctly, if it even works.

As for your case I think the only way to restore disc drive pairing is by connecting to the internet and updating the firmware to the latest version.

I would avoid transferring any games to the internal drive as that has been known to corrupt the OS on occasions especially if the console was put to rest mode, leading to it booting to safe mode as what you are seeing now. Use an external drive or a secondary internal M2 drive if you need to transfer games internally.

As of now you have two choices:
1. Use Ptjb while leaving the drive unpaired. Keeping in mind to avoid transferring games to the internal ssd drive.
2. Use a recovery firmware to factory reset the console. Hopefully this will remove all jailbreak traces and prevent console ban. Then update and pair the drive. Use the console normally until a viable jailbreak comes for the firmware.

 

[alexfree]

I bought the Slim 2 years ago. Don't remember what was the factory firmware but I also don't remember having to pair the drive when I first plugged it in (note that the PS5 is currently asking me to register the drive, not to pair it).
I have regularly updated it until september 2025 and been on 12.0 since then.

After the crash I encountered today, I was basically stuck on Safe mode. 8 options were displayed on screen and only the last one was available to select : 8 - Reset PS5 (Reinstall System Software). So I did what's described here : https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/reinstall-playstation-system-software-safe-mode/ using a 12.0 firmware I found online.

Since you reinstalled the OS, it lost pairing. It sucks, but is consistent with what we know as a scene.

 

[MrQQ]

Everything you ever wanted to know about PS5 disc drive pairing (and what would cause you to loose it) https://alex-free.github.io/ps5-disc-drive-pairing-explained/.

This literally tells us nothing