PS4:Region-Locking/Movie Playback
A regional lockout (or region coding) is a class of digital rights management preventing the use of a certain product or service, such as multimedia or a hardware device, outside a certain region or territory. The PlayStation 4 has 2 types of region-locking, one active for movies in DVD or Blu-Ray format and, only for Chinese mainland consoles, a PlayStation Network lock for account sign-in and creation.
China PSN Region-Lock
 | This type of region-locking ONLY is present on consoles made for Chinese market! All consoles outside of China, do NOT have this type of region locking! |
Unlike the Chinese market-oriented Xbox One, which restricted playback of foreign game discs, foreign digital games, restricted Chinese players to play online games with outsiders, as well as restricting foreign players to play imported Chinese discs, the PlayStation 4 has a unique type of region-locking for Chinese market. This type of region-locking is present as a value in sflash/NOR and CANNOT be removed by simply reinstalling the firmware.
A Chinese-market PS4 has the following restrictions:
| Functionality | Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Play imported game discs | Yes | |
| Connect to foreign servers | Yes | |
| Find, connect and add foreign friends | Yes | |
| Download and use foreign game patches | Yes | |
| Log-in to foreign PSN accounts | No | Can be unlocked. |
| Download and install foreign digital games | No | Can be unlocked. |
| Play imported DVDs | Yes | 5 region switches available, see below for more. |
| Play imported Blu-Rays | No | Only region C Blu-Rays will play, except region-free ones (ABC), see below for more. |
Similarly, the global version of the console will allow players to log in to Chinese PSN accounts, play Chinese PSN games on disc, and download patches from the Chinese PSN servers.
Unlocking the China PSN restriction
| To back up data you need an FAT32 or exFAT-formatted USB drive with at least double the storage space of the PS4 backup file. |
The only way to install a non-Chinese PSN account on a mainland Chinese PS4 is by using a backup of your account. In order to install a backup of your account, first you need to use another PS4 (a friend's, in a shop etc.) to login to your account. Once logged in, create a backup to USB of the account:
- Insert the USB drive into your PS4 console.
- Go to Settings > System > Back Up and Restore.
- Select Back Up.
- You only need a backup of the account, it's not needed to backup games or saves. Note this will erase everything on your Chinese PS4.
- Customize the backup file name and select Back Up.
- Remove the USB drive.
Then take that USB to your Mainland Chinese PS4 and restore the backup:
- Insert the USB used for backup.
- Go to Settings > System > Back Up and Restore.
- Select Restore PS4.
- Select the backup file you'd like to restore.
- Select Yes to restore.
Movie Region-Locks
Unlike the China-specific PSN lock, ALL PS4s, regardless of region, are region-locked for disc movie playback. Also, for movie playback to be available, the PS4 must be connected to PSN servers once. Alternatively, jailbroken PS4 users can enable the activation:
- Note: This does NOT enable region-free playback of movies, it only enables the playback of movies!
- Jailbreak using GoldHEN
- Navigate to Debug Settings > License Activation.
- Enable MPEG-2, VC-1, HEVC and HEVC software decoder.
DVDs
For DVDs, the user can switch the region (starting with model CUH-11xx and later) of DVD playback 5 times. You can confirm a disc's region code by checking the disc's case and then adjust the system's region code setting for let it compatible with the region code on your Blu-ray and DVD disc. As the region code setting for a PS4 system can be changed a maximum of 4 times, after which the region code will be locked. And restoring default settings or initializing the game console system will have no effect on the region code settings or the number of times you change it.
DVD regions are assigned as follows:
- Region 1: USA, Canada
- Region 2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Greenland
- Region 3: S.Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, parts of South East Asia
- Region 4: Australia, New Zealand, Latin America (including Mexico)
- Region 5: Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Africa
- Region 6: China
- Region 7: Reserved for unspecified special use.
- Region 8: Reserved for cruise ships, airlines, and other international venues.
- Region 0 or Region ALL: Discs are uncoded and can be played worldwide.
BluRays
Unlike DVDs, Blu-Rays cannot be unlocked.
Blu-Ray regions are assigned as follows:
- Region A: North America, South America, U.S. Territories, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and other areas of Southeast Asia
- Region B: Europe, Africa, Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand.
- Region C: Asia (except for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and other areas of Southeast Asia)
- Region ABC : Classified as region-free as it applies to countries listed in Regions A, B, and C.