Press the power button and listen. That beep is the most useful thing the console will tell you, and it splits this problem cleanly in two.
One beep and a black screen means the PS5 has power and is trying to boot. The fault is downstream of the power supply — video output, storage, or system software. No beep and no light means power is not reaching the board, and nothing in the software menus will help you.
Work out which one you have before you touch anything else. The two paths share almost no fixes.
Do the drain first, and do it properly
This clears a stuck power state and resolves more "won't turn on" PS5s than anything else on this page. It costs nothing.
- Unplug the power cord from the wall. The cord itself, not Rest Mode.
- Leave it disconnected for at least 60 seconds.
- Plug it into a wall outlet you have tested with something else. Skip the power strip and any extension lead for this test.
- Press the power button on the console.
Two details most people skip. Test the outlet with a phone charger or a lamp instead of assuming it works, because a dead strip is a frequent cause and shows no outward sign. And push the power cord firmly into the back of the console — the socket grips the cable loosely enough that a partly-seated cord looks fully seated.
If it starts, stop here.
If it beeps but the screen stays black
The console is running. You have a display fault wearing a power fault's clothes.
Boot into Safe Mode. Sony's own instructions: hold the power button for three seconds to turn the console off, and wait for the indicator to stop blinking. Then press and hold the power button again and release after the second beep — one beep sounds when you first press, and another seven seconds later. Connect a controller with a USB cable and press the PS button. A wireless controller will not work at this screen.
The option you want is Change Video Output, which forces a resolution your TV can actually display. Sony's Safe Mode menu also carries Restart PS5, Repair Console Storage, Update System Software, Restore Default Settings, Clear Cache and Rebuild Database, Reset PS5, and Reset PS5 (Reinstall System Software).
If Safe Mode appears, the console is healthy and your problem was the HDMI handshake. Reseat the cable, move to a different port on the TV, and work through the PS5 HDMI not working guide, which covers the handshake properly.
If you hear both beeps and Safe Mode never appears, the console boots far enough to make noise and no further. That points at storage or system software rather than power. Repair Console Storage is the next thing to try, though you would be navigating the menu blind.
If it failed to wake from Rest Mode
A failed Rest Mode wake is indistinguishable from a dead console at the power button, and it is not the same thing. Hold the power button on the console for 15 seconds to force a reboot. This is a different action from the drain above: the console still has mains power, and you are forcing a reset rather than clearing a charge.
If this happens more than once, turn Rest Mode off and take the slower cold boots. A console that starts every time is worth more than the ninety seconds Rest Mode saves you, and Rest Mode wake failures have been a recurring PS5 complaint since launch rather than a sign your particular unit is failing.
No beep, no light: work the power side
Nothing here is a software problem, so skip Safe Mode entirely.
Confirm the outlet with another device. Try a different circuit rather than another socket on the same strip. Then swap the power cord — the PS5 uses a standard IEC C7 cable, the two-prong figure-8 type, the same cord that shipped with the PS3 and PS4. Most households with an older console already have a spare in a drawer.
If a known-good outlet and a known-good C7 cord produce nothing at all, the internal power supply has failed. It is a common PS5 fault and a repairable one — the PSU is a discrete module rather than part of the mainboard, so this is a parts swap and not a board-level rework.
Whether it is worth paying for depends on what you paid. A PSU replacement is a reasonable spend against a console that otherwise works, and a poor one against a launch unit you were already thinking of trading in. Get a quote before you commit, and if the console is still under warranty, contact Sony before anyone opens it.
What the indicator light does and does not tell you
Sony documents seven states, and the one that matters most on this page is a pair that look identical for the first few seconds.
Blinking white and then off is the console powering down normally. Blinking white that never resolves is a console error — Sony's wording is that the console "is frozen and needs troubleshooting." Same colour, opposite meanings, and the only difference is whether it finishes.
The rest of the chart: solid white is on, and a light that starts blue and turns white is powering on normally. Blue that sticks, or blinks and never goes white, is that same frozen state. Solid orange is Rest Mode, blinking orange is entering it, and no light at all means powered off.
A frozen console matters here because it ignores the power button the way a dead one does, and it is not dead. The 15-second force reboot above is what clears it, not the drain.
What Sony does not publish is a fault table. Nothing in its documentation maps a light pattern to a specific failed component, so any page handing you a blink count and a part number invented that mapping, and a wrong part is an expensive thing to act on.
The order that works: drain it, test the outlet, listen for the beep, and let the beep decide whether you are looking at a screen problem or a power supply. One symptom that does not belong on this page: a console that powers on normally and then cuts out mid-game. That is a thermal trip rather than a power fault, and it wants dust cleared from the vents and clearance around the chassis, not anything above.