PS5 Linux loader released for older firmware 3.xx and 4.xx consoles
Andy Nguyen, also known as TheOfficialFloW, has released the PS5 Linux loader project. This is not an official Sony feature, but a public homebrew release for older PlayStation 5 consoles.
Perhaps the most important detail is that this distro will not work with just any console, only those that have been jailbroken before. The project supports PlayStation 5 Phat models running firmware 3.xx and 4.xx. Supported versions include 3.00, 3.10, 3.20 and 3.21 without M.2 support. Firmware 4.00, 4.02, 4.03, 4.50 and 4.51 can use M.2 SSD storage for Linux. The developers state that firmware 5.xx support may be added later, but Linux would run inside the GameOS VM and may have fewer features or lower performance.
PS5 firmware
ps5-linux is currently only supported on PS5 Phat on 3.xx and 4.xx firmwares.
- 3.00 , 3.10 , 3.20 , 3.21 , without M.2 support
- 4.00 , 4.02 , 4.03 , 4.50 , 4.51 with M.2 support
Support for 1.xx and 2.xx firmwares may be added in the future, but we will not prioritize this effort.
Support for 5.xx firmwares may be added in the future, but for those firmwares, Linux will run within the GameOS VM, thus it will have less features (still unknown what limitations there will be) and it may not perform as good.
The release uses a Linux payload with a hypervisor exploit and custom bootloader. The project page lists Ubuntu 26.04 image creation steps and requires at least a 64GB USB drive. An external SSD is recommended. Users also need a USB Ethernet or WLAN adapter, plus USB keyboard and mouse input.
Source: Andy Nguyen
PS5 PC with 16 threads and RDNA2 GPU
Once running, the system exposes the PS5 hardware as a Linux desktop machine. The project lists eight CPU cores and 16 threads at up to 3.5 GHz, the GPU at up to 2.23 GHz, HDMI 4K60 output and support for all USB ports. It also includes fan and boost controls through terminal tools. The developers recommend enabling the fan when boost mode is active.
There are limits. This is a softmod, so Linux does not replace the PS5 operating system and does not support normal dual boot. Users must re-run the exploit to boot Linux again. The internal SSD is not modified, so the console can still return to normal PS5 use after rebooting. Built-in Bluetooth is not supported for DualSense, but the controller can work through a Bluetooth dongle. Display output is currently limited to 1080p, 1440p and 2160p at 60 Hz.
Source: PS5-Linux (Github) via TechPowerUP
