You can now install Linux on your PS5

Andy Nguyen (TheFloW) has launched a guide to installing Linux on a PS5. By publishing the technical steps to turn a PlayStation 5 into a fully functional PC, Nguyen has effectively handed players a “Plan B” for hardware ownership. This jailbreak targets disc-version consoles running older firmwares, but not all equally.

The developer published the guide and all things necessary for this procedure on GitHub (via VideoCardz). Once the OS is installed, users are greeted by a Ubuntu 26.04 Resolute Raccoon environment running on Linux kernel 7. Surprisingly, the installation is quite sophisticated, offering custom VRAM allocation, granular fan control, and a boost mode that can be toggled through system files. It essentially turns the console into a pseudo-Steam Machine, though it is currently limited to 60 Hz across all resolutions. Future updates may unlock 120 Hz support, but for now, the driver development team is focusing on the stability of 2K and 4K output at 60 FPS.

The guide only works with PS5 consoles running firmware versions 3.00 through 4.51. M.2 storage support is limited to firmwares in the 4.XX range. While firmware downgrading might be possible, the reliability of such a process remains a gamble for most users.

There are, of course, the usual growing pains associated with such a port. Wireless networking has its issues, often requiring a manual restart of the WLAN adapter, and the DualSense controller's built-in Bluetooth functionality is also not working. Perhaps the most important caveat is that this remains a soft mod. If the console is restarted, the Linux environment vanishes, requiring the jailbreak to be reapplied. While this might sound troublesome, it serves as a safety net, as the base PlayStation OS remains entirely untouched.

KitGuru says: Will you try this soft mod on your PS5?

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