Anyone know anything about PS5 controllers turning on PS4s?

I've run into this weird issue in the last couple months where my PS5 controller will sporadically start up my PS4 when I go to turn on my PS5 with the Playstation button on the controller. It only happens about once every two weeks or so, and I don't understand it at all. I've never connected my PS5 controller to the PS4. I've double checked in the settings on the PS4 to make sure the controller isn't linked. I've resynched the PS5 controller, and this still happens. When it does happen, the controller doesn't even function with the PS4 aside from just turning it on.

I ask this here because the PlayStation support website has been entirely unhelpful. Anyone heard anything like this happening? Anyone smarter than me know why this might be happening? Anyone know a better way to get into contact with people that might know something?

I do not own a PS5/PS5 controllers, but a shot in the dark question I have is if PS4 could have some sort of IR receiver for power on purposes? Maybe the PS5 controller sends an IR pulse and your PS4 is picking it up.

The reason I ask this is because I still have my Xbox One X hooked up because I was using the video pass-thru for my cable box and watching blu-rays and didn't want to try to rework my various Harmony remote settings after I got a Series-X. What I found is both the Series-X and Xbox One X accept the same IR remote commands. It totally makes sense, but it meant I had to put something in front of the Series X IR sensor (its through the sync controller button FYI) so trying to do my regular TV stuff through the One X doesn't turn my Series-X on at the same time and have it trying to accept the same IR remote commands.

I'll admit it's a shot in the dark. I know from setting up my Harmony remote that the PS4 only lets you use Bluetooth commands, so you can't get full control via IR. But at the same time, the regular remote that came with my smart TV also uses a Bluetooth connection and the only IR it sends is the TV power on. So that experience makes me question if the PS4 has an IR sensor that can be used to power it on even when Bluetooth is powered down.

Does it also turn on the PS5 when it happens? Could it be that your TV is automatically turning on the PS4 when the PS5 turns on the TV, or some combination of that? Maybe it only happens sometimes because of the source the TV is set to.

@eccentrix: Yeah. It turns on both consoles. I don't think it's my tv. I turn off all auto input switch and auto power on stuff on my tv settings. I always turn on my tv manually, and before I turn on the consoles. My PS5 is plugged directly into the tv and my PS4 is plugged into a HDMI switcher.

@wulfbane: As far as I know, there's no IR support on any of PlayStation's console stuff. I don't know for sure, but I've opened up the PS4 a few times and never noticed any sort of IR sensor anywhere.

Have you tried the reset button on the controller itself and then re syncing it? As far as im aware the PS5 controller wont work at all with a PS4. The only thing i can think of is that the "power on" signal is close enough but not exactly the same on the consoles, and maybe with some random interference its interpreting it as the correct signal. But i would also think the syncing would probably change the blue tooth channels and PIN (or how ever they differentiate devices) and a regular re sync would have helped. Definitely an odd bug.

@lego_my_eggo: Yeah. I tried resetting and resyncing the controller a couple of weeks ago, and it once again turned on the PS4 a couple of days ago.

On a slightly unrelated note, all of Jeff's talk about the PS5 triggers being bad have me questioning my controller's triggers because I've never been impressed with that stuff. Maybe I should just open up the controller to fix the triggers, probably break it in doing so, and have to spend $70+ buying a new one.

Here's an interesting update. It's been almost exactly two weeks, almost to the exact minute, and my PS5 has once again turned on my PS4.

This is a long shot, and I'm not even sure it makes sense, but is it possible that you turn on the ps5, an update starts on that console and then the same update is being pushed to your ps4, causing it to turn on momentarily?

You know at this point I think we can safely call this a haunting.

@efesell: Probably the ghost of my broken PS2 telling me to get it fixed instead of using an emulator.

@noboners: It shouldn't be that. I turn off auto-updates and I turn off my consoles fully instead of using rest mode, so it shouldn't even be able to download anything without me knowing about it.

I solve this problem by unplugging the console I don't want to wake up. I get this whenever I'm using the Dual Shock on Steam and then wake the PS5 up in the process.

Yeah that's definitely a weird one. I've had my launch PS5 next to my base version PS4 since I got it. Both feeding through a shared HDMI switcher (though I should probably put the 5 separate for the HDR stuff in retrospect).

Only weird controller things I've encountered with my systems was when I really wanted the orange/blue PS4 controller, but it wasn't in my region. It must have shipped from EU and when I got it all audio from the headphone jack was 2-3 times louder than my other controllers and it would drop inputs. Kind of like it was running at a different frequency from the rest. I assume you are just using the stock DualSense that came with the console? If it's all from the same region then I wouldn't expect there to be any weird crossing/interference between the two.

My switch pro controller will occasionally turn on my base ps4 when I'm trying to wake up the switch.. Not very often but it happens, no idea why

@ryan3370: Weird. I have no idea how any Bluetooth wireless signal frequency stuff actually works at all, but maybe whatever is supposed to pick it up in the PS4 just gets wonky over time.

@junpei: Yeah. All my stuff is stock, and I would assume from the same region.

@shindig: Yeah. I'll probably just end up unplugging my PS4 eventually. Doesn't seem like I'll find a solution to this anytime soon.

Just wondering if it also tries to eject a disc when it turns on? It may be an astronomically weird coincidence and you're actually just starting to develop the issue with your PS4 where the eject button starts getting too sensitive and is randomly turning on the console occasionally.

More likely however as people have suggested is there's just some minor cross-over in the bluetooth signal that is getting picked up by the PS4 every now and then.

Hey, guys! What's going on in this thread?

*sees posts of controllers turning on consoles of which they don't belong too*

...What kind of Final Destination shit is this?

@nicolenomicon: Nope. No ejecting discs. I'm guessing it is just some sort of weird bluetooth thing.

Unfortunately, I just know nothing about how bluetooth works, so it might as well be a death spirit trying to kill me for all I know.

EDIT: Oh. Also I gave up and just unplugged the PS4.