Protecting Your Console: What to Do if Your PS5 or Xbox is Stolen
We asked our readers what to do if your PS5 or Xbox is stolen to get their advice on recovering your games and account. While there are few ways to get your console back, our readers think it’s worth trying to disable or locate them.
The OP asks what they should do if their console is stolen and wants to ensure they can get their saved games and account back. They have no proof of who took it, and the chances of recovery are low, but they want to share their experience to help others.
“I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do to get my stuff off it if it’s just in some random person’s hands now,” they say. “I’d rather focus on getting my information off it first and foremost.”
The community recommends removing the account from any devices using Xbox’s website, but others point out that doing so will only inform the thief that your account is valuable and potentially their console is too. Some say that the consoles can be bricked or banned, making them worthless and unable to be used for online services, but others say that pawn shops may not check these things.
“I’m not aware of any way to relay a message to the person who stole it,” one person says. “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way.”
They go on to explain that PlayStation may be able to track the stolen console with a police order, but there are no guarantees. If you can track the thief and get a hold of their console, the PlayStation account could be deactivated through mobile apps. However, it’s uncertain if this is possible.
Both Xbox and PS5 consoles are tied to online accounts, and if you have taken necessary security measures, your personal information should be safe. This is because, while the OP says that their saved games are more important, many others say that account-related personal information is more important than game saves.
“Personally, I would say that in terms of importance, games take precedence over personal information,” one person says. “If my PS5 is stolen, I’d rather try to recover it than my login info.”
“I don’t think the average person would actually go through the trouble of hacking into your cloud saves and stealing your information,” another replies. “That’s why I think it’s worth getting the account info off the console if it’s stolen.”
Another user with pawn shop experience says to check local shops and online platforms using their serial numbers to see if they are listed. They claim that they have successfully used blacklisted PS5 consoles, which renders them useless for online services by changing the account in the store, making them worth less to pawn shops.
Many also say that changing your password will also lock the consoles for the thieves, although some say that the PlayStation account will be logged out from all devices.
The chances of recovering the stolen consoles are low, but it’s worth trying to disable or locate them. The OP is primarily concerned about getting their information off the consoles rather than retrieving them, and PlayStation Plus offers cloud saves for saved games.
The user also asks about police cooperation and checking marketplace platforms to recover stolen goods, and both of these things can help. If the consoles are listed on sites like Craigslist, the police can seize them and return them to you. They may also be able to help you check centralized pawn shops like Gamestop, which is much more likely to have the console listed.
Finally, the possibility of deactivating the consoles remotely is uncertain, but contacting support may provide some solutions.
“I’m not a PlayStation expert, but I’m glad that I can at least try to save the console if it’s lost or stolen,” the OP says in their follow-up.
