Since an active internet connection is required to validate the license, make sure you are actually connected to the internet. It is very common for it to take a few seconds after booting up the PS4.

The PS4 is attempting to communicate with the PSN servers to check whether you have a valid license to play this game. If this happens, you can wait a few moments. If you were playing a game and it is in suspend mode, you will see the game is active, but the padlock is preventing you from loading the game. Wait a Minute For The License To Validate The following steps will allow you to fix the problem assuming you are not sharing games with friends. How to fix PlayStation 4 Locked Gamesįor fixing the PS4 game locked icon issue, I will assume that switching the PS4 to primary is not currently an option for you. Any failure in these requests to validate will cause the games to lock. If you are using a secondary PS4, you need to have an active internet connection to validate the license. This means the lock icon will never appear. The primary PS4 will store licenses on the machine and you will not need to constantly revalidate. If you are experiencing this issue, you will likely be familiar with the primary and secondary PS4 system. This should only happen on a secondary PS4 Even if you are not game sharing, you will run into some issues with games that are locked if you own two PS4 consoles. It makes sense, but it does get in the way. Sony wants to limit this so that only the person who paid for the game gets to play it. If you owned a PS3, you might remember that one person could purchase a digital game and others could log in with that account download it and they would be able to play that game forever.

This exists to stop one person sharing games with others that they do not have a license to play. The locked icon is generally a piracy prevention system. What Causes The Locked Icon on PS4 Games? This guide will help you remove the padlock so that you can get back to playing a game. If you have a slow connection to the internet at home or PSN is running a bit slow, it might take a few seconds for it to go away after you boot up. When you try to load the game up, it will give you an error about not having the licenses that allow you to play it. Depending on the setup you have, you may find that you are often dealing with PS4 games with the locked icon on them.

How to get my games back