It's Easy To Swap PS5 Slim Disc Drives Between Consoles, But You Need Internet

You can quickly swap the detachable disc drive on the new PS5 slim model between consoles with nothing but your fingers, another disc drive, and an internet connection.

An unboxing video from YouTuber Mystic (via Eurogamer) shows off the simple process for attaching a disc drive to your PS5. Like its bigger model, the PS5 slim has detachable plastic wings and you can insert a disc drive into a prefabricated slot. The digital-only vision of the slim still includes the slot for the disc drive; it simply does not include the disc drive itself.

In order to use the disc drive, you'll have to register it online. Mystic makes this process sound relatively painless. You'll simply connect your PS5 to the internet, update the firmware, and the disc drive will activate. Once you've done this, you can use the disc drive and play games offline without a PSN login. Functionally, the drives are interchangeable. Once registered you can swap different disc drives without having to repeat the register process, unless you factory-reset the console. Should you wish to upgrade your digital console, or your disc drive breaks and you need to replace it, you can plug in another drive and connect it to the internet.

This requirement does raise questions about the future of preservation on these PS5 consoles, as without that internet check-in, the drive is unusable. Mystic says in the video, "Sony is likely in a position where they're being proactively compliant with DMCA lobbying, since it's typically a requirement for an online check-in when Blu-ray drives are changed."

In other PlayStation news, the latest PS5 system update improves system performance and not much else.