If you just picked up a PlayStation 5 Pro console and you're eyeing the accessory aisle, owners have some warnings worth hearing before you spend.
A roundup published by BGR on Friday pulled together complaints from PS5 Pro owners across Reddit and other forums about five categories of add-ons that, according to those buyers, didn't deliver what the packaging promised. None of this is Sony's own guidance. It's crowdsourced regret, but it's specific regret, with names attached to the problems.
Start with cooling fans. Sony already redesigned the PS5 Pro's internals with larger fans, new ventilation paths and a reworked heatsink to handle the console's extra power draw, so an aftermarket cooler is solving a problem that may not exist. One owner told BGR their third-party fan kept running during Rest Mode and had to be switched off by hand. Another reported shutdowns after installing a cooler and couldn't say whether the add-on or the console itself was to blame. The cheaper fix, per the report: check for dust and make sure the vents aren't blocked before buying anything.
Remotes, stands and controller add-ons
Media remotes are next. If HDMI-CEC already lets your TV remote control the PS5 Pro, or you're fine using the DualSense to launch Netflix and YouTube, a dedicated remote is redundant. Owners who do use one complained about frequent battery swaps and buttons with no backlighting, with one saying they resorted to a phone flashlight just to find the right key in the dark.
Multifunction stands that combine a console dock, controller chargers and game storage sound efficient on paper. In practice, one Reddit poster said they gave up on theirs after about a week. Another said a station started making a loud noise roughly two years in, even after cleaning. If the real goal is just charging controllers, a small two-controller dock or a cable does the same job for less money and less clutter.
Mini keyboards that clip onto the DualSense drew similar pushback, useful mainly for games like Final Fantasy XIV where chat is constant, but a burden the rest of the time. Owners cited microphone interference, awkward fit, and accessories that ended up on a shelf after inconsistent performance. A USB keyboard plugged straight into the console does the same thing without changing how the controller feels in hand.
The report doesn't name every external battery pack as a bad buy. It notes that many exist specifically to extend DualSense battery life, which is a real limitation some controllers have. The complaints are concentrated in the other four categories.
None of this touches the PS5 Pro console itself or how it stacks up against the base PlayStation 5. It's a narrower, more practical warning: before you add a cooler, a remote, a stand or a keyboard to your setup, check whether the problem you're solving actually exists, because owners who bought first are saying several of these don't.
GDFiled by The Games Desk
Consoles, handhelds, PC gaming and the platforms and hardware behind them.
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