It's no secret that it can take quite some time to download games onto your PlayStation 5 (PS5). Thankfully, you can jumpstart the process and start the download process using the PlayStation smartphone app. Here's how.
Link Your PS5 to the PlayStation App
Before you can do anything with game downloads, make sure that your PS5 console is linked to the PlayStation app. To do this, open the app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device and navigate to the settings menu. You can get there by tapping the gear icon on the app's home screen.
Next, scroll down to "Console Management" and select "Link Console to App."
A list of consoles will load, displaying each PlayStation you've ever signed in to.
As long as you're signed in to your console, and the app with the same PlayStation account and your PS5 is on, it should show up on the list of consoles. Make sure it's selected from the list.
Prepare Your PS5
You'll need to turn on a setting on the PS5 itself in order to control it with the app while it's in Rest Mode.
Go to the Settings menu (by selecting the gear icon in the top-right corner of the PS5's home screen), then scroll down to "System." From there, go to "Power Saving" and select "Features Available in Rest Mode" from the submenu.
Toggle on the option to "Stay Connected to the Internet." This will allow your PS5 to update automatically while it's in standby mode. There's also a second toggle called "Enable Turning On PS5 From Network," which will allow you to turn on your PS5 with the app.
Download Games From the App
Once you've linked your console and toggled on the settings on your PlayStation 5, open the PlayStation mobile app on your smartphone or tablet and access your game library. It's the second tab from the right on the bottom of the app.
In your game library, select the game you wish to download. If you don't see it in the list of recently played games, switch to the "Purchased" list, which automatically sorts your library alphabetically.
Once you've selected a game, you'll see the option to "Download to Console." Directly below that, you'll see which console is linked to the app.
Tap the "Download to Console" button, and you'll see the download progress in the queue.
From there, you can just let the game download. You'll get a notification when it's ready to play on your PlayStation 5.