I just overpaid for a PlayStation Portal — and it’s the dumbest purchase I’ve ever made

[admin]

Sony’s game-streaming handheld just wasn’t cutting it out-of-the-box for me. The solution? Throw even more cash at the problem for a gadget I’ve already overpaid for.

I just overpaid for a PlayStation Portal — and it’s the dumbest purchase I’ve ever made : Read more

 

[LoopBak127]

Try plugging the PS5 into the wired network. That's what I do and everything works fine. I know, we live in a world where suggesting that is outrageous. Just try it and see how it plays out.

 

[CGCYT1991]

To be honest the way I look at it is the PlayStation Portal is simply literally a glorified remote Play handheld gaming device and it's simply not for me the PS Portal is only good for people who don't have free time to be on their PS5 however you can literally do the same thing with a smartphone and simply download PS remote play then purchase the backbone one PlayStation edition controller with 4G LTE or 5G cellular service you'll be able to stream your PS4 or PS5 console anywhere you go and it's a lot more compact than carrying around the PS Portal you will save $200 by investing your money with the backbone one PS Edition controller it's worth every penny

 

[Aiodensghost]

To be honest, even if I were to replace my router, the Portal is STILL useless to me. Public WiFi, as well as my phone hotspot, are not fast enough for me to use this device on the go like I do with my Switch OLED.

Unless Sony releases another handheld like the PSP or PS VITA, where the games are rendered NATIVELY, NOT STREAMED, I'm not buying another Sony handheld. Then there is the way Sony treated the PS VITA, period.

 

[Aiodensghost]

To be honest the way I look at it is the PlayStation Portal is simply literally a glorified remote Play handheld gaming device and it's simply not for me the PS Portal is only good for people who don't have free time to be on their PS5 however you can literally do the same thing with a smartphone and simply download PS remote play then purchase the backbone one PlayStation edition controller with 4G LTE or 5G cellular service you'll be able to stream your PS4 or PS5 console anywhere you go and it's a lot more compact than carrying around the PS Portal you will save $200 by investing your money with the backbone one PS Edition controller it's worth every penny

If Backbone One was compatible with USB C/ Android. And even then, the placement of the analog sticks is wrong. The analog sticks should be symmetrical, not staggered like they did. I also find that the phone is TOO SMALL for several of the games I play... when you play JRPGs and can't read the text, you're screwed... and that was my experience playing Persona 5 over Remote Play. In fact, the ordeal was so bad, I've never used Remote Play on my PS5 again, instead opting for games to release on Switch.

 

[Aiodensghost]

Try plugging the PS5 into the wired network. That's what I do and everything works fine. I know, we live in a world where suggesting that is outrageous. Just try it and see how it plays out.

He DOES have it wired in. He has wired his in since it's been possible.

The device still sucks for portable play, though.

 

[why123]

This is where one of the PlayStation Portal's biggest oversights can't help but make you wonder if things could be better. The Portal only supports Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), which has been around since 2014... using wifi 6 is useless on PS5 and PS PORTAL they both only use wifi 5. So don't waste time and money upgrading, there is actually very few devices that use wifi 6

 

[taito2000]

This is why I’ve been hesitant to get the Portal, and why I regretted the Google Stadia. I’m out in the sticks, but I’ve had Frontier here for a few years, including the time I had the Stadia. So, when its connection was totally awful, and it really hadn’t been (including how I could download gigantic PS5 games without many problems), it was extremely frustrating.

 

[AnthonyTV]

After "I bought a PlayStation Portal, don't make the same mistake as me", you didn't need an article.

 

[why123]

If Backbone One was compatible with USB C/ Android. And even then, the placement of the analog sticks is wrong. The analog sticks should be symmetrical, not staggered like they did. I also find that the phone is TOO SMALL for several of the games I play... when you play JRPGs and can't read the text, you're screwed... and that was my experience playing Persona 5 over Remote Play. In fact, the ordeal was so bad, I've never used Remote Play on my PS5 again, instead opting for games to release on Switch.

They do have it for android usb/c both Xbox and PS versions

 

[why123]

Sony’s game-streaming handheld just wasn’t cutting it out-of-the-box for me. The solution? Throw even more cash at the problem for a gadget I’ve already overpaid for.

I just overpaid for a PlayStation Portal — and it’s the dumbest purchase I’ve ever made : Read more

Change your video output settings on your playstation or unplug your HDMI cable on the back of your PS... If you have your video settings set to auto it will set your resolution and frame rate to your TVs and not the best for Portals. Give it a shot it helps alot. 😏

 

[cornfield_IT]

Very simple fact that is for some reason always missed when covering devices like this. The network traffic involved in here never leaves your house! So any mention of "speed tests" or "check your broadband connection" is pointless. You could cut the ISP line going out of your house and this entire process would still work (unless the game requires internet or something. You get my point).

What you need for the best experience is a hard-wired PS5, then a very strong connection to the nearest WiFi access point in your house. To get nerdy - even things like making sure the WiFi channel being used is not crowded, and having a lower channel width of 20 or 40MHz is the game changer here. Using 5GHz over 2.4.

THESE are the things that should be discussed! Not speed tests or broadband connections! This is why Sony mentions only needing a 15Mbps "internet connection", since that's how much data is moving through your network at any given time. It sounds low, because it is! The PS5 encodes and streams the video to the portal at a lower bitrate. The bitrate will never go over 15Mbps, hence the requirement.

Not surprised many folks don't understand this. But Tom's Guide has no excuse here. This is the 2nd time this product has been talked about on the site and both times the reviewer seems to have very little networking knowledge. But they seem to have enough knowledge to have affiliate links to routers in their articles? lol. Sad. Do better!