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Big PS5 Update Adds Welcome Hub, Party Share, and More New Features

Sony’s September 12, 2024 PS5 update added Welcome Hub, Party Share, personalized 3D audio, per-user Remote Play permissions, and adaptive charging on newer consoles. Here’s what each feature does, how to use it, and what the update does not add.
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Sony’s September 12, 2024 PS5 system update added a customizable Welcome Hub, shareable party voice-chat links, personalized 3D-audio profiles, per-user Remote Play controls, and adaptive controller charging on newer PS5 models. It was a broad quality-of-life update—not a graphics-performance upgrade—and its features rolled out in stages by region and account.

This article covers that 2024 update specifically. It should not be confused with the latest PS5 firmware available in 2026.

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What the September 2024 PS5 update added

  • Welcome Hub: A customizable home-screen dashboard with widgets and backgrounds.
  • Party Share: Shareable links and QR codes for inviting people to PS5 party voice chat.
  • Personalized 3D audio: Hearing-test-based profiles for compatible headphones and earbuds.
  • Remote Play permissions: Per-user control over who can connect to the console through Remote Play.
  • Adaptive charging: A Rest Mode charging option for supported controllers on the slim PS5 and PS5 Pro.

Sony announced the changes in its September 12, 2024 PlayStation Blog post. Most of the features work across PS5 models, but adaptive charging depends on newer hardware.

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Welcome Hub replaces the old Explore experience

Welcome Hub is a customizable PS5 home-screen space and a redesigned version of the Explore tab, which had previously been available only in the United States. It is not a separate game launcher or application. Instead, it places useful console information and shortcuts into a dashboard that can be arranged to suit each user.

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Widgets and layouts

Sony’s examples include widgets for:

  • Console storage
  • Accessory battery levels
  • Online friends
  • Trophies
  • Other dashboard information

Widgets can be added or removed, moved, resized, and arranged using presets. Availability can vary by region, so two accounts may not show exactly the same widget selection.

Custom backgrounds

Welcome Hub backgrounds can use Sony-provided designs, designs with animated effects, or screenshots stored in the console’s Media Gallery. To begin customizing it:

  1. Go to the PS5 home screen.
  2. Open the Welcome Hub, in the area previously associated with Explore.
  3. Use the available customization controls to add, remove, resize, or reposition widgets.
  4. Choose a background from Sony’s designs or from the Media Gallery.

That does not mean the PS4-style theme system has returned. Sony’s announcement does not say that the update adds traditional themes, folders, or complete home-screen skinning.

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Party Share is for party voice chat—not game sharing

Party Share lets you create a link or QR code that other people can use to join a PS5 party voice chat. The recipient does not need to be on the sender’s PlayStation Network friends list. They can open the invitation on a mobile device and join through a PS5 or the PlayStation App, subject to the feature’s availability and normal account requirements.

On PS5, Sony’s announced path is:

  1. Open the voice chat card in the Control Center.
  2. Select Invite Players.
  3. Select Share Party link.
  4. Generate the shareable link or QR code.
  5. Send it through a messaging or social-media app.

Party Share should not be described as game-session sharing, Share Screen, or gameplay streaming. The feature concerns access to a party voice chat.

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There is also a practical moderation trade-off. A link makes it easier to invite people outside a friends list, but it also makes the invitation easier to forward. Only distribute links to intended participants. If an unwanted person joins, leave or recreate the party and use the available party and voice-chat controls.

Party Share rolled out gradually after the system update, and PlayStation App support was described as a subsequent rollout. Having the system software installed did not necessarily mean every account immediately displayed the option.

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Personalized 3D audio creates a profile for each user

The PS5 can create a personalized 3D-audio profile by having the user complete on-screen hearing tests with compatible headphones or earbuds. Sony says the profile is intended to account for individual hearing characteristics and may improve the perceived positioning of characters and objects in supported 3D-audio experiences.

To set it up:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select Sound.
  3. Select 3D Audio (Headphones).
  4. Follow the on-screen test instructions.
  5. Save the resulting profile for the current PS5 user.

The profile is saved per user, and standard 3D-audio presets remain available. This is personalization software, not a new headset, and it does not guarantee that every player will hear a dramatic improvement. The result depends on the headphones or earbuds, the game’s audio mix, and the listener’s hearing.

There are two important exclusions: personalized 3D-audio profiles are not supported during PS5 cloud game streaming, and 3D audio is not supported during Remote Play. Those limitations mean the profile is most relevant when playing locally on the PS5 with compatible headphones or earbuds.

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Remote Play permissions can be managed per user

On a shared console, the update lets the owner decide which individual PS5 users may connect through Remote Play. This is useful when someone has used the console temporarily and should no longer retain Remote Play access.

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The setting is located at:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select System.
  3. Select Remote Play.
  4. Select Enable Remote Play.
  5. Choose the users who may access the console through Remote Play.

This controls which local PS5 users are permitted to use Remote Play. It does not replace the normal Remote Play setup, a compatible phone, tablet, PC, Mac, or other supported device, or the network requirements needed to connect to the console.

Remote Play is also separate from cloud streaming. Sony’s announcement specifically notes that 3D audio is not supported during Remote Play.

Adaptive charging is limited to newer PS5 hardware

Adaptive charging changes how long power is supplied to a connected controller while the PS5 is in Rest Mode, based on the controller’s battery level. Sony positions it as a way to reduce unnecessary power delivery; the announcement does not establish a measured increase in battery life.

To enable it:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select System.
  3. Select Power Saving.
  4. Select Features Available in Rest Mode.
  5. Select Supply Power to USB Ports.
  6. Choose Adaptive.

Supported consoles and controllers

Adaptive charging is available on the slimmer PS5 model group CFI-2000 and on PS5 Pro. It supports:

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The controller must be connected to the slim PS5 or PS5 Pro’s USB-C port with the included USB-C cable. PlayStation Portal does not support adaptive charging.

The feature was announced before PS5 Pro launched. Sony said it would also be available on PS5 Pro when that console became available. PS5 Pro launched on November 7, 2024, but buyers should not choose it solely for this software feature: Welcome Hub, Party Share, personalized audio, and Remote Play permissions are not PS5 Pro exclusives.

Smaller system changes

Contemporaneous patch-note coverage also reported several less prominent changes associated with the update, including:

  • An option to restore individual licenses.
  • Recommendations related to available storage space.
  • Changes to game-hub activity cards.
  • Removal of the “Invite to New Game” option from some invitation flows.
  • Controller firmware stability improvements.
  • General system-performance and usability improvements.

These smaller items were reported in contemporaneous coverage rather than detailed in Sony’s main feature announcement. One secondary report identified the update as build 24.06-10.00.00; that version number should be treated as secondary reporting rather than as a build number confirmed by the announcement page.

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Did this update add themes or folders?

No verified evidence in Sony’s announcement supports saying that it added traditional PS5 themes or folders. Welcome Hub provides widgets, backgrounds, animated effects, and Media Gallery screenshots, but that is not the same as a full return of classic themes or a folder system.

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Some later coverage incorrectly expanded the update’s customization features into claims about returning themes. Those claims should not be used to describe Sony’s September 2024 announcement.

Is the update available on every PS5?

Most of the five headline features apply broadly across PS5 models. Adaptive charging is the major hardware exception: it requires the slim CFI-2000 family or PS5 Pro, supported controllers, a USB-C connection, and Rest Mode.

Availability also had three separate layers:

  1. System software: The console must receive and install the update.
  2. Regional or account rollout: Welcome Hub and Party Share were introduced in stages, so a feature could be missing even after the system software was updated.
  3. PlayStation App support: Party Share support on the app was described as a follow-up rollout.

For that reason, “the update is released” did not mean every account saw every feature at the same time.

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Troubleshooting missing features

Welcome Hub does not appear

  1. Check for a pending system-software update.
  2. Restart the PS5 after updating.
  3. Return to the home screen and inspect the location previously occupied by Explore.
  4. Check whether the account’s region was included in the staged rollout.
  5. Allow time for account-level availability to catch up.

Do not factory-reset the console as a first response. A missing Welcome Hub is more likely to reflect rollout timing, the interface location, or an incomplete restart than a hardware fault.

Party Share is missing

Party Share was scheduled to roll out gradually after the main system update. PlayStation App support was a separate follow-on item. If Share Party link is not present in the voice chat card, that does not by itself mean the update failed.

Adaptive charging is unavailable

Check the following:

  • The console is a slim PS5 in the CFI-2000 model group or a PS5 Pro.
  • The controller is one of the supported accessories.
  • The controller is connected to the correct USB-C port with the included cable.
  • The console is in Rest Mode.
  • Supply Power to USB Ports is set to Adaptive.

Owners of the original launch PS5 should not expect adaptive charging simply because their console received the broader software update.

What this update does not do

  • It does not increase PS5 graphics performance.
  • It does not add new game-rendering capabilities.
  • It does not turn Party Share into a game-sharing or streaming feature.
  • It does not guarantee better sound for every player or every game.
  • It does not add adaptive charging to every PS5 model.
  • It does not verify the return of traditional themes or folders.

Bottom line

Sony’s September 2024 update is best understood as a substantial convenience update. Welcome Hub improves the home screen, Party Share makes voice-chat invitations easier, personalized 3D audio adds user-specific tuning, and Remote Play permissions provide better control on shared consoles. Adaptive charging is useful, but only for owners of the slim CFI-2000 PS5 or PS5 Pro with supported controllers. None of these features requires replacing an existing PS5 unless adaptive charging is specifically the reason for upgrading.

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