Why Does My PS4 Keep Copying Add-on? How To Fix It

There are some odd errors on the PS4 that are hard to fix. The reason is the rarity of these issues and the lack of information online. One of these errors may be the question on your mind: why does my PS4 keep copying add-ons?

Add-ons are the extra content you purchase from your games on the PlayStation Store. Sometimes, it’s not even content you purchase, as it’s instead a regular and necessary update to the root of the issue.

Some games, particularly Call of Duty titles, include some errors on these add-ons and updates. What happens is that you can’t open these games after you install the new content. Let’s understand the error, its causes, and the possible solutions. Generally, you’re dealing with low storage space and unexpected software issues.

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Why Does My PS4 Keep Copying Add-On?

The causes for the error are hard to pinpoint, as there’s no official information. Instead, we’re compiling what we’ve found from other users.

Then, we curated these causes into a short list. Some of these causes could be affecting your entire console, which is how you’d realize the existence of the error.

Corrupted Database: The database is corrupted. Whenever this happens, your console’s performance is slower is unreliable. You’d see a slower dashboard, a long loading screen, and random errors.
Disk Is Full: Your hard drive is nearly full. All game updates on PS4 and PS5 need to reserve twice their space to update. That’s because the games copy themselves on the hard drive, so you need to have as much free space as possible.
Software Bugs:Your system has a random software bug, or the game has a random software bug. You’d see random errors while playing other games if it’s the system. The rest of your system works correctly if the bug lives within the game.
The game lost the digital license, so it can’t process the update.

As you see, these causes won’t require a massive workaround. We can tackle the error easily through the PS4’s user interface.

How to Fix PS4 Keeps Copying Add-Ons?

The “Copying add-on” error is more common on Call of Duty: Warzone, but it may also appear on other live-service games that take up a lot of storage. The “Add-on” glitch will prevent you from launching the game. Instead, you’ll see a notification saying the PS4 is copying the add-on repeatedly.

Sometimes, the game launches after copying all the files. However, the error will happen again the next time you open the game. A related error is when the game is on a loop. You’ll see the update bar making progress, but the update bars reset and never finishes.

That said, the phrase on the notification indicates the following: “Installing and copying add-ons.” Then, the game will go through an update process, and the update never stops.

The result is a loop that makes the game unavailable. And sadly, Call of Duty titles have a lot of errors in their multiplayer add-ons and packs. This error is expected on the PS4 but may also happen on the PS5 and Xbox consoles.

Power Cycle the Console and Clean the Game Disc

Sometimes, the error is in the game and not the console. This might be the case if you see the mistake in a Call of Duty game. Other times, the error is both in the console and the game. Or, better, it’s a compatibilñity issue between the two.

The solution is cleaning the disc and resetting the console. It will erase bugs on both parts of the equation.

Press the Eject button to release the game disc. If the faulty game doesn’t have a disc, skip this step.
Clean the game disc. You can use a microfibre cloth, plus a bit of isopropyl alcohol, to clean it.

Microfibre cloths generally come in lens cases. These can clean delicate surfaces without leaving scratches. If you don’t have them at home, you can use any soft cloth you have at home.

But as we said, skip this step if the faulty game is fully digital. Instead, complete the next part of the process.

Press the PS button on the controller.
Go to Power.
Select Turn Off PS4.
Unplug all the cables from the console, and wait for a minute. It’s a power cycle that resets the PS4’s cache on the console and erases corrupted temporary files.
Plug the cables back and turn on the console.
Put the game back on the console and open it. You should be past the copy add-ons glitch.

Download Add-Ons Within the Game

If you can open the game, you can download the add-ons directly from its menu. However, the solution is only possible if the error occurs in Warzone or Modern Warfare.

The solution will prevent the PS4 from copying its add-ons and updating files whenever you open it.

Once you’re in the game, press the controller’s Options button to go to the game’s Settings.
Go to the General tab.
Scroll down and select Game Installs.
Open each package and select Download. Prioritize the downloads with the smallest sizes.
You can leave the menu when all of the Campaign Packs are installed.

You can exit the game and try opening it again to see if it bypasses the copy error.

Restore the Database

The first solution is cleaning the database. You can do it through the Safe Mode menu; the process is similar on PS4 and PS5.

The process will erase all corruption and re-organize all of your data. So, this solution will fix the issue if your game is corrupted or data is missing.

Please turn off the console by pressing and holding its power button.
Unplug all of the cables and peripherals for one minute at least. This is a power cycle that helps clean random bugs on the system.
After the time passes, plug all of the cables and peripherals.
Turn on the console and the TV or monitor.
Press and hold the power button again for about seven seconds. Release it after you hear a second beep. You should see this screen:
Plug the PS4 controller into the console, and press the PS button. This will open the Safe Mode troubleshooter.
Select option 5: Rebuild Database.
The process may take a while. After it finishes, the console will restart. By this point, you can try again.

Restore the License

Another solution is restoring the license. The license is permission to play the game you buy from the store. Licensing issues are common for users with unreliable internet connections.

Here’re the steps:

Select Settings.
Go to Account management.
Select Restore licenses.
After your restore the licenses, turn off the PS4 via the Power menu we discussed before.

Then, turn on the console again, and test the game.

Put the Game on An External Hard-Drive

The second solution is putting the faulty game on an external drive. The PS4 will accept any SSD or HDD USB drive as long as it has a USB 3.0 connection. Also, it accepts drives ranging from 250GB to 8TB.

Let’s say you find one at home and want to test it. In this case, you must format the drive and move the game.

In any case, this is the solution if the internal storage is full. If this is the case, your console doesn’t have enough space to copy the add-ons and update files it needs to open a game.

Step 1: Format the Drive

First, let’s format the drive. Formatting the drive deletes any prior data. If there’s something important on the drive, remember to back the data beforehand.

Plug the drive into the console’s front or back USB ports.
Go to Settings.
Select Devices.
Go to USB Storage Devices.
Select your external drive. If you don’t see it by this point, reset the PS4. Otherwise, test another external drive.
Select “Format as extended storage.”

The process should be instant, and it will leave the drive ready to use. Leave it plugged into the console!

Step 2: Move the Faulty Game to the External Drive

Now, let’s move the faulty game to the external drive. Let’s start by showing you how to move games and apps. Each game you move to the extended storage can take up to 30 minutes, depending on how big it is.

Go to Settings again.
Select Storage.
Select System Storage.
Go to Applications
Here’s a list of all the games and apps on your PS4.
Press the Options button on the controller.
Select “Move to Extended Storage.”
Check the game you want to move to the external drive.
Press the Move option to confirm.
Lastly, press “Ok” to confirm.

Free-Up Space from the Console

If you think the internal storage is too full, you can free up some extra storage for your game without moving the game itself. You can move apps, games, screenshots, and video captures on the menu we explained above.

However, moving the saved data requires another process:

Go to Settings again.
Go to Application Saved Data Management > Saved Data in System Storage.
Select Copy to USB Storage Device.
Check the data you want to move, and then select Copy to confirm.

Re-Install the Faulty Game

The last solution is not my favorite -especially if the faulty game is Warzone. You’d have to uninstall the game and then install it again. That may include a full re-download.

If you’re playing with a game disc, it may not take that long, but the download size may take a while if the game is digital.

Here’re the steps to uninstall a game:

Go to the PS4’s dashboard.
Open the Library. It’s on the far right of the main menu.
Go to the Games tab.
Hover over the game you want to delete and press the controller’s Options button.
Select Delete.