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- You can have multiple “users” on one PS3
- Each user has their own:
- Theme & background settings
- Save data for PS3 games & software
- Trophies
- Friends list & messages (when associated with a Playstation Network account)
- All users share:
- Saved data for PS1/PS2 games
- Games in the Game menu
- Everything in the Image, Music, and Video menu
- Not password protected
- Each user can be associated with one Playstation Network account.
Playstation Network (PSN) Accounts
There are two types of PSN accounts: Master and Sub. Both types have these properties:
- Password protected
- Online ID (nickname)
- Access to online community & Playstation Store
- Mailbox for sending & receiving messages to other accounts
- Trophy collection that can be viewed by friends
PSN accounts do not cost anything to create and there is no subscription fee. An account is required to play games online.
Eligibility requirements for master accounts and sub accounts vary depending on the country or region of residence.
For details, read the Terms of Service for your region.
PSN Master Accounts
These are standard accounts. You need to be a certain age (generally 18 or older) to create a master account. With one you can:
- Use a “Wallet”–add billing information to make purchases on Playstation Store
- Associate (manage) up to six sub-accounts
PSN Sub Accounts
Sub-accounts (“subordinate accounts”) can be used by anyone, including children/minors. They are assigned to a master account (e.g. of the parent/guardian) therefore a sub account can not be created without an existing master account.
Some games are known to prevent sub-accounts from playing online (offline works fine), despite the user being a reasonable age and having the consent of the parent. If you are creating an account for your child and will allow them to play games online and do not need to control their actions, it would be advised to create a Master account for them.
- The associated Master Account has the following control (Parental Control Settings) over the Sub Account:
- Finances
- Some voice/video chat restrictions
Ok, so I recently downloaded TMNT from the PSN for my PSP. I don’t have internet at my house so I took it to my freinds to get into the PSN store and download games. When I got home and tried to hook up my PSP to transfer the ninja turtle game from the PS3 to my PSP it wouldn’t work because I wasn’t signed in to my account. It won’t let me sign into my account because I have no Internet. I don’t get what I even need a Internet signal for when the game is already on my ps3 hard drive and I am trying to transfer it using USB. Is there any way to get around this? Or is there any way of signing into my account off-line? I just don’t want to take my machine back to my Buddys just to put a ninja turtle game on my psp. Any help is appreciated thanks in advance.
do i have to go on-line to make trophies?
You can collect trophies offline.
You only need to be logged into your PSN account to sync the trophies to the PSN servers if you want other people/friends to see your trophies.
how can i get my sub account password on ps3 ?
I tried creating a new user and transferring the game data to the new user, but then it said something about not being able to earn more trophies because it’s copied. =0
ok is there a way to sync a vid from multiple accounts to 1 PSP and have PSP play them all without it telling you it is not registered?
ok theres downloads i cant download from playstation store. it tells me theres a system already activated which is the 1st account i ever created i deactivate it cuz i dnt use it but it still says on the other account which is a master account tht i cant. then i try to download it 2 the 1st account i ever created and it downloads can any1 tell me how to transfer 1st account info to another account like how i can manage sub accounts without using the 1st account i ever created cause deleting dnt do nothing
well>when i set up a new user to go online on my games.i go into ps3 network and put in my date of birth and all that shit.and then its wants me 2 set up a master account??? what is a masteraccount?
a master account needs to be created in order for anyother sub accounts to be created . it is like an administrator to a computer. the master account is set up the same way as the sub account. the sub account is what you probably set it up as. the master account can control the settings of the sub acount with parental control passwords ans such. it is just another (“more powerful” i guess) user basically.
that is good for people to play on with your frend
Is there a way to play M (or 16+) rated games on a sub-account? I am under 18 and therefore cannot use a master account. All of the parental controls on mine are disabled but it still won’t let me play. Any suggestions?
i recently bought a game for my younger brother but i meant to buy it on his sub account instead of my master account. if there a way to transfer the game to his account?
i have had my credit card changed so my numbers have changed so i wanted to buy a mat pack 2 for ps3 how can you change it i have tryed every way possible can you help
I had a sub-account before but I just turned 18 in September, is there a way for me to make my account a master account or would I have to create a whole new account?
Hi Matt. I don’t think it is possible to convert a sub-account to a master account. A lot of people have this problem…
Ok all of this sounds dandy but what do I do when I have problems with my PS loading games and overheating???
Ok for some reason (and I blame power outages while it was on) my PS3 will not play PS3 games anymore, will not read a PS Storage device for the PS2/x data transfer and throws a fit when playing PS2/X games.
um i cant log in when i tried to enter my sub-account and i have to use the master account so i cant do anything like avatar for my sub-account. will my sub-account’s online game show up when i play a game online?
Hi grace. Why can’t you log in? I’m not sure what your asking regarding the online game – can you be more specific?
I was hoping that sub-accounts could see the download list of the master account. This way, when I buy a game for my kids online, they can log in with their sub-account and download it.
Unfortunately, I see that sub-account cannot see anything. Is this something that can be fixed?
Okay, so we just bought this PS3 and we’re all pretty excited. We made “users” immediately after turning it on blah blah. Two days later I get onto my user to make an actual account with my email on it, and my step-dad had already signed up on mine. I went to his user and there was a “sign up” option, so he must’ve not been paying attention when he made his account. Is there anything i could do? Or are we just completely sol here?
Lolo – yeah you can’t really move PSN accounts between users. Perhaps you could just rename the users so they correspond to the correct PSN accounts?
How do you do that?
Check out Change user picture. You can change the name in the same place
Thanks!!
every time i go and try to make a ps3 account it keeps on saying the e-mail or password is incorrect wtf some one help me
I have a sub account and I want to go online on Tekken 6 but it says something about Parental Block and I asked my sister (she has the master account)if she could fix it so I could go online and she can’t find anything to edit or unblock anything that can make me go online. Is there anyway to fix this or do I have to be a certain age and wait till I go online?
i had exact same problem
after receiving a new PS3. A few of us created user names. when we tried to play a multiplayer game we could not sign in under our user names and all player under one user name. How do we sign in with more than one user name for a multiplayer game?
yeah im trying to connect to playstation network account setup and it asks for a master account email login id and password?
i have no idea what these are how do i find out?
my master account accidently got deleted so all i have now is a sub-account. how do i get it back or atleast create a new master account?
I tried signing-in to PSN via my PS3 (with me signed out via my PSP and PC) but it thinks someone else is using my sign-in ID. I had already signed out of PSN via my PSP and PC. Is there any way to solve this?
do you have a sibling or someone that you share the ps3 with? and did you create a account on the ps3 not psn
No I’m an only child (15 years old).
Hi Jonathan – as grace suggests, you need a “User” on your PS3 for each PSN account. You can’t sign in with multiple PSN accounts on the same User.
I don’t sign in with multiple accounts.
So there’s only one PSN account used on your PS3, which is yours? Master account, I presume. How did you create the account? Via your PSP? Have you linked/registered your PSP to the PS3?
i accidently made a sub account and i put a realy cool online name onto it but now i cnt play it so im going to creat a master account but how do i use the name i put down for sub account or even better can sumone plz tell me how to delete this sub account completely
I don’t think there is any way at all to re-use an online ID, even if the previous account is “deleted”.
I only have a sub-account. My dad’s got a master account. Yes my PSP is registered to my PS3.
So there are multiple accounts–yours and your dad’s
Do you each have your own User?
Yes we have our own users and passwords.
can a sub acount have psn points?
how can you make a sub acount get psn points?
can you have more than one master?
or can you change the master
Hey guys i recently bought a ps3 off a guy and he has a PSN account but he wont tell me his email and password, and he said there is COD MW2 on the HDD but i cant seem to find it, do i need to be signed into the PSN to play the games bought off the PSN, and if so is there anyway i can delete the master account without restoring my ps3 please help
Hey Ricky. Just create a new User, then create your own PSN account on it. If the previous owner has bought PSN games you should be able to see/play them from the Games menu. Something like COD MW2 is physical media only though, so it couldn’t be installed.
ok so i tried creating a new PSN acc but it tells me to type in the master acc info like the email and password but i dont know them… :S
Did you follow our sign up to PSN guide? Do that on the new PS3 User you created.
the sign up guide doesnt help me cuz after i finish typing in the date of birth and stuff it asks for the master account email and password.
The only reason I can think of is if you’re under 18 (or “under-age” for your country). If you’re under-age it will try to make a PSN “sub-account” which requires the master account credentials to continue. If that’s the case I’d suggest making yourself older >_>
but wait so your saying COD wouldnt be on the HDD? and what is Game DATA Utility?
Game Data is stuff like game patches or add-on maps. Sometimes install data goes there too if the game requires it, but you still need the original disc to run the game.
Games purchased off the Playstation Store are installed straight into the Game menu and run from there.
haha ok ill try that
YAY! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Your Help is Greatly Appreciated!!! thank you, your awesome A++++++
I just made a master account on PS3 and 2 sub accounts for my kids. I can log on but not them why is that?
Right, so, I tried to sign in to my PSN account on my PS3 user, but apparently, I can’t, because my Dad is using my PSN id on his user.
…Any way I can remove the PSN account from his user and put it on mine? Because I don’t think he wants to play online with a username like DeaMaxwell. I also don’t fancy changing the user’s names on the ps3, because, well, we both have trophies for different games (he plays FPS games, I play RPGs).
Any help?
I recently bought another PS3 and on both PS3 now have 2 users, but everything we bought was always under the one user bc we just shared the same ps3. But now that we have two PS3s he wants to have his own trophies, is there a way we can get the content we bought onto the other username? Any type of solution would help so much, I just can’t see myself buying the same game twice when we just purchased a new system.
Thanks
Questions on Sub account for minor in the US.
- Do i need to supply an email for the minor?
- Do i need to supply a credit card?
Is there anyway to avoid either of the two or both?
Thanks.
Is it possible to swap the master and sub accounts? That is, I want to move the collected properties (trophies etc.) from master to sub account?
Thanks in advance.
hey, just wonder if its possible to have to accounts on ur ps3, and can u use both to play online? for example in mw2, to create a new account where u use knife only etc, without loosing my existing account?
Thanx
i have psn sub account but cos im 11 i cant play james camerans avatar game or metal gear solid 4 online how can i change this
hi iv had a ps3 slim for a few mounths now & mi friends & i have a few sepreat accounts, how ever i didnt have internet. in the last week i got internet & bought a voucher card for 20 dollars how ever when i try to redeem it the ps3 tells me that since i have a “sub account” i kant proform this operation i am over 18 & need to know how to change mi “sub account” to a master account there are none on mi ps3 & i read that you have to have a master made first in order to make subs in that case y do i all ready have a sub & how do i make it master?
Can I move my sons game saves to his own user account on my PS3? I want to play the same game he is, so I was thinking of making him a user account. And will transfering the game saves also load his account with the trophies he earned?