Information on Banned Accounts and Consoles
When you access and use the PlayStation®Network (PSN) you agree to the PlayStation Network Terms of Service and User Agreement. Users who violate the Terms of Service and User Agreement may have their PlayStation Network access restricted by having their PlayStation accounts and/or consoles (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PS Vita, PSP, PSPGo) suspended or banned.
If you receive an error code with one the following error messages, your account or console has been suspended or banned:
8002A227: You cannot use PlayStation®Network with this account.
8002A231: Your PlayStation®Network account has been suspended.
WS-37337-3: This PSN account has been temporarily suspended
WS-37368-7: This PSN account has been banned
WS-37338-4: This PS4 console has been permanently banned from the PlayStation Network.
Access to the PlayStation®Network by this account has been banned or temporarily suspended.
Banning explanations
Below are some common offenses which could result in a PlayStation®Network account or system to be banned. You may be banned for other reasons not listed below.
Modified System Software
Offender has, or is using altered or unofficial system software. To make sure you have the latest system software, make sure your system is connected to the Internet and choose the "System Update" option under Settings.
Modified Hardware
Offender's system has been modified either physically or via software.
Reversal of Charges
A console or account may be banned due to having a credit card charge reversed or "chargeback" resulting in debt. A chargeback can include credit card theft, identity theft, or non-approved use.
Share/Hijack Account
Sharing personal Sony Entertainment Network account information in order to obtain access to another person's PlayStation Network account. Changing another person's email address, and/or password without their permission in order to gain and control access to an account. Offender attempted to use or take content they did not pay for.
Offensive Images or Audio
Offender posted images or broadcasted audio that contained obscenities, profanity or was otherwise in violation of the PSN Terms of Service.
Exploiting a Game Glitch
Exploiting any issue/environment, not intended to be accessible, to give oneself an unfair advantage in online play.
Verbal/Text Abuse
Offender was verbally abusive in some way, often including use of profanity, verbal threats or insults, or otherwise offensive or inappropriate language. This can be either via verbal or text comments.
Hate Speech
Offender used hateful language that attacks or disparages a person or group, based on characteristics of a certain group, including (but not limited to) race/ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation.
Your Personal Information
Offender revealed personal contact information about themselves in a public area, such as email addresses, phone numbers, or physical addresses.
Another Person's Personal Information
Offender revealed personal information about someone else in a public area, such as email addresses, phone numbers, or physical addresses.
Abuse of Grief Reporting Function
Offender misused the grief reporting system by filing false reports against another user, or filing an excessive number of unverifiable or redundant reports in a brief amount of time.
Impersonating Another User
Offender created an account with close similarity to an existing user, with perceived intentions to impersonate the other user without their consent.
Spamming
Offender excessively posted the same word or phrase, or gibberish to the annoyance of others.
Grooming
Offender encouraged other users to commit inappropriate or illegal acts in-game or the real world.
Sexual Harassment
Offender made sexually implied or explicit comments or performed actions that had definite sexual overtones, whether welcomed or not.
Account Scamming
Offender tried to persuade another user to share account information, including but not limited to logins, passwords, bank accounts, credit card information, etc. by any means possible.
Impersonating an SIEA Representative
Offender made comments or created an account ID that could cause other users to believe that they were an SIEA representative or have similar authority.
Child Protection
Offender made comments, sent PMs (Private Messages), or created an ID relating to inappropriate behavior toward children, including physical or sexual abuse and pornography.
Inappropriate Online ID
Offender created an ID that was deemed inappropriate in some way, including but not limited to containing profanity, sexual references, or hate speech language.
Team Killing
Offender killed his own team off in a multi-player network game.
Cheat Codes
Offender used a secret code to gain an advantage in gameplay or shared codes that give an advantage in gameplay.
Voice Communication Blocking
Offender purposely uses sound to disrupt voice chat for others.
Uploading Pornographic or Obscene Image
Offender either uploaded or created an offensive image either as part of a game or attached to a PM (Private Message).
Community Standards Abuse
An act that breaks the various agreements required to be accepted to access and use anything on the PlayStation®Network that is not defined by other offenses.
Cheating
Doing or utilizing anything that gives the player a greater advantage than is intended for normal gameplay.
False Registration Information
Offender created an account with false information (email address, date of birth, name, address, etc).
Fraud
A console and/or account may be banned if it is associated with fraudulent purchases. (Credit card theft, identity theft or non-approved use by family or friends).
Disrupting a Game
Offender was caught doing something that disrupts another user playing a mini-game.
Available services or content if system has been banned
The following is a list of features you can and can't use if your system has been banned and your SEN account terminated.
Friends List
You can: Browse, save, and delete sent or received messages from friends.
You can't: Add friends, chat, revise your blocked users list, or create messages.
PlayStation Network
You can: See what's new in the "What's New" section, browse the online manual, use the Internet browser, download new system updates, and use Remote Play using wireless LAN.
You can't: Connect to the PS Store, manage account information including wallet charges and voucher entry, browse your download list, activate or deactivate your system, browse your trophies, or use Remote Play via the Internet.
Games
You can: Play offline games that don't require any connection to the PlayStation Network.
You can't: Play games that use the PlayStation Network, purchase new DLC, or sync trophies.
Video
You can: View manually added content as well as content that was purchased from the PlayStation Store previous to the system being banned.
You can't: Upload videos or access services that require PlayStation Network sign-in, such as MLB.TV, HULU, Netflix, VUDU, etc.
Music
You can: Listen to manually added content as well as content that was purchased from the PlayStation Store previous to the system being banned. You can also retrieve music CD information.
You can't: Use PlayStation Music, or purchase new music.
Photos
You can: View photos that were on your console previous to the ban.
You can't: Upload photos to services that use the PlayStation Network.
Additional Restrictions
PSone classics save data can be exchanged between PS3/PSP systems but the PSone classic game data itself cannot be moved.
Videos and games bought on PlayStation Store cannot be moved to other devices.