PlayStation 5: Randomly powering on "by itself"

A few weeks ago my PlayStation 5 began turning on without intervention. I would be watching TV and there would be a sudden beep as it powered up all by itself or I would walk next to the TV and the PS5 would light up unexpectedly. Even when I left the house I would return to find my PS5 powered on and ready to play.

If you perform an internet search for "PlayStation 5 turns on by itself", you will find a string of websites trying to help you. Some pages are less than helpful (it could be ghosts! Oooohhh) and some are actually quite alarming. One theory suggests your PS5 is going to gradually deteriorate or even brick itself unless you intervene. The conclusion of these articles is that rest mode is faulty or badly implemented and they advocate that you shut down your console when finished with it. Some suggest that connected devices are turning on your PS5 and instruct you to disable HDMI device link to fix the problem.

But I was sure the sleep mode on my unit was just fine as it had been working without issue for 6 months. I also reasoned that my console was turning itself on when all other linked devices were turned off, so the HDMI link couldn't be to blame. 

So what has changed or been introduced in the last few weeks that could be causing the issue? The culprit was soon identified (the sharper ones amongst you may have noticed the picture -->). 

Yes, it seems that after a couple of months, the official Sony media remote will start to randomly turn on your console two to three times per day. The unit ships with two Sony branded AA batteries that deplete very quickly and a fresh set of higher quality batteries will fix the issue. It remains to be seen if the remote will chew through a set of batteries every few months or if it is merely an issue with the ones that have been included. Either way, I'm pleased there isn't a ghost.