This PlayStation 5 came into our Cambridge workshop for what the customer called “just an HDMI port replacement”. It left with a rebuilt cooling system, new liquid metal and a repaired HDMI port. Forty days later it was back with a dead disc drive, and that turned into a small lesson in why a PS5 disc drive is not something you can simply buy online and plug in.
Every photo in this post is from this one console. Here is the whole story, and what it means if your own PS5 is a few years old.
“Just an HDMI port”, until we opened it
The HDMI port had been ripped out of the board, so the console showed no picture at all. When a PS5 comes in we always ask how old it is, because once an older console is open we very often find the cooling system badly contaminated. The customer was sure this one did not need cleaning.
Then we opened it. The fan was packed solid with thick dirt. The airflow channels were blocked. The dust was not the normal dry household kind: it was thick, sticky and almost moist. The inside of the white panels was covered in a yellow-brown, oily-looking residue that could not be blown or wiped away and had to be removed carefully by hand. Even the outside of the console had dark staining that looked like heat or smoke residue. We cannot say what environment caused it, but it looks like years of dust mixed with airborne grease, smoke or cooking residue.
Replacing the HDMI port and closing the console up again would have made no sense. A PS5 in this state is cooking itself, and a new port would not have changed that.
What a PS5 in this condition needs
- Complete strip-down of the console.
- Extensive deep clean, including the fan and every airflow channel.
- The sticky contamination removed from the chassis and panels.
- The cooling system fully serviced, with the old liquid metal removed and replaced. Sony uses liquid metal instead of thermal paste on the PS5 processor, and on an older console it dries out and stops doing its job.
- HDMI port repair under the microscope: the port is soldered straight onto the motherboard with 19 tiny pins, so it is a micro-soldering job, not a plug-in part.
- Reassembly and full testing afterwards.
We always show customers exactly what we found and why extra work is needed, before we do it. In this case the customer agreed, the console was fully serviced, and he went home with a working PS5.
Forty days later: the disc drive died
About forty days after the repair the customer called us. Everything we had repaired was still working and he was happy with the console. But the disc drive had stopped reading discs. The drive is a separate part from everything we had worked on, and after years in that environment it was not a big surprise. We agreed to try to fix it.
Why a PS5 disc drive is not a simple swap
You would think you order a drive, screw it in and play. It does not work like that on a PS5.
- There are four different drive models. Sony changed the drive several times across PS5 revisions, and the drives are not interchangeable. This console needed the “V2” version, and the right one was not easy to find.
- The drive is married to the console. Inside every PS5 drive is a small circuit board, the daughterboard, which is paired to that specific motherboard. A replacement drive will not be recognised until the original board is moved from the dead drive into the new one.
- That means a deep strip-down again. On the original PS5 the drive sits deep inside the console, so this is proper workshop work, not a five-minute job.
After two days of searching we sourced the correct V2 drive, moved the customer’s own daughterboard across and fitted it the same day. Discs read, games run. The customer also asked us to update the console’s system software once the new drive was in, so it left on the latest firmware. A console that arrived in a truly terrible state, with a ripped-out HDMI port and later a dead drive, now has every reason to run for a few more years.
If your PS5 disc drive has stopped reading
- Do not buy a random drive online. The chance of getting the right version is one in four at best, and even the right one will not work without the board transplant.
- Bring the console to us. We check which drive version you have, source the correct one and move your original board across. Cambridge and Dagenham, by appointment.
- Let us look at the cooling while it is open. If your PS5 is a few years old and sounds like a jet engine, the fan and liquid metal need attention anyway. See our PS5 cleaning, liquid metal and HDMI repair service.
- 12-month warranty. Every repair we do comes with a 12-month warranty.
Questions people ask us about PS5 repairs
Can a PS5 disc drive be replaced?
Yes, but only with the correct drive version for your console, and only if the original daughterboard is moved from your old drive into the new one. We do both in our workshop.
Why can’t I just buy a PS5 drive on eBay and fit it myself?
There are four different PS5 drive models, and the drive’s own circuit board is paired to your motherboard. A drive bought on its own will not be recognised, even if it is the right version.
My PS5 only has an HDMI problem. Does it really need a clean?
Not always, but on a console that is a few years old we usually find the cooling badly contaminated once it is open. We show you photos and let you decide. Fixing the port and ignoring a blocked, overheating cooling system is a false economy.
Do you replace the HDMI port or the whole board?
We replace the port itself. It is micro-soldered onto the motherboard under a microscope, so you keep your original board, your data and your games.
Is there a warranty on the repair?
Yes. Every repair comes with a 12-month warranty, and you bring the console back to us in Cambridge or Dagenham if anything is wrong.
Do you repair Xbox consoles too?
Yes. Deep cleans, thermal paste, HDMI port replacement and board repairs for all Xbox consoles. See our Xbox repair page.
Book a PS5 repair in Cambridge or Dagenham
No picture, no disc, overheating or just loud: tell us what your PS5 is doing and we will tell you what it needs. Book an appointment, see our locations, or message us on WhatsApp 0749 792 5760.