Have you ever accidentally left your PlayStation on overnight? Perhaps you were gaming all night and didn’t remember to turn it off before falling asleep? Or maybe you left it on to download a game? Maybe you simply leave it on all the time! Well, we’ve got good news.
You won’t have any issues when leaving the PS5 on for extended periods. In fact, the device is designed to stay on all the time (with the occasional reboot). Make sure your PS5 is in a well ventilated space where it won’t get too hot, and add a cooler to manage temperature if needed.
Most hardcore gamers will leave their PlayStation console on for several hours at a time, whether overnight or not, and there may be concerns about the consoles being affected by those long gaming hours. But is this anything to be concerned about? Let’s take a look.
Is It Bad to Leave Your PS5 On All the Time?
PlayStations are built for long hours of continuous use without any issues, however, there will be slightly faster wear of some of the parts if you don’t ever turn it off. That’s just how all mechanical things (disc drives, harddrive read/write functions) are.
For instance, the more miles you cover on your vehicle, the greater its tendency to break down or have worn out parts. It’s the same thing with your PlayStation console. For instance, many issues like spotty PS5 internet connectivity can be fixed with a simple restart.
The more hours it spends running, the faster it will “break down,” but luckily, unlike a car, most of the ways a PS5 will break down can be fixed by a simple reboot when you notice any strange behavior.
Also, your console should be fine when it’s used for extended periods of time as long as there is enough ventilation and it’s not overheating. Older electronics used to be notorious for overheating, but since technology has advanced so much in recent years, the issue of your console overheating from staying on too long is now basically non-existent.
The only situation that may cause overheating when leaving your console on is if you put game cases over it, place it very close to a heat vent, or have the console close to any other object that will prevent air from moving as required.
If you have your PS5 in an enclosed space that you worry about getting to hot, you can add a simple aftermarket cooler like the PS5 Cooling Fan (on Amazon) to boost airflow and better regulate the temperature of the device. While overheating a little may cause glitches or unexpected shutdowns, if the device overheats a lot it will eventually fail at the motherboard level, which you don’t want.
Will Leaving the Console on Result in High Electricity Bills?
Another cause for concern for many people who leave their PlayStation overnight is the amount of electricity it will consume. After all, electricity costs money, so if it costs a fortune for your console to stay on, you would want it turned off (in most cases).
Nevertheless, the cost of keeping your PlayStation on is relatively minimal. Only 110 watts of electricity are required to download a game on your PS5, so it only costs you about 10 cents each night your PS5 stays on while you download a game.
The cost is even less if you leave it on the menu or in standby mode, since less electricity will be consumed.
So, whether you’re thinking about overheating or the cost of electricity, there is really very little cause for concern since new consoles do not overheat and the cost of electricity is also very low.
All that said, when you’re not playing your PlayStation console, it’s best to shut it down so it can cool off and so that the parts can rest at least every now and then.
How to Prevent Overheating on PS5
As long as there is enough room around the console for ventilation, your PS5 can be turned on for several days at once before it’s at any risk of developing a fault or getting damaged.
There are several ways to prevent your PlayStation from overheating. One easy way is to clean off dust and dirt from your fan vents.
If the fans of your PlayStation are not cleaned and serviced regularly, you will find a buildup of dust particles in your console. This can cause damage and prevent the console from staying cool.
Dust particles can also damage the fan or prevent it from spinning, which will ruin your console. People often forget to turn off their PlayStation consoles, and it can cause costly damage if the fan is not cleaned. If you experience a lot of issues with dust, consider getting this Dust Protector from ECHZOVE (on Amazon).
The good thing is that you can easily figure out if your PS5 is overheating. The following are the biggest signs to look out for:
- A warning will come up on your console saying, “Your PS5 is too hot.” In some cases, a sudden shutdown will also follow the warning. If the system shuts down very shortly after the warning, then you are dealing with a bigger problem.
- The cooling fan of the PS5 is excessively loud, like a mini jet engine turbine.
- You experience serious performance issues with games — for instance, slow loading times and low frame rates — due to the heat overworking the hardware.
- Your screen is covered with graphical artifacts like black or white dots, or the screen suddenly becomes green, black, purple, or white during gameplay.
If you find these issues continuing for a long time, then your PS5 really is overheating. If that is the case, there are some easy fixes for you to try out.
How Do I Fix an Overheating PS5?
A quick cleanup can more or less fix an overheating PS5 console. This fix is highly effective, mainly because it removes all the accumulation of dust and grime on the console’s ventilation holes, allowing cool air to flow in and hot air to flow out.
All you need to do to prevent overheating of your PS5 is to simply set it up in the right place. Check out the guidelines below and follow them closely:
- Leave a distance of at least 4 inches between the console and the wall, allowing it room to breathe.
- Do not place your console on a carpet or rug with long fibers.
- Do not place your console in a cramped place with little room for air flow.
- Do not put a cloth over your system, especially when it is in use. Do that only when it is powered off.
- As much as possible, avoid contact between your console and the ground to prevent the accumulation of dust. Dust has a heavier weight than air, so its movement is more inclined to the floor. Keeping your console raised will prevent all that dust from settling on it.