Are you worried that your PlayStation 5 fan is being too loud because the console is overheating? The PS5 warms up naturally as you play, and its high-performance cooling system monitors and keeps the console’s temperature in check. However, there are a few cases where the cooling system cannot do so.
Your PS5 might be overheating because of a strained PSU, restricted airflow, or clogged vents. You can prevent this issue by placing the PS5 in a cool, open area, limiting the time spent on graphically demanding games, cleaning its air vents regularly, and opening it up to clean the fan.
Make sure you prevent your console from overheating, as it can negatively affect your PS5’s performance and damage it irrevocably. Let’s look at how you can identify an overheating console, why your PS5 is overheating, what you can do to prevent it, and how you can keep it cool in an enclosed space.
How Do You Know if Your PS5 Is Overheating?
Your PS5 could overheat for several different reasons. Dust, lint, fur, and other debris can clog air vents, especially when the PS5 console is stored in a cabinet or small space with poor ventilation and airflow.
Maybe you want to put your PS5 in something because it’s, well, so bulky and hard to hide. If so, consider if placing it behind your TV is an option – this will get it out of sight and is better than on the floor or in an enclosed space overall.
Graphically demanding games, such as Elden Ring, require a lot of power and can also cause your console to overheat.
There are a few indicators that can help you identify whether your PS5 has overheating issues, including:
Error Message
Your PS5 will display an error message stating “Your PS5 is too hot” on the screen. After the announcement, the console will automatically shut down. If this happens, you’ll need to lower the temperature of your PS5 immediately.
Fan Is Too Loud
If your PS5’s fan is too loud and sounds like an airplane taking off, your console has an overheating problem. The PS5 is a beefy rig, and it’s not silent, but still–if the sound is notably loud or increasing over time, you are headed towards an overheat eventually.
Performance Issues
If you’re experiencing performance issues, such as slow loading times, screen freezes, audio desyncs, screen tears, and frame drops, then you’ll need to lower the temperature of your console.
Overheating leads to some pretty strange and inconsistent performance glitches, so consider checking out our article on Blurry graphics to see if that’s really what’s going on for you (not overheating).
Game Crashes and Lagging, Phantom Shutdowns
Graphical glitches, such as white dots, black dots, green screens, black screens, or purple screens, are indicators of an overheating PS5. What’s more, the console will likely just start turning itself off when it gets too hot. And this will be hard to understand as a symptom because it will happen when the PS5 revs up and starts generating more heat.
Why Does Your PS5 Keep Overheating?
Your PS5 might be overheating because of a game that’s putting too much strain on the power supply unit (PSU) or because the air vents of the console have been blocked.
How you manage the PS5 makes a big impact too. If you leave your console on all the time, for instance, it’s going to generate a lot more heat and suck in a lot more dust! Let’s take a closer look at why your PS5 keeps overheating:
Strained PSU
As the name suggests, the power supply unit gives your PS5 the energy it needs to operate. If you have a strained or overworked PSU, your console will overheat and shut down.
Graphically demanding games like Grand Theft Auto V consume a lot of power and increase the strain on your PS5, making overheating a much more probable issue.
Decreased Airflow
It’s important to keep your console in an area with proper ventilation to prevent overheating. If the area is too confined, hot air released from the PS5’s vents will be trapped, and cool air will be unable to reach the console to cool it down.
Clogged Vents
If you don’t regularly clean your console, dust and debris will gradually block its vents, trapping the hot air released when you run your PS5. Keeping the console in a small and confined space will further increase dust build-up.
How Do You Stop Your PS5 From Overheating?
You can prevent your PS5 from overheating by actively lowering its temperature and keeping it cool. You can do this by trying any of the fixes mentioned below:
- Place the console in an open, well-ventilated area
Make sure you keep your PS5 in a space that’s not enclosed. It’s important that your console receives cool air to ensure proper ventilation. It’s also advisable to keep it away from a corner or wall.
- Keep your console on a surface higher than the floor.
Dust is heavy and usually settles on the floor, so keeping your PS5 on any surface that’s higher than the floor will reduce dust buildup. Basically, we don’t think you should put your PS5 on the floor at all.
It’s better to place your PS5 on a stone, wood, or marble platform. It’s also advisable to use a stand, if possible. We recommend the OIVO PS5 Stand With Suction Cooling Fan (on Amazon).
Whether you position your PS5 vertically or horizontally, make sure you keep the base above ground and the vents pointing back.
- Place the console on a hard surface.
Keeping your console on a carpet or any other fluffy surface will increase the likelihood of your PS5’s vents getting blocked by fibers.
It’s advisable to place the console on a hard surface and avoid covering it with a blanket or cloth.
- Clean your PS5’s air vents regularly
According to Sony, using a low-powered vacuum cleaner is the best way to clean your PS5’s air vents. A vacuum cleaner will allow you to clean out all the accumulated debris and dust without taking apart your PS5.
It’s also advisable to use a microfiber cloth to clean the larger exterior areas of the console, while soft brushes are more suitable for cleaning out the interior of your PS5.
- Check your games
A particular game might put too much strain on the PSU and overheat your PlayStation.
It’s better to check whether your console is overheating only when you’re playing a specific game or if the overheating is a consistent problem.
If you’re using the digital copy of the game, try running its disc and vice versa.
- Check the placement and positioning of your console.
The positioning of your PS5 (horizontal or vertical) should not affect its performance. However, if you’ve placed your console in a vertical position, reducing the amount of free space around it, changing it to a horizontal position might help.
- Keep your room cool and clean.
It’s better to turn on the air conditioner or use a fan when using the PS5. Alternatively, you can open the door or the windows to improve air circulation.
It’s also advisable to remove any additional items you keep on top of the console, such as clothes, toys, and other similar items. Don’t let your pets get too close to your PS5, as fur can quickly and easily clog the air vents.
- Open up the PS5 and clean the fan.
Even if you place your PS5 in a cool, open area, you might not be able to fix the overheating problem. Changing the setup may still result in loud fan noises and error messages.
In this case, the only thing you can do is open the console and clean all the dust from the inside. However, keep in mind that this solution can void your warranty. If you want to keep the console under warranty, it’s better to take it to a service center or contact Sony’s customer support.
How to open up and clean your PS5 fan
- Collect the right tools
Opening up the PS5 is relatively easy and doesn’t require any tools. However, in order to remove the fan and clean the dust and debris from the inside, you’ll need:
- A cleaning brush
- A T9 or T8 Security Torx Screwdriver (on Amazon)
- Plastic pry
- One compressed air can
- Spudger
- Tweezers
If you’re unable to get all the tools, you can reassemble the PS5 after completing step 4. The first few steps are very quick and easy to follow and will be able to prevent your PS5 from overheating for quite a long time.
However, if you think you might be cleaning the fan on a regular basis, you might consider investing in a good tool kit, like this JacobsParts Professional Repair Kit (on Amazon).
- Open the lids
The design of the PS5 is very user-friendly, allowing you to clean the fan as often as you like. The top panel opens by simply sliding it aside, revealing the fan, the M.2 SSD expansion bay, and all the accumulated dust! The bottom panel also opens in a similar manner.
- Clean the lids
After removing the lids, you’ll need to clean them, ideally with a paper towel or microfiber cloth. It’s also advisable to use a few drops of isopropyl alcohol to ensure a thorough cleaning.
- Clean the top and bottom air vents
First, clean the air vents located at the bottom with a cleaning brush. Then, use the canned air to get rid of any dust that might have been left behind.
Remember to repeat this step with the top air vents as well.
- Remove the top air vents.
Use your hands to remove the plastic air vents located on the side.
- Remove the fan
Remove the four screws attached to the 120mm fan plate with a T8 Torx Security Driver. Then, remove the plate using your hands.
Next, remove the plastic located near the fan using a spudger or plastic pry. Once you’ve successfully removed the plastic, you’ll be able to see the fan pin connector.
It’s better to gently unplug the fan using a pair of tweezers and then pull it up to remove it.
- Clean the fan
Clean any dust, rust, and debris from the fan with your cleaning brush. Make sure you thoroughly clean the top, sides, and backside before using a vacuum to finish the cleaning process.
- Clean the heatsinks
The PS5’s heatsinks are located inside the fan hole, and you’ll need to clean them just like you cleaned the fan. However, make sure you do it gently so you don’t bend the heatsinks.
- Reassemble the PS5
Reassemble the pieces in reverse order and turn on your PS5.
Hopefully, cleaning the fan will solve the overheating problem. However, if the problem persists, it’s advisable to take the console to a service center.
How Do You Keep a PS5 Cool Inside an Enclosed Space?
Keeping your PS5 in a cabinet while you’re playing can result in overheating. However, if you take the proper precautions, you can protect the console from the worst of the damage.
Here are a few ways you can keep your PS5 cool in a cabinet:
Keep the console in a vertical position
A standing, upright position can help improve the performance of your PS5’s air vents. If you keep the console in a horizontal configuration, the exhaust will not be able to work properly, resulting in frequent overheating.
Make sure the cabinet has open, free space.
While it’s not advisable to keep a PS5 in a cabinet in the first place, the problem can be made worse if you squeeze the console between several objects.
It’s advisable to keep your PlayStation on an utterly separate shelf with enough free space on all sides, so your console has some room to breathe.
Keep the console in Rest Mode whenever possible.
Low-power mode or Rest Mode is a feature that helps prevent excessive consumption of energy. If you turn off your PS5 in low-power mode, the console will shut down completely. This helps give it a break from all high-energy gaming operations and improves your console’s overall health.
Clean the air vents regularly to protect your PS5 from dust and debris
If you don’t clean the vents regularly, dust and debris can build up and clog the ventilation ports. Make sure you keep your PS5’s air vents free from any blockage to ensure unrestricted airflow.
You can easily do this by using a feather duster every day. While it’s not advisable to store your console in a cabinet, a bit of thoughtful maintenance can help keep your PS5 safe and sound.
Prevention Tips
There are a few things you can do to attempt to keep your PS5 from overheating before the problem even starts.
The most important thing is to make sure there’s proper ventilation around the PS5 before there’s ever an issue. Having it between thick shelves and right up against furniture usually isn’t a good idea, as it blocks the airflow. For best performance, try mounting it on a wall so it’s even further from the floor and carpet.
Make sure you also frequently clean dust away from the console. You should never put a cleaning solution inside of it, but a microfiber cloth can wipe away gathered particles.
Upgrading Your PS5’s Cooling System
It’s very rare that there’s actually a need to upgrade the PS5’s cooling system. For the most part, it’s highly advanced, so if there’s an issue with overheating, it could be faulty or it’s a user issue (with ventilation or playing a game for hours on end that’s draining a lot of energy).
However, if you’re experiencing frequent overheating issues and want to fix the hardware yourself, or want to push your PS5 to its limits with demanding games or applications, you may want to consider upgrading the cooling system. There are various aftermarket cooling systems and fans available in the market designed specifically for PS5.
It’s important to note that upgrading the cooling system may void the PS5’s warranty, so it’s important to proceed with caution and seek professional advice before making any modifications to your console.
If you do decide to upgrade your PS5’s cooling system, make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully to avoid any damage to the console’s internal components.
If in doubt, hire a professional to do the job for you.