Temperatures are rising outside and your PlayStation 5 is getting hotter inside. Here’s what you can do to keep your favorite white box nice and cool.
The warmer temperatures that come with this time of year are welcomed with open arms. Before you know it, the mercury will top 25 degrees again and it will be pretty muggy indoors, too. Your PlayStation 5 will get hotter than usual in no time, too.
Especially if you’ve experienced quite a few gaming hours with that trusty white box. With intensive use, the PlayStation 5 gets hot, and when it’s already very hot indoors, the console has a hard time getting rid of its heat. That can befunest for the hardware. How can you prevent your PlayStation 5 from dying a heat death?
This is what happens when your PlayStation gets too hot
Like other consoles, your laptop and even your phone, the PlayStation 5 gets hot when you use it. That’s not a disaster because the console has several components built in to stay cool. Then again, you have to give your PlayStation a chance to cool down. Especially with older consoles that you have been using for quite a while, it is wise to be vigilant.
If the console gets too hot, things can go badly wrong. If you don’t pay attention to this, it is only a matter of time before all kinds of defects occur. For example, the console becomes slower, parts in the console can break down and it can even mean that the PlayStation becomes unusable.
(image: Reddit / AtomicHeart)
Common signs that your PlayStation is too hot include: white or black dots on the screen while playing, your console feels incredibly hot, the console makes a lot of noise when it is on or the screen jumps to white, black or even purple.
These tips will keep your PlayStation 5 cool
Keeping your console properly cool will make it last longer. Therefore, many of these tips are always important, even in the heart of winter. Your PlayStation 5 will thank you.
Make sure you have a good air supply
The PlayStation 5 primarily uses a set of small fans to keep itself cool. With these, the console blows warm air outside, allowing it to get rid of its heat. Make sure then that this heat can actually get out.
Building your console tightly into a closed cabinet is therefore not recommended. Make sure there is enough space around it, especially at the back. This also immediately helps if you find that your console sounds like a Boeing taking off: it’s probably too close to a wall or something else.
Cleaning and dusting
This tip will not only make your PlayStation 5 happy, but also your mother or partner. By giving the area around the console a good cleaning and dusting, less dirt and dust can get between the fans.
So as with keeping enough space around the console, a clean environment is also very important. Just don’t just run around with a soaking wet duster. Water damage to your console is perhaps even more annoying than overheating.
Use a vacuum cleaner (carefully!)
No matter how clean your environment is, you can hardly avoid getting dust inside the console. If you look at the back of the PlayStation 5, chances are you’ll see quite a bit of lint attached to the fan. You can remove these with a vacuum cleaner.
Patience and extreme caution are key here. Do not turn your vacuum cleaner to whirlwind mode when you are going to remove the dust from the delicate parts. Moving gently on the softest setting just above the fans should be more than enough.
Play in a cool environment
For those who like to play the latest games in their sauna: sorry but that’s not exactly chill for your PlayStation 5. Therefore, try to put the console in a cool place. For example, make sure the sun is not shining directly on it and keep the room in which it is located as cool as possible.
This allows the fan to dissipate its heat better and the console is less likely to overheat. Of course, it’s also nice for you not to have to sit in a greenhouse.
