Your PS5 fan sounds like it's taking off. Load times have crept up. Maybe it's shut itself down mid-game once or twice. Nothing's actually broken yet — which is exactly why most people ignore it until it is.
A PS5 full service is the single most cost-effective thing you can do for a console you plan to keep for years. It is not a wipe-down with a cloth. It is a complete strip-down, dust removal, fan clean, and — critically for PS5 specifically — a fresh liquid metal reteam on the processor. Since 2011 and more than 25,000 console repairs, we can tell you the consoles that come in for a No Power or overheating repair almost always share one thing in common: they were never serviced.
This guide walks through exactly what happens during a professional PS5 full service, why the PS5's liquid metal cooling makes it different from PS4 and Xbox, the warning signs that yours is overdue, and what it costs at Console Service Centre in Boksburg.
What's Actually Included in a PS5 Full Service
"Full service" gets used loosely online. At Console Service Centre it means a specific, repeatable process — the same one we run on every PS5 that comes through the workshop, whether it is a routine service or part of a repair.
1. Complete Disassembly
The PS5 is fully stripped down to its individual components — motherboard, fan assembly, heat sink, power supply, and both side panels removed. This is not a "open the back panel and blow it out" job. Dust settles everywhere inside a console, including places a can of compressed air through a vent will never reach.
2. Cover Washing
The white side panels and internal plastic covers are washed and cleaned separately. Years of handling, dust, and — in a lot of South African homes — a fine layer of grit from open windows during load shedding leaves covers looking dull even when the console still works fine.
3. Dust Removal
Every internal component gets dust and debris removed — the motherboard, the power supply board, the fan housing, and the heat sink fins. Dust is not just cosmetic. It insulates components that need to shed heat, and on the power supply board specifically, dust buildup can create static and, in the worst cases we have seen, cause a short between components.
4. Fan Cleaning
The fan blades and housing are thoroughly cleaned. A dust-clogged fan has to spin faster to move the same amount of air, which is why an unserviced PS5 gets noticeably louder over its first two to three years — the fan noise you're hearing is the console compensating for reduced airflow.
5. Heat Sink Cleaning and Liquid Metal Reteam
This is the step that makes a PS5 full service fundamentally different from the same service on a PS4 or Xbox. PS5 uses liquid metal, not thermal paste, between the APU (the combined CPU/GPU chip) and the heat sink — applied by Sony at the factory because it transfers heat far more effectively than the standard thermal paste used in other consoles. Every PS5 model, Disc, Digital, and Slim, uses liquid metal.
The old liquid metal is fully removed, the heat sink surface is cleaned, and fresh liquid metal is applied with a proper barrier to contain it. This step requires real care — liquid metal is electrically conductive, and a spill onto the wrong part of the board can short-circuit the motherboard. It is not a step to attempt without the right tools and experience.
6. Reassembly and Cable Routing
The console goes back together with correct cable routing — internal ribbon cables and flex connectors are notoriously easy to damage on reassembly if you don't know exactly how they seat, particularly the fan connector on the PS5 main board.
7. Post-Service Testing
Every serviced PS5 is tested before it goes back to the customer — power-on, thermal performance under load, and disc drive function on Disc editions. We want to know the console runs cooler and quieter before it leaves the workshop, not find out when you get home.
In short: a PS5 full service is dust removal, fan cleaning, and a liquid metal reteam on the APU — done as a full strip-down, not a surface clean. At Console Service Centre this costs from R1,199 and comes with a 6-month warranty. Turnaround is typically 2-3 working days.
Why PS5's Liquid Metal Changes Everything
If you've read a generic console cleaning guide, it probably talked about thermal paste. That guide was not written with the PS5 in mind — or it got the console wrong.
PS4 (all models) and every Xbox console use standard thermal paste, which dries out and degrades over three to five years, gradually losing its ability to transfer heat. That is a predictable, gradual decline.
PS5 is different. Sony ships every PS5 — Disc, Digital, and Slim — with liquid metal on the APU instead of paste. Liquid metal doesn't dry out the way paste does, but it introduces a different failure mode that generic advice never mentions: migration.
When a PS5 is stored vertically for extended periods, liquid metal can slowly migrate downward under gravity, leaving a dry spot on the upper portion of the APU with no thermal coverage at all. That creates severe localised overheating in one specific area of the chip rather than a gradual, even decline. We recommend keeping your PS5 horizontal for exactly this reason, and we sell horizontal stands to make it easy.
We have seen the extreme end of this in our own workshop: PS5 APUs that have physically cracked from prolonged overheating caused by liquid metal migration in consoles that were stored upright for years. That's not a paste problem — thermal paste doesn't migrate the same way, and it doesn't crack a chip in half. It's specific to liquid metal, and it's specific to the PS5.
This is also why we push back on anyone telling you a PS5 full service is "just a clean." The liquid metal reteam is the technically demanding part of the job, and it's the part that actually protects the APU long-term.
Signs Your PS5 Is Overdue for a Full Service
You don't need to wait for a total failure. These are the signs we see most often on consoles that come in already overheating or dead:
- Fan noise has climbed noticeably compared to when the console was new — dust-clogged fans spin faster to compensate for reduced airflow
- The console feels hot to the touch on the top panel during normal use, not just intense sessions
- Random shutdowns during gameplay, especially in longer sessions or warmer rooms
- Visible dust at the vents on the back and sides of the console
- It's been stored vertically for a year or more — the liquid metal migration risk described above applies regardless of how the console sounds or feels right now
- It's simply been more than 18 months since it was last serviced, or never
None of these mean your PS5 is broken. That's the point of a full service — catching thermal wear before it becomes a repair.
Why You Shouldn't Attempt This Yourself
We get asked whether customers can do this at home with a can of compressed air and some thermal paste from a hardware store. The honest answer: partially, and the part you can't safely do is the part that matters most.
External cleaning is fine to do yourself — powering down, unplugging, and wiping the exterior and vents with a dry microfibre cloth and compressed air from outside the console. Our full guide to safe home cleaning covers exactly what's safe and what isn't.
Opening the console and reapplying liquid metal is a different matter entirely. A few reasons why:
- Liquid metal is electrically conductive. A spill onto the wrong component during application can short-circuit the motherboard immediately — unlike thermal paste, which is harmless if it touches something it shouldn't.
- The PSU contains capacitors storing 200-400V each. Opening a PS5 means working near the power supply. These capacitors can burn or seriously injure someone if not discharged correctly, and we will never recommend a customer open a power supply themselves.
- The fan connector is fragile. We regularly see PS5s that come in for repair after a DIY service attempt broke the fan connector clean off the main board, ripping the traces with it. Rebuilding those traces takes three to four hours of board-level work — turning what should have been a routine service into a repair that costs several times more than the service itself would have.
- Regular thermal paste is not a substitute. If you use standard thermal paste instead of liquid metal on a PS5 APU, you lose most of the thermal performance the console was designed around, and you still haven't addressed the migration risk that caused the problem in the first place.
Opening your console yourself risks causing additional damage — broken flex cables, stripped screws, or a shorted board that turns a straightforward full service (R1,199) into a repair bill several times that. We strongly recommend leaving internal work, and liquid metal reapplication specifically, to a professional.
Not sure if your PS5 needs a service or something more? WhatsApp us at 087 550 2307 — we respond immediately, 24/7, and can usually tell from your symptoms whether it's routine maintenance or a repair.
What a PS5 Full Service Costs
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| PS5 Full Service (dust removal + fan clean + liquid metal reteam) | R1,199 |
| PS5 HDMI port trace repair (if HDMI is also affected) | R949 |
| PS5 board-level fault (if overheating has already caused BLOD) | R2,099 |
Every service includes a 6-month warranty. If your PS5 develops the same issue within that window, we fix it at no charge. If, once we open it up, the console turns out to need more than a routine service — a cracked APU from migration damage, for example — we'll always call you with the diagnosis and a quote before doing any additional work. The bench fee if you decide not to proceed after diagnosis is R199.
Compare that to the alternative: a PS5 that overheats badly enough to crack the APU is looking at board-level repair or, in the worst cases, a replacement motherboard — several times the cost of the service that would have prevented it.
How Often Should You Service a PS5?
We recommend a full service every 12 to 18 months for a PS5 in regular use, sooner if you game heavily (more than 4-5 hours a day) or live somewhere dusty. A few practical habits extend the gap between services:
- Keep it horizontal. This is the single biggest factor specific to PS5, given the liquid metal migration risk covered above. If you must stand it vertically, use a proper stand designed for the console, and be aware of the risk over long periods.
- Give it airflow. Don't tuck it into an enclosed cabinet with no ventilation. The PS5's side vents need open space to pull air through.
- Use a UPS if load shedding affects your area. Voltage transients at power restoration stress the PSU's capacitors over time — see our load shedding damage guide for more detail. It won't affect the liquid metal, but it protects the power supply between services.
- Do the safe external cleaning yourself every few months — vents with compressed air from outside, exterior wiped with a dry microfibre cloth. It won't replace a full service, but it slows dust buildup between them.
If you're not sure whether your specific PS5 model or usage pattern needs servicing sooner, our PS5 repair and service page has more detail, or just WhatsApp us your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a PS5 full service cost in South Africa?
At Console Service Centre, a PS5 full service costs from R1,199, including the liquid metal reteam, dust removal, fan cleaning, and a 6-month warranty. Prices can vary by workshop depending on whether liquid metal is actually used (some cheaper services substitute regular thermal paste, which is not correct for a PS5).
Does a PS5 full service use thermal paste or liquid metal?
Liquid metal. Every PS5 model — Disc, Digital, and Slim — uses liquid metal between the APU and heat sink from the factory, not thermal paste. A proper full service reapplies liquid metal, not paste. If a repair shop tells you they're using thermal paste on your PS5, that's the wrong material for the job.
How long does a PS5 full service take?
A routine full service typically takes 2-3 working days at Console Service Centre. It can take longer if the console needs additional diagnosis once opened, or if parts are needed for an unrelated fault discovered during the strip-down.
Will a full service delete my saved games or data?
No. A full service is entirely hardware-side — cleaning and thermal work on the physical components. Your internal storage isn't touched, and your saves, installed games, and settings remain exactly as they were.
Can I service my PS5 myself to save money?
You can safely clean the exterior and vents yourself with compressed air and a dry cloth. Opening the console to reapply liquid metal is not something we recommend attempting — it's electrically conductive, the PSU contains dangerous voltages, and the fan connector is easy to damage. A failed DIY attempt typically costs more to fix than the original service would have. See our full safe cleaning guide for what's safe to do at home.
What happens if my PS5 has already overheated and shut down?
That's still worth a full service in most cases — dust and degraded liquid metal are usually the root cause of repeated thermal shutdowns, and clearing both often resolves the issue. If the overheating has gone on long enough to damage the APU itself, we'll diagnose that during the service and quote you before any additional repair work. Our PS5 won't turn on guide covers the wider range of power issues if shutdowns have progressed to a no-power state.
Is a full service worth it on an older PS5?
Almost always, if the console is otherwise working. A full service is a fraction of the cost of a new PS5, and a well-maintained console with fresh liquid metal and clean airflow can comfortably run for years past its original service date. The main exception is a PS5 that's already suffered serious heat damage — we'll tell you honestly during diagnosis if a service alone won't fix it.
Get Your PS5 Serviced Properly
Here's why Console Service Centre is your best choice for a PS5 full service:
- 14+ years of console repair experience — we started in 2011
- 25,000+ consoles repaired — including thousands of full services
- 1,283+ Google reviews with a 4.9-star rating
- PlayStation and Xbox specialists — we don't do phones or general electronics
- Genuine liquid metal reteam — not a thermal paste substitute
- 6-month warranty — if the same issue returns, we fix it free
Ready to Get Your PS5 Running Cool and Quiet Again?
WhatsApp us: 087 550 2307 — we respond immediately, 24/7
Visit us: 6 Bester Street, Witfield, Boksburg
Can't get to us? We offer nationwide courier repairs. Ship your console to us via The Courier Guy, we'll service it and send it back. Simple.
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About the Author
Shaun Potgieter
Founder & Head Technician
Expert console technician with 15+ years of hands-on repair experience.