Found a weird fix for a dead PS4 that was collecting dust

I had a PS4 sitting in my shop for 6 months that just wouldn't power on. Tried all the usual stuff like checking the power supply caps and replacing the thermal paste. Nothing worked until I gave the APU a gentle reflow with a heat gun at 200 C for about 45 seconds. It fired right up after that and has been running fine for 3 weeks now. Anyone else ever try a low-temp reflow on consoles when standard checks fail?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard11029d ago

Yeah exactly, "last ditch effort" is the perfect way to put it. I've done this on a couple old Xbox 360s that had the red ring and it's basically a gamble. You gotta be real careful with the heat though, I just tape off the whole board except for the chip itself so the heat doesn't mess up any nearby caps or resistors. It's not a permanent fix either, I'd say you get maybe 6 months to a year out of it before the solder joints crack again.

perez.mia29d ago

Heat gun reflows are risky but yeah, sometimes that last ditch effort actually works.