How to fix an overheating PS4
When you use the electronic devices they often show signs of being really hot. But there is a difference between devices getting heated and overheated.
The PS4 overheating symptoms do not appear when your PS4 is used normally – in fact Sony put the PS4 through rigorous testing to ensure it does not overheat.
There are various reasons why the PS4 will overheat and in this article, we will run through these symptoms with you so you can avoid your PS4 overheating.
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PS4 Overheating Symptoms
Identification through the noises made by internal PS4 fan
One of the PS4 overheating symptoms is that its fan starts to make unusual, loud, and irritating noises which indicates it is not performing as expected.
If the fan is not performing well, then the PS4 will overheat. The fan will blow tougher, harder and stiffer in order to ensure that the airflow has been increasing which is used to lower the temperature to help the PS4 cool.
When this happens, the fan is at risk of burning out as it will run at its maximum speed for a long period of time.
Reduction in performance
When the PS4 starts to overheat, the built in PS4 safety system will try to reduce the performance of the PS4 to avoid any major damage. So, another sign of overheating is the PS4 running slow.
This is because CPU tries to normalize the overheating by slowing down its clock speed and if the clock speed reduces too much, games and the PS4 operating system will start to crash.
A reduced performing CPU can also cause the entire PS4 to fail and freeze, and worst case leaving you with a corrupt hard drive and loss of data.
The PS4 is too hot
Another PS4 over heating symptom is that when it overheats it simply shows the “The PS4 is too hot” notification on the screen.
This is the inbuilt PS4 safety features detecting the overheat and initializing the shutdown sequence before you lose your data.
If the notification is left ignored then more further symptoms will appear, such as game freezing, blue screen crashes etc
Causes of overheating
There are many reasons why the PS4 can overheat, below we run through the most common, and suggested options to reduce the risk of overheating:
- Ensure your PS4 can breathe. Sounds funny, but air flow around the outside of the PS4 is just as important as the airflow inside the PS4. If you have your PS4 located in a TV cabinet, make sure you leave the doors open of the cabinet when in use.
- The corrupted files also make the hard drive and CPU of the PS4 produce more heat. Rebuild your PS4 database and defrag your hard drive regularly to ensure your files clean and correct. Read our dedicated PS4 Hard Drive Defrag article on how to do this.
- Dust in the grills can cause the blockage in the air flow leading ultimately to the PS4 overheating. Regularly brush off dust from the grills on your PS4 to keep the grills clear of dust.
- The degeneration of the thermal paste between the CPU and heat sink of the PS4 can also cause it to overheat. The best thermal paste to use is liquid metal thermal paste.
- Too much dust on the internal fan of the PS4 will cause it to perform poorly and your PS4 to overheat. It is always recommended to remove the top cover of your PS4 and use compressed air duster to blow away excess dust.
And finally..
The PS4 overheating symptoms discussed above should be seen as “early warnings” that something more important is starting to develop with your PS4.
If you find any abnormality in the operation of the PS4, or if the fan makes noises, or it the notification keeps on appearing on the screen then you must consider fixing it as soon as possible.
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