Critical Flaw Can Render Old PS5s Useless

A serious manufacturing flaw is threatening the functionality of older PlayStation 5 consoles, with estimates pointing to as much as 3% of units being affected. The issue, which affects machines manufactured before mid-2023, involves the deterioration of a crucial component of the APU (Accelerated Processing Unit), potentially leading to a total console failure. This news is a blow to owners of earlier versions of the PS5 and to Sony, which is facing a hardware challenge on one of its best-selling platforms.

The discovery of this flaw highlights the vulnerability of electronic hardware to long-term problems, something that can generate great frustration among consumers who invested in a next-gen console.

The flaw was identified in PlayStation 5 consoles manufactured until mid-2023. The issue lies in the deterioration of a capacitor in the APU, the unit that integrates the CPU and GPU of the console. According to experts, prolonged exposure to high temperatures and thermal stress can accelerate the degradation of this component, resulting in overheating, crashes, and eventually rendering the console useless. The estimated failure rate of up to 3% of the older consoles may seem small, but it represents a significant number of units, considering the millions of PS5 sold since its launch in November 2020.

Although Sony has not issued an official statement regarding this specific flaw, the history of hardware issues in previous consoles, like the red and yellow lights of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, respectively, demonstrates that such issues can have a lasting impact on consumer reputation and trust. The nature of the flaw, related to a crucial component, suggests that the solution may not be simple and may require complex repairs or even console replacement.