Game console repairs

What we fix

• Overheating, loud fans and sudden shutdowns
• No picture, or a console that only works with the cable held at an angle
• HDMI ports that are bent, cracked or pushed into the board
• Discs that will not load, will not eject or grind on the way in
• No power at all, or a light that blinks and goes out
• Liquid spills, drink and pet accidents
• Controller stick drift, worn triggers and charging faults
• Storage upgrades and drives that have filled up or failed
• Wi-Fi that drops out mid-game and wired network faults
• System software that will not update or keeps crashing

Price

Includes the $88 diagnosis. Pickup and delivery included. All prices

Consoles we work on

PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Slim, PlayStation 4, PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, One S and One X, and the Nintendo Switch family including the Switch Lite and the OLED model. Older consoles are welcome too, though parts for them are harder to find and we will tell you up front if they are not available.

We are an independent repair workshop, not an authorised service centre for Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. That matters in two ways. If your console is still inside its manufacturer warranty, take it back to the retailer or the manufacturer first, because that repair should cost you nothing and opening the console yourself or having us open it will end that warranty. If it is out of warranty, an independent repair is usually the only option that is not a full replacement, and that is where we come in.

Controllers are worth bringing in with the console. Stick drift is the most common controller fault by a distance, and it is a cheap fix compared with a new controller.

Overheating and fan noise

This is the most common console job we see. The console gets louder over a few months, then starts shutting itself down mid-game, usually during the demanding parts where the graphics are working hardest. Some consoles throw a heat warning on screen first, others simply cut out.

The cause is almost always the same: years of dust packed into the heatsink fins, plus thermal paste between the processor and the heatsink that has dried out and is no longer moving heat across. A console sitting in an enclosed cabinet, or on carpet, gets there faster because it cannot pull in cool air.

The repair is a full strip-down: fan and heatsink out, the dust cleaned properly rather than blown further into the machine, old paste removed, fresh thermal paste and, where the design uses them, new thermal pads. We put it back together and run it hard for a sustained period while watching the temperatures and listening to the fan, because a repair that seems fine for five minutes is not a repair.

If you catch this early it is a clean and repaste. If a console has been overheating and shutting down for months, the heat may have already done damage to the board, which is a much bigger job and sometimes not worth doing. It is worth acting when the fan first gets loud.

HDMI port damage and no picture

A console that shows no picture, or only works when the HDMI cable is held at a particular angle, usually has a damaged HDMI port. It happens when a cable is stood on, when the console is moved while the cable is still plugged in, or when a pet or a child catches the cable with the console on a low shelf.

Before assuming the port, we rule out the simple things: a different cable, a different input, a different TV. It is a five-minute check and it saves people money often enough to be worth doing every time.

If the port itself is damaged, it is a board-level repair. The old port is removed with hot air, the pads on the board are cleaned and checked for damage underneath, and a new port is fitted and tested. It is fine detail work and it is the repair most commonly quoted as a whole-console replacement elsewhere.

We will be straight with you about this one. Where the cable has been levered hard enough to tear the pads off the board, or has damaged the tracks running away from the port, the repair may not be possible or may not be worth what it costs. We will tell you that at the diagnosis stage rather than after a failed attempt.

Disc drives that will not read or eject

Disc faults show up as a game that spins and is not recognised, a disc that grinds going in, a console that ejects a disc straight back out, or a disc stuck inside with the eject button doing nothing.

Sometimes it is the laser, which weakens with use and stops reading reliably, especially on discs that are slightly scratched. Sometimes it is the loading mechanism: a drive belt, a gear or a sensor that has failed, so the disc is never pulled fully into position. On consoles that have been moved a lot, it can be as simple as the drive having shifted out of alignment.

We open the drive, get any stuck disc out without scratching it, and work out which of those it is. A mechanical fault is usually repairable with parts. A tired laser means a replacement drive assembly, and on some consoles that drive is paired to the mainboard, which we will explain if it applies to yours. Either way, you get the parts price before anything is ordered.

No power and blinking lights

A console that will not start at all is usually the power supply, and on most models that is a self-contained unit that can be replaced. A console that starts, blinks and dies, or that clicks and shuts down, points to something on the board pulling more current than it should.

We test the power supply first, then look for the usual culprits on the board: capacitors, the power control circuit, and any sign of heat damage or liquid residue. We work out whether it is a part-level fix or a board fault, and what each would cost.

Consoles that have had a spill are a different job. Liquid does its damage over weeks through corrosion, not at the moment it is spilled, so the sooner it comes in the better the odds. Do not try to dry it out and keep using it, and do not power it on to check.

Controller repairs and stick drift

Stick drift is a character moving on its own, aiming pulling to one side, or menus scrolling without you touching anything. It is caused by wear inside the thumbstick module, and it is not something a firmware update or recalibration fixes permanently.

The repair is a replacement stick module, soldered onto the controller board. We also clean the controller out while it is open, because the muck that builds up under the buttons is what causes sticky triggers and buttons that need pressing twice.

Other common controller work: charging ports that have gone loose or will not charge, batteries that last an hour, triggers and bumpers that have snapped, and shells that have cracked. Bring the controller in with the console and we will look at both.

Storage upgrades and data

Games keep getting larger, and a console that is full is a console you spend your evening deleting things from. Most consoles can take a larger internal drive or a suitable external one, and the right answer depends on the model, so tell us which console you have and what you play.

We fit the drive, set it up, and where the console allows it we move your existing games and saves across so you are not starting again. Where a game has to be downloaded fresh, we will say so before you buy the drive.

If a drive has already failed and you have save data on it that is not backed up to the manufacturer's cloud service, tell us straight away and do not keep powering the console on. Save data recovery from a failing console drive is sometimes possible and the odds drop every time the console is used.

What it costs and how long it takes

Labour is the fixed $274 under the opening special, and that includes the $88 diagnosis. Parts are extra and are always quoted and approved by you before anything is ordered. If you decide not to go ahead after the diagnosis, you pay the $88 minimum and nothing more, and you still get told exactly what is wrong.

Most repairs are done within 72 hours. Console parts more often need ordering than laptop parts do, so where that applies we tell you the expected wait when we quote, not afterwards.

Our workmanship is covered for 90 days, and new parts we supply carry a 12-month warranty. If the same fault comes back within that window, bring it in.

There is one thing we will not do, and that is take your money for a repair we do not believe in. Some console faults, particularly heat damage that has been running for a long time, cost more to repair properly than the console is worth. If yours is one of those, we will say so at the diagnosis and tell you what we would do in your position.

Getting your console to us

Deposit it at a COMPwize Locker at no cost, book pickup and delivery for $50 anywhere within 12km of Mount Druitt, or arrange a time with us directly. Consoles are bulky, so the locker and pickup options save you a trip with an armful of cables.

Send the console and its power cable. You do not need to send the HDMI cable unless the fault is a picture problem, in which case send the cable you have been using so we can rule it out. Send controllers only if they are part of the job.

Your games, saves and account stay on the console. We do not sign into your account, and we do not need your password for the work above. If a repair needs the console wiped, which is rare, we tell you before we do anything.

Typical jobs

A typical job: a console that had become loud over a year and started shutting down mid-game. Strip-down, dust cleaned out of the heatsink, fresh thermal paste and pads, then a sustained load test while watching the temperatures before it went back.

A typical example: no picture on a console that worked if the HDMI cable was held at an angle. The cable and the TV were ruled out first, then the damaged port was removed with hot air, the pads checked and a new port fitted and tested.

Another typical job: a disc that would go in and come straight back out. The drive was opened, a failed part in the loading mechanism replaced, and the drive tested with several discs before the console was returned.

A typical controller job: aim pulling left on its own. The worn thumbstick module was replaced, the buttons and triggers cleaned while the controller was open, and the sticks tested through their full range.

Questions