“Your PS5 is too hot. Turn off your PS5, and wait until the temperature goes down”. If you've seen this message pop up on your screen, then you're experiencing problems with your PS5 overheating. But what can you do to prevent this?

If your PS5 is overheating frequently, and you don't take any steps to address it, it could cause some serious damage to your console. To stop this from happening to you, we have created this guide, so you will know exactly how to fix your PS5 overheating issues yourself.

How Does the PS5 Keep Itself Cool?

The PS5 is extremely efficient at keeping itself cool and houses several components to help it do so. One of those components is a 120mm internal fan. This might sound quite large, and you would be right to think so. The fan's large size allows it to spin at a slower speed while still keeping your console effectively cool without sounding like it's about to take flight.

The PS5 also includes a heatsink. The heatsink absorbs the heat generated by the console, so the fan can expel it. In addition to this, it also utilizes liquid metal as its cooling interface for the CPU to ensure and maintain long-term cooling.

Even with all of those components dedicated to keeping your PS5 cool, there can still be a risk of it overheating. But understanding the components that keep your console cool can help you prevent it from happening.

How Can I Prevent My PS5 From Overheating?

Prevention is often the best cure. So taking the steps to ensure that your PS5 is kept in a safe environment to avoid it overheating in the first place is by far the easiest fix. The PlayStation.Blog website recommends that you keep your console at least 10cm (four inches) away from any wall surface. Placing it in a tight cramped space is a recipe for disaster when it comes to overheating. So make sure your PS5 is in a well-ventilated space and not in any sort of enclosed environment, such as a closed cabinet.

While it may be convenient to place your PS5 on the carpet, this is also not recommended. If you place your PS5 on a fluffy rug or carpet, this can essentially insulate your console and keep it warm, as well as suck up little bits of dust and fluff over time which can clog the fan. Try placing your console on a wooden or stone platform to raise it off the carpet.

Keeping your console clean is a great way to make sure it remains free of dust or anything that could interfere with its cooling systems. If you haven’t cleaned your PS5 before, check out our guide to learn how to safely clean your PS5 and controller.

The PS5 should be able to regulate its temperature unassisted, but it can overheat if it's overworked. If you frequently game for five hours or more, consider purchasing an external fan for your PS5. If you do choose to take this route, ensure you are purchasing from a reputable brand.

How Do I Know When My PS5 Is Overheating?

Your PS5 will exhibit symptoms in the early stages of overheating. If you learn to recognize these symptoms, you can treat them before the dreaded error message appears. The “your PS5 is too hot” error message is the final stage of your PS5 overheating.

It will appear when your console has reached an internal temperature that is so hot it could cause irreparable damage to your internal components. To avoid any long-term damage, your PS5 will keep turning itself off whenever it detects dangerous temperature levels.

When your PS5 is overheating, you might notice the following things:

• The fan may become extremely loud as it is overworking itself trying to expel all the excess heat.
• You might notice graphical issues such as white or black artifacts or solid green or pink flashes on your screen.
• You might experience poor performance, such as drops in your frame rate.
• Your game could crash or shut down unexpectedly.

Learning what signs your PS5 will show you before it gets to the point where it has to shut itself down could help prevent your components from prematurely burning out.

What Do I Do if My PS5 Overheats?

Recognizing the signs or symptoms that your PS5 is overheating is one thing, but what do you do in the event that your console does shut itself down because it is dangerously hot?

1. The first thing you should do if your console is overheating is save your progress, turn the system off, and wait for it to cool down completely before resuming your game. Gaming for five hours or longer could cause the system to get too hot, so waiting a while for your PS5 to cool down again before resuming could be enough to fix your problem. If not, some more exploration may be required to discover why your console is overheating.
2. Make sure that the fan is actually pushing out hot air. The fan exists to expel the heat from your system. If the fan is pushing out cold air, it means the hot air is staying trapped inside the console, causing it to overheat.
3. Inspect the fan and make sure it's spinning properly. Sometimes dust and dirt can get sucked into the system and clog the fan. If this is the case, cleaning it could solve your issue and get your fan back in working order.
4. If you have installed an SSD in your PS5, make sure it has a heatsink attached. Some SSDs do come with heatsinks. But if yours didn't, apply one. If you are looking for an SSD for your PS5, check out our guide to find the best M.2 SSD for your PS5.

As long as your console is clean and free of dust and kept in a well-ventilated space, you shouldn’t have repeated overheating issues. If you have gone through this list and ticked all of these boxes but are still having problems with your PS5 overheating, your system might be defective.

In this case, contacting Sony support might be best to explore your options and figure out if your console needs to be sent away for repair.

Prevent Your PS5 From Overheating With These Tips

Having to turn off your PS5 halfway through a boss fight because it is overheating can be extremely frustrating and annoying. But as long as you keep your console in the right conditions, you should be able to avoid it for the most part.

If you do regularly clean your console and keep it in good condition, and it still continues to frequently overheat, don’t be afraid to contact Sony’s support team or make plans to get it repaired before any potential damage occurs to your beloved console.