How to fix your loud PS4

Here's how to fix your loud PS4.

If your PS4 fan is loudly running all the time this is how you fix it.

It's much easier than you think.

[Army_of_Darkness]

Nice

[angelsx]

I just watched the video and i did exactly same thing.My ps4 is definitely quite now.Thank you

[WalterWJR]

I did this a while back but my ps4 is still pretty loud. I should change the thermal paste really but don't want you risk breaking the ps4.

[Bahamut]

I always played my ps4 on its side, and wondered why it was always "jet-engine" loud. Someone online suggested I buy rubber feet to increase ventilation.

Well, I didn't do that, but the spot I have for it is limited in space, so I just tried angling the ps4 at a slant, to open all sides of the ps4 for ventilation.

It worked. It actually worked. Now the ps4 is silent as can be, even when playing The Witcher 3 and other demanding games. Still can't believe it. I sit right next to the ps4, so it was almost unplayable before, but now I can't hear it, 2 feet away.

[AndrewLB]

I hope you're not using the blu-ray drive for anything because you're just asking for problems. Never run any optical drive at an angle.

[Bahamut]

@AndrewLB

Could you back that up with a reason and a source?

I'm googling why 'not' to do this, and I can't find anything.

[nitus10]

If you PS4 is still under warranty then get it fixed by Sony support.

If your PS4 is out of warranty you could change the thermal paste if you feel confident enough to do it. Arctic Silver or it's equivalent is recommended and a small tube costs only a few dollars.

Actually from the article if your PS4 fan looks like that I do strongly suggest you clean your room and as well as one reader suggested stop smoking. Your PS4 and your body will thank you.

Oh another tip is never put your PS4 or any electronic item for that matter on the floor for any extended period.

[itBourne]

Combination of living in Arizona and in a mining town, lol there is no prevention for me. You just have to strip apart your computer and consoles, and do some good dusting, no compromise.

[AndrewLB]

Arctic Silver makes quite a few products. The one you'd be wanting to use is Arctic Silver 5.
http://www.arcticsilver.com...

Keep in mind that "less is more" when using any thermal compound and its designed to be used only where the chip and heatsink physically touch and only a very small amount should be used. If there is a thermal pad between the heatsink and chip (i believe thats what was used on the PS3 Fat), there is likely a gap between the two due to it being a heatsink that cools other components like RAM. They use pads in those applications because of the difficulty of mounting every chip perfectly so its the proper height. machining the bottom of the heatsink to meet different heights is expensive, and i doubt they'd do that.

[PizzaSteve]

I open my PS4 without any problems. Just look at how to open PS4 videos on Youtube. My old thermal paste was watery like no wonder the fan was loud. Put some arctic silver on it and now more quiet.

[-Ghost]

Thanks for the video. I'll definitely do this when my warranty is over.

[1L4stCh4nce]

I bought a Datavac Electric Duster on Amazon. That thing slings dust from here to Japan and back. Pulling the system apart always makes me nervous and canned air is terrible after a few sprays. I do this about once a month and it works wonders and cheaper in the long run.

[nitus10]

I have never worked out why people get these items for use in an enclosed space (ie. room). You would be better off with a vacuum cleaner which captures all dust and dirt rather than blow it everywhere.

[AndrewLB]

Vacuums are not good to use because the dust moving through the plastic tube can build up static electricity. An extreme example of this is when i was using my shop-vac hooked to my power sander the other week where it built up such a powerful charge it was like getting zapped by an electric fly swatter (The Executioner Pro.. available on amazon). Not fun.

even a slight discharge can damage the electronics. Personally, i'd just use my 40 gallon craftsman air compressor and make sure the fan is not spun by the air because its easy to screw them up that way. Anyone looking to use that method MUST make sure their air compressor has a proper filter AND dryer on the air hose like the ones used for painting cars. A normal compressor filter is not enough. the air can contain small amounts of water and oil if not filtered properly.

[Atomicjuicer]

Next gen after this should make fan cleaning without warranty voiding possible.

[TWB]

Replaceable vent module? Make removing it as easy as changing a HDD?

Sounds awesome TBH.

[viperman240]

Or having a built in dust filter would be better. Having a dust filter that slides out or is attacked by small magnets so dust doesn't get in and can be easily vacuumed or washed.

Look at many modern pc cases, they have those, consoles should really be doing the same thing.

[Kingdomcome247]

All of these ideas here are great.

[LgbtWarrior]

Just use a vacuum on vents. Don't void your warranty ever

[Bahamut]

Hmmm... that would work lol.

[YourGreatUncle]

Don't do that. You run the risk of the rotation of the motor causing static electricity to build up and fry your PS4.

[DivineAssault]

If you ever vacuum out the vents, you need to let it sit for an hour or so or the static can fry it

[TWB]

So THATS how the static can be dangerous? I always though that this applied to vacuuming insides of the machine but not the outside vents.

Glad I know this now. I guess a quick vacuuming of the vents wont be that dangerous though? The static only starts building up when the fans start moving so light vacuuming shouldnt hurt?

[nitus10]

Static electricity can fry electronic components in very dry and unusual conditions, however most electronics are shielded from this.

Using a vacuum cleaner to clean your air intake will not cause the fan to generate electricity that can fry your equipment although a powerful vacuum cleaner can damage the fan.

In a dusty environment it is always best to use a dust mesh on the inlet vents however you are still better off not running electronics in a dusty environment.

[sackboyhappy]

i think it says in the ps4 manual that you should hoover the vents

[thorstein]

Alternatively, give it air. I bought a new TV stand that is completely open. Reduced the noise on the fan instantly.

[Seraphim]

proper ventilation is definitely important.

Love the dust cover suggestion in the article. As if that actually makes any real difference. It's the dust being sucked through while using the machine. Or the dust being sucked through while using it because you never clean. You can keep things dusted and clean but there is always going to be dust being sucked into the device.

[Eidolon]

That won't help for crap. Warranty sucks anyway, what do you think is going to happen besides PS4 version "YLOD" which is caused by heat, anyway. Wait a year, that's it.

[formanbradley]

That's like using a lint roller instead of a vacuum on carpet.

[Retroman]

Do this with my phat ps3 every 2 months

[Eidolon]

The phats are so old now, you need to re-do the thermal under the heat spreaders to really fix the fan level.

[Retroman]

thermal plate do not need re-paste yet, simple vacuum suction, run quiet now.

by the way im still gaming on ps3 phat reason why
im not into open world ,mmo,fps,rpg games. until developers (not indies) develop beat 'em ups , shoot em ups again for me buy ps4 as back in ol skool days im good with my phat ps3 playing ps1,ps2 games .

[DragonPaw]

Psssh, I bought the extended warranty with accidental and sent mine in last december *cough* last month left on my warranty. Quiet as a whisper and they didn't mess with my hard drive.

[Fullmetalevolust]

I barely hear my ps4...at what point does it start to become loud?

My phat ps3, however, after 5 minutes of being on, you'd think it's be about to take off and fly around the room, lol.

[DragonPaw]

I regularly cleaned my PS4, but it got louder and louder to the point where it sounded like a launch Xbox 360. At about two years, playing Witcher 3 had the fans going full blast ALL THE TIME.

[OB1Biker]

Same. I never understood why some people complained. Mine is a bit noisy when I switch it on and thats about it. I usually dont even pay attention but even now paying attention. Nearly 2 years since I bought it. Maybe problem with my hearing XD

[DragonPaw]

My console is a launch console, and I think the thick carpet in my house has a lot to do with the dust levels. There was no such thing as playing with the TV down as the sound from my PS4 really was making it hard to hear. Now alls well after it was serviced. I dunno what they did to it, but it seems mint.

[nitus10]

@DragonPaw

You have just mentioned the number one dust magnet and that is carpet.

In my house we got rid of all carpet except for the bedrooms and replaced it with tiles. We still get a small amount of dust (well dust bunnies) but it is easily removed.

If any member of your house suffers from nasal issues such as hay fever or has asthma then replacing all carpet with hard surfaces such as tiles, polished wood and lino (cheap but it does work) is essential.

[rainslacker]

Might be a bit more work, but if your house is so dusty that the PS4 gets loud after cleaning it, I would highly recommend actually pulling the carpet up, and taking a damp mop over the underlayment to get up years of dust that may exist. Even if you had new carpet put in, installers typically do not mop, and usually only sweep up what is easily accessible.

You'll of course want to look up how to do such a thing, as you'll have to restretch the carpet a bit. After doing all this, rent a decent carpet shampooer, and get some Zap low foam carpet shampoo, and you will find the dust in your house significantly decreased.

Can't count how many old carpets I pulled out of houses...including my own...during my time remodeling them, where there was a good 1/4"-1/2" of dust and construction dirt just laying in big areas of the floor. I used to clean my PS3 bi-weekly(even after a new fan and thermal paste) and it would still be really dusty until I got rid of all the old dust in the house.

Otherwise, tile or hardwood will also significantly reduce the dust. Older houses that were built before everything came pre-fabricated(more than 20 years old), likely have tons of dust, and an active air filter can do wonders...and you may even find yourself breathing better regardless of if people in the home have sensitivities to such things. Will be the best investment you ever made IMO.

[SonyStyled]

I just vacuum the vents on my consoles when I see dust starting to collect. It works for me. No loud fans

[IceKoldKilla]

Yep. Me too. I even remove the side panel where the HDD is and clean all that too just because.

[SonyStyled]

It says to vacuum them in the owners manual, not that I read that but vacuuming the intakes is almost common sense

[II__BONE__II]

One thing about using a vacuum to clean your fan on any electronic device.
You should use something to stop the fan from spinning while cleaning.
Most fans have a sealed bearing pack and are set for a certain R.P.M. 35000 for example,...If you use a vacuum you could end up spinning the motor faster than the recommend R.P.M. and burn or fuse the bearing pack.

[Eidolon]

My brothers was blasting off like a jet. I opened it up, cleaned out the PSU, and looked into the fan and found a lot of big dust bunnies blocking air from going through the heatsink, it was a long process getting them out with a flashlight, tweezers, and q-tips, and also really cleaning the fan fins... but his PS4 literally sounded brand new. I could hear his fan what I thought was max level through full blast volume of Just Cause 3, but after this, I couldn't hear it even on mute.

[jznrpg]

Damn, that hiuse must have a pile of dirt somewhere lol. I have never seen a fan that dirty and I have a pc that I havent cleaned simce I built it 12 years ago

[Paytaa]

I remember playing The Orange Box on my 360 and it would literally sound like a motor boat. My super slim PS3 and PS4 make like 0 noise for me.

[MRJefferson]

This is consoles nowadays you have to open if you really want to to clean.

[mEATgrinder]

What a piece of junk

[AG6686]

This is just common sense. Anyway if you want a quiet PS4 buy a C chassis one they are very quiet I can't even hear it most of the time even after hours of gaming, every few min the fans sometimes kick in for about 5sec then goes silent again. My launch PS4 is just always loud, it's actually louder on dashboard than when C chassis is playing games.

[HawaiianDreads]

If you feel comfortable enough you can also put some fresh new Thermal Paste on the CPU. I normally recommend doing that every 1.5-2 years, same go for PC's.

[nitus10]

With my desktop I can change the thermal paste in a few minutes since everything is accessible, however for my 5 year old laptop (original i7) it takes me over an hour to do it. For my original PS3 I have never changed the paste and it is still sounds (ie. fairly quiet) the same as to when I originally brought it.

For the PS4 if it is still under warranty then get it seen too. If it is out of warranty and if you are confident, there are plenty of YouTube HowTo's on changing the thermal paste.

[Artemidorus]

Finally a positive article worth reading, thanks for the advice

[SynestheticRoar]

Thanks. I just use my vac.

[Gamist2dot0]

Hum... got mine since launch and i sometimes i hear the loud noise. Wonder if it's because i sit too far from the machine or play with the volume too high... Time to clean it.

[II__BONE__II]

One other little tip.
Some people like to take a paint brush to loosen up the dust in those hard to reach places. Most paint brush bristles are made out of nylon or other materials that will build up static and can discharge into the computer components of your device causing damage.
If you insists on using such a tool I suggest rubbing the bristles on a fabric softener sheet (Bounce) or a light shot of Anti Static Spray and work it into the bristles and let dry.
Your hands can also build up static and discharge into the unit as well,some people will ground the device or wear anti static gloves.

[Knushwood Butt]

Or use an anti-static dusting brush. I have one from Tamiya that intended for dusting hobby models.

[rainslacker]

Forgot what they're called, but most computer shops will have a brush like that which won't have the nylon bristles. They cost the same as a brush you'd buy from a hobby shop.

One thing to stay away from is a duster type brush, as they actually use static electricity to get the dust to cling to them. These are typically bigger though, and not suitable for a console, although I use one the exterior of my consoles with the power turned off at the plug.

[1nsomniac]

Have to clean mine soon. Started sounding like a tank around the time The Witcher 3 released.

[mochachino]

My PS4 was never quiet. On some games it has always been very loud.

[Bladesfist]

Same, mine is the loudest thing on my desk.

[XtraTrstrL]

Just did this, even thoug I didn't have quite the right screwdriver tool. Didn't have the hole in the middle of the star shape, still got it to unscrew though.

[ThePresentIsAgift]

Buy an Xbox One?

Oh look , Eurogamers' Digital Foundry upgrades a PS4 controller using parts from the "inferior" console.

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

[Germany7]

Buying a console without exclusives it's not a good idea.

[Booyaka619]

No need to buy an inferior console without any exclusives.

[IceKoldKilla]

BO3 and inFAMOUS are the only games that turn my PS4 into a jet. I just think it's their fault for not optimizing the game properly. GTA V doesn't do it so... yeah.

[PSN_ZeroOnyx]

I have both those games and never hear my PS4.

[gamer7804]

my ps4 is loud, but i'm not going to void my warranty to vacuum it out.

[nitus10]

Some light vacuuming won't void your warranty, but if the PS4 is still noisy when playing a game then get it seen too under warranty.

Note a strong vacuum can damage your fan if you apply the nozzle directly to the inlet and outlet vents. Either stop the fan from moving with a skewer or wave the nozzle about 1 to 2 cm (approx 0.5 to 1 inch) over the vents.

If you do see dirt build up on your PS4 you really should ask why this is happening and clean your surroundings accordingly.

If you saw the article a fan that is clogged like that would be mainly due to excessive smoking in a humid environment.

[gamer7804]

yah thats true, i use a light dust buster on the edges, i just don't open it up. I also don't use compressed air anymore as some tend to be cold and can cause moister that cakes on dust onto heatsinks and fans.

[Aghashie]

1- Is ur PS4 well ventilated?
2- Are the sides dirty or covered in dust? (If so, this indicate it's internals are probably dirty as well)
3- Is ur PS4 close to a heat source?

Running a hot PS4 over extended periods will diminish the life of the Heat Paste and eventually it will cause a malfunction.

If you hear the fan at top speed all the time, then something must be wrong w it. Some simple precaution will help u extend the life of ur precious system.

:)

[2pacalypsenow]

Godamn! how he get so much Dust in there? ive had mine since day one and I barely have dust in there

[Kingdomcome247]

I've done this with both my first PS4 and my first Xbox One whenever their warranties were expired. My Arkham Knight PS4's warranty ends in June, and my matte black 1TB Xbox One runs out next April. Once they expire , I'll do this again. It really makes a big difference, and no matter how cleanly you are, you'll be shocked at the amount of dust inside of your console. At least I was, and I ritually keep my things clean. The Xbox One is much more of a chore to open up and clean, that's for sure.

[jojo319]

I recently got a new PS4 about four months ago. It was really loud out of the box. Would it do me any good to send it in?

[hiawa23]

My PS4 was loud standing so it lays flat, not as loud, not as quiet as the X1, but okay. I am not opening it up, so that will have to do.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

Its good that its easy access to the fan... just a pity it voids the warrenty not that it matters much unless you have extended warranty on it. Might do it to mine i usally us the vac to try keep the dust build up down

[LostFlock]

interesting might give this a shot. I noticed that it gets worse ( for me anyways) when the PS4 is on stand by for 2+ days.

[weirdo]

my ps4 is a week old and the high pitch whining noise is unbearable (cuh-1216a) i have been on the forums and there is no fix, it affects all the new ps4s (a design flaw imo) so there is no point getting a replacement ps4. i live in a flat so i can't turn my tv up too loud to drown the noise out. i think it's the fans, can't be the hard drive as i installed a 1tb ssd which is silent.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

Maybe a 7.1 surround headset might be up your ally if you cant turn tv up too loud.

[Retroman]

@ weirdo

try youtube type in "how to fix " high pitch whining ps4 im sure someone have your issues .

[weirdo]

there is no "fix". it's a design flaw. affects only the new models :(

[fitfox]

dont have this problem

[FN4GM]

Mines not loud at all in fact I rarely hear it, but then again I keep it in a well ventilated and clean area, I guess some people are just disgusting pigs that need to dust once in a while.

[Ozmoses]

I have a table-top style fan that I always keep about 1-2 feet on speed 1 away from my PS3/PS4.. Both are stand vertically on a piece of smooth marble.. it's one of those like samples that a company would show for countertops..

I mean the ps4 is loud but it doesn't really bother that much. I guess it depends on the game you're playing to be honest. some games definitely work it harder than others. But I always feel my system every time I come back from the bathroom or a smoke break and after I wash my hand to feel the temperature. For the most part it's always been slighty warm at best. I mean it's never been super hot or anything.

I got the PS4 day one and I've pretty much have had a tabletop fan pointed at the console on speed 1 every time I turn it on. So yeah I don't think I really have this problem. When it comes to my video game stuff I don't mess around I treat it with proper care.

I even cover the consoles with the piece of plastic that covers a brand new TV inside of the box everytime I vacuum my room. I mean vacuums clean and everything but they also kick up a lot of particles and stuff you don't even see.

[loganbdh]

Well from the looks of the picture I can tell you stop smoking weed by your console...

[FreakyFox]

I hit my PS4 and PC with a Dyson EMP blast every now and then, they love it.

If any hardware fails under abit of static, then the hardware is clearly floored. (very hard to prove it is/was static)

Consider this, a fan inside your device leading to convection, which moves cool and warm air, dust , electrons etc, around your divice, while it is being pumped with some nice voltage, is more at risk than vacuuming some vents and fans.

[rezzah]

I use both the dust cover when the system is off, and a table top air purifier directed towards the system's vents (when on) to keep the system cool and collect dust in the air. The purifier is at least 12 inches away from the system.