If you’re a PlayStation 5 owner, then you’ve no doubt been inundated over the last few weeks with everyone and their mothers aggressively explaining how you should have your console standing vertically or lying down. While at first this was done out of concern, as the days have passed, this has become little more than a passive-aggressive way to hate on Sony.
Now the root of all this madness stems from two primary sources on the internet. First from TheCod3r and then, most significantly, from Wololo whose gross misquoting of TheCod3r’s video led to all of the current hoo-ha, as is the case with most points of contention in the online space.
Okay, so to briefly go through what happened, the fact and fiction edition. In September 2022, a video hit the internet titled “You Won’t Believe WHY This PlayStation 5 Stopped Working! Can I Fix Sony’s Catastrophic Mistakes?” in this video TheCod3r, during a console repair, discovered a somewhat alarming issue with a PS5 he was busy repairing.
The issue was that the liquid metal thermal paste that covers the PS5’s processor had spilt out to the surrounding area. And I don’t need to tell anywhere on NAG how problematic leaking thermal paste is. This problem was not specific to a type of PS5 console either, meaning that this could happen to both digital or disc-based versions of the console.
While showcasing the problem in his video, TheCod3r ended up hypothesising that based on the direction that the liquid metal had spilt, it looked like gravity had taken over and caused the liquid metal to drip through the seal meant to keep it in place. But while this was an explanation for the direction of the leak, it wasn’t the cause of the core problem.
However, the internet did what it often does. Instead of adequately watching and digesting the video, many grabbed onto the pure fear of losing their beloved PS5 and panic spread. Something that wasn’t helped any by TheCod3r saying that the leaking console in question had never been opened and the “Sony’s Catastrophic Mistake” video title.
This is where the fuel got added to the first few sparks of fire. Wololo ran with the “console has never been opened” line believing that that meant it had never been taken out of the box when instead TheCod3r had indicated that he was the first technician to have opened the console, and this misquoting set the internet on fire with many fearing that this was an inherent design flaw of the PS5 they would need to watch out for.
Here goes nothing:
There was a critical misunderstanding on our end when we thought TheCod3r said the Liquid Metal problem happened on unopened, in-box PS5s. What he said (and meant) was PS5s that had not been opened (the actual console!) by other repair shops prior to him.
(1/2)— Wololo (@frwololo) January 9, 2023
Now that the backstory is out of the way let’s take a moment to delve into the facts. Is it safe to keep your PS5 in a vertical position without it turning into a liquid metal mess? Yes. Sony designed the PlayStation 5 to be stood up vertically, and after over two years in the wild, the console has been operating with a standard rate of success and failure.
Sure there is a chance that one of the built-in systems within the console could fail. Still, all electronics can fail, and when it comes to the leaking issue, there is a higher and more prominent risk of your console’s power supply failing than your console developing an unexplained leak.
Also, in a follow-up video, TheCod3r stresses that this is not a common issue with PS5’s; however, it is an issue he will be checking for when consoles end up on his repair table mainly because of how easy and cheap it is to fix when compared to other problems with the console.
Those prone to console anxiety should note that this isn’t a red ring of death scale problem, and while this might seem alarming, it’s just par for the course when it comes to electronics, and there isn’t much you can do to prevent or induce it.
Now we want to know from you, how do you keep your PS5? Let us know down below.
