Blog
PS5 HDMI Port Replacement: Why Cheap Can Cost More
PS5 HDMI repair means microsoldering and a full teardown. See why 49 of our last 50 PS5s also needed a deep clean and liquid metal fix.
⏱ 17 min readIn short
- A PS5 HDMI port is soldered straight to the motherboard. Its 19 main pins (plus 4 mounting tabs) sit on a connector about 14 mm wide, so each joint is under a millimetre. This is microsoldering, not a plug-in part swap.
- To reach the port, the whole console comes apart. That’s the one moment every dust-clogged heatsink and the APU’s liquid metal can be properly serviced.
- Of the last 50 consoles on our bench, 49 needed a deep clean. The only exception was a PS5 Slim used for under a year.
- Liquid metal dry spots and heavy dust were found in every single PS5 we opened in 2026 that had been in use for more than 1–2 years. Not one was free of both problems.
- At Mr-Fix, every HDMI replacement includes a full clean and liquid metal service. That’s why our repairs last, backed by a 3-month warranty.
- Real value for every pound. Our £120 covers the whole job: the new HDMI port, a deep clean and liquid metal service. Few repairs give you this much for the price, and we’d rather earn your trust with quality than with the lowest number.
In this article
- Is a cheap PS5 HDMI replacement a good deal?
- Why is HDMI port replacement real microsoldering?
- What else gets exposed when a PS5 is opened?
- The fuel tank test: are a deep clean and liquid metal service really needed?
- How Mr-Fix handles every PS5 HDMI repair
- Cheap vs proper: what you really pay for
- What we find inside PS5s after other repairs
- How to choose who fixes your PS5
- FAQ
- The one thing to remember
Today a customer brought in her PS5 with a faulty HDMI port. When I gave her our price, it was a bit more than she expected. She knew other local shops advertise cheaper HDMI replacements, so she decided to look around.
That’s completely fair. But it made me want to explain what actually happens inside a PS5 during this repair, and what a lower quote often leaves out. By the end of this article you’ll know the two hidden problems in almost every older PS5, and why the “fuel tank” test is the simplest way to decide.
A typical PS5 on our bench: a broken HDMI port, and a cooling system full of dust.
Is a cheap PS5 HDMI replacement a good deal?
Sometimes, but only if it’s done properly and nothing else is ignored. The HDMI port itself is a small part. The real cost is skilled microsoldering and a full teardown. A low price usually means either the soldering is rushed, or the console is closed back up without dealing with dust and liquid metal, the two issues most likely to kill it next.
We’re not saying every cheaper shop does bad work. Some do a good job. But a price alone can’t tell you what was skipped.
Why is HDMI port replacement real microsoldering?
On the PS5, the HDMI port isn’t on a separate board you can unplug. It’s soldered directly onto the motherboard.
- 19 signal pins plus 4 mounting tabs on a connector roughly 14 mm wide.
- Each pin must be soldered in a space of less than 1 mm, with a clean gap on both sides so it doesn’t bridge (accidentally connect) to its neighbour.
- The old port has to come off without lifting the tiny copper pads underneath. Damaged pads mean an even bigger repair.
Done right, this needs a microscope, controlled heat and an understanding of how solder and copper behave when heated. That’s how we approach it at Mr-Fix: from the physics of the joint, not just “melt and push”, so the port survives years of plugging and unplugging.
What else gets exposed when a PS5 is opened?
Everything. To get the motherboard out, the console must be fully stripped. With the board removed, only the power supply and half the plastic shell are left. It’s the best possible moment to clean every part, and the worst moment to skip it.
Problem 1: dust packed into a huge cooling system
The PS5’s cooling is massive for its size. Sony’s own teardown shows a large heatsink and a 120 mm double-sided fan pushing air through it.
Based on the fan’s size and speed, our estimate is that it moves somewhere around 50–100 m³ of air per hour. A typical UK room of 4 × 4 × 3 m holds 48 m³. So at the top of that range, your PS5 can pull roughly twice the air in your whole room through itself every hour. Every bit of dust in that air has a chance to stick to the fins, fan and board.
Over months of gaming, that dust:
- Blocks the heatsink fins, so the console runs hotter and the fan gets louder.
- Holds moisture. In damp UK homes, dusty layers on a board can help cause corrosion and even short circuits.
- Can’t be fixed from outside. These days, most consoles we see are so clogged we can’t clean them properly without a full strip-down. A blast of air into the vents won’t reach it.
A PS5 heatsink completely blocked with dust. No air can pass through it.
49 of 50
Our bench data: of the last 50 PS5s we serviced for any fault, 49 needed a deep clean. The one that didn’t was a PS5 Slim, used for less than a year.
The fan from another console. Dust builds up on every blade.
📝 Coming soon: we’re writing a full guide on why cleaning matters for laptops, consoles and PCs. We’ll link it right here once it’s published.
Problem 2: liquid metal that has moved
Between the PS5’s main chip (the APU, the processor and graphics in one) and the cooler sits a thin layer of liquid metal. It’s a metal alloy that stays liquid at room temperature and moves heat far better than ordinary thermal paste or pads.
Sony chose it on purpose. Its engineer Yasuhiro Ootori said it was used “to ensure long-term, stable, high-cooling performance”. Think of it as the bridge between the chip and the cooler: no matter how good the cooler is, it can only remove heat that reaches it.
The catch is in the name: it’s liquid. Liquid metal is also electrically conductive, which is why Sony surrounded the chip with foam padding to keep it in place. Over time, especially with the console standing upright, it can creep away and leave dry spots: patches of chip with no contact with the cooler. Newer consoles have a changed design. On a PS5 Slim we had on the bench recently, we saw ribs on the heatsink’s contact plate (the metal part that touches the liquid metal), there to hold it in place. This confirms that Sony knows about the problem, which only shows up after long use, and has even changed the design to reduce how often it happens.
The PS5 launched in the UK in November 2020, so many consoles are now five to six years old. What we see on our bench:
- Before: dry spots appeared now and then, and they were small.
- In 2026: not one console we opened that had been in use for more than 1–2 years was free of both problems: dry spots and heavy dust.
- Overall: on a console with a few years of use, the question isn’t whether there are dry spots, only how big they are.
Signs your PS5 may already be affected: a loud fan, or the console switching off or restarting mid-game.
Liquid metal dry spots across most of a PS5 APU. These areas no longer pass heat to the cooler.
Why dry spots can’t just be topped up
When liquid metal stops covering part of the APU, the exposed areas don’t stay clean. A layer builds up there that works a lot like rust. New liquid metal won’t stay on it. Until that layer is properly removed, the dry spot keeps coming back.
There’s a catch. The surface of the APU, and the cooler plate it presses against, is finely polished, and it has to stay that way to pass heat well. Removing that layer without scratching the surface is careful, skilled work.
The rust-like layer left where liquid metal had dried out. New liquid metal won't stick to it until it's carefully removed.
So ask yourself: would you let someone whose skills you have any doubts about scrape that layer off the most important chip in your console? Many technicians have never learned to work with liquid metal properly. They learn as they go, on customers’ consoles, and that approach is unacceptable. This job needs deep understanding, proper training and research, the right skills, and the right attitude. Too often the goal is simply to get the job done, not to do it the best possible way. The liquid metal itself costs around £20. What you’re really paying for is the skill to apply it properly.
That’s why our deep clean and liquid metal service brings the whole cooling system back to an as-new state: no dust, and liquid metal covering 100% of the APU.
After our service: liquid metal covering 100% of the APU, ready for the cooler to go back on.
The fuel tank test: are a deep clean and liquid metal service really needed?
Imagine a car with no fuel gauge and no low-fuel warning. If you never fill it up, one day it stops somewhere far from home. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a “car person” or not; that’s just how it works.
Your PS5 is that car. It gives no warning about dust or dry spots until it starts overheating, shutting down or, in the worst case, damaging the APU.
Skipping the clean and liquid metal service while the console is already open is like pumping up your tyres at a petrol station but refusing fuel, without knowing how much is left in the tank.
That’s why we do both every single time we open a PS5, whatever the original fault. We’d recommend them even as stand-alone maintenance every couple of years.
How Mr-Fix handles every PS5 HDMI repair
Included in our standard HDMI replacement price
- Full teardown and inspection of the motherboard
- Microscope-controlled removal and soldering of the new HDMI port
- Deep clean of the heatsink, fan, board and shell
- Liquid metal service: on every older console we do whatever it needs to keep the APU properly cooled for the next few years
- Full test before handover
- Same-day service available
- Warranty: 3 months on everything we do, with an optional 1-year extended warranty
Our real warranty: a track record
Every repair we do comes with a 3-month warranty. But here’s the part we’re proudest of: since we replaced our very first PS5 HDMI port a few years ago, not a single one has come back to us, not even for service.
That record, together with what our customers say in their Google reviews, is the best warranty we can give you.
Want extra peace of mind? We’re happy to extend the warranty on our work to 1 year, at any time, even after the repair is done. We always do the best work we possibly can, so we’re comfortable standing behind it for longer. The extended warranty has an extra cost, and it’s available to any customer who wants it. Just ask and we’ll give you a quote.
Cheap vs proper: what you really pay for
| Typical budget HDMI swap | Mr-Fix HDMI replacement | |
|---|---|---|
| HDMI port replaced | Yes | Yes, under a professional microscope, with high-end soldering tools and a deep understanding of the physics of the process |
| Deep clean of cooling system | Often not included | Always included |
| Liquid metal service | Often not included | Always included |
| Cooling system after the repair | Left as it was: dust and dry spots stay | Back to as-new: no dust, liquid metal covering 100% of the APU |
| Time, skills and equipment | The aim is to spend as little time as possible working on your PS5 from start to finish; skills and equipment often can’t deliver a lasting result | As long as the job needs: deep understanding, experience and skill, with the focus firmly on quality |
| When you get your PS5 back | Work is quick once started, but often doesn’t start the same day: your console waits in a queue, or is sent out to an outsourced technician and back. A turnaround of 3 days or more is quite usual | Usually fixed the same day, with the full clean and liquid metal service included |
| Price | Often ~£100 | £120, all included |
“Cheap” doesn’t always mean you spend less. If a repair needs redoing, you pay twice. If the console then needs a clean or liquid metal work because it shuts down or the fan roars, you pay again.
Redoing other services’ repairs is, sadly, not rare for us. Our most recent case even ended up in one of our Google reviews, written by the PS5’s owner.
Isn’t this just an upsell? Honestly, no
It might look as if we’ve bolted two extra services onto an HDMI replacement, and about £20 more than a typical ~£100 quote. It isn’t a marketing trick. Everything explained above is essential if you want your PS5 to keep giving you good times for years, not weeks.
Take the dust. We used to clean consoles inside our workshop. Over the last year, there has been so much dust in every PS5 that we now have to finish the job outdoors.
When we add up the time, effort and costs, these two services aren’t profitable for us. We do them anyway, every time, because quality is the direction of everything we do, and because we value our customers.
Our aim has always been the best value for your money, and that means doing the job completely.
The part of our work you don’t see
Most people come to us first to ask questions, explain the problem and get advice. Our aim at that stage is simple: give you all the relevant information and every realistic way to fix it. By the end, you have a complete picture and can make the best decision for your own situation.
Take a broken MacBook screen. Many services quote one thing: replace the whole display assembly. We usually offer 3–5 different options, explain how each would go, its pros and cons, and then let you decide. Only then do we do the work itself, with all our expertise. Read more in our MacBook LCD troubleshooting guide.
That first part, the consultation, is half of our work. Leave it out, and a shop does 50% less, which in real life can mean a 50% difference in price. Keep it in, and you get a level of service many people simply aren’t used to.
💬 Not sure what your PS5 needs? Send us your model and the symptoms, and we’ll tell you honestly what’s worth doing. You can also see our PS5 and Xbox repair services. WhatsApp us, call 07493 782786 or send a message.
What we find inside PS5s after other repairs
Unfortunately, it’s not a one-off. We regularly open consoles that have already been to another repair shop and find work that ranges from careless to downright dangerous for the device.
Liquid metal spilled across the motherboard
Sony places a special barrier around the APU to keep the liquid metal exactly where it belongs. If that barrier is disturbed or put back carelessly, liquid metal can escape onto the board.
That’s serious, because liquid metal is a metal: it conducts electricity. If a drop touches two contacts that Sony never meant to be connected, it acts like a tiny piece of wire between them. That’s a short circuit: electricity takes an accidental path instead of the designed one, and it can burn out any component on the board.
Liquid metal spilled across the motherboard tracks after a repair elsewhere. Each drop can short-circuit the board.
Other things we’ve seen this year alone
- Broken connectors on the motherboard
- Scratched APUs. The chip’s polished surface damaged while removing old liquid metal.
- Wrong screws in the wrong places. A screw that’s too long can crack the board or damage parts underneath.
- Poor soldering. Joints that look fine at first, then crack or bridge pins weeks later.
Soldering deserves its own article. It can take hours to explain properly, and electronics engineers spend years at university learning the science behind it.
Search online for “bad solder joint” and you’ll find countless examples, including videos showing what happens when one fails. Soldering isn’t just heating metal until it melts. The molten solder has to properly bond to both parts it joins, the pad on the board and the pin of the component, or there’s no reliable electrical connection.
Getting that right takes a deep understanding of the physics behind the process, every preparation step done properly, the skill to carry it out, and equipment that can actually do the job. Miss any one of them, and a joint can look fine on the day but fail weeks later. That’s why “bad solder joint” is such a common phrase today. It’s a whole science, so give your PS5 to technicians you can trust.
📝 Coming soon: our article on soldering, and why good joints last while bad ones crack. We’ll link it here once it’s ready.
How to choose who fixes your PS5
Before you leave your console anywhere, take a few minutes to ask these questions. A good technician will be happy to answer them:
- What training does the technician have? Ask about their degree or training in electronics, and where they learned it.
- What equipment do they use? Proper HDMI work needs a quality microscope, soldering station and hot air station. These three tools alone cost us several thousand pounds.
- How long does the job take? A proper HDMI replacement, with a full teardown, deep clean and liquid metal service, takes hours, not minutes.
Then ask yourself: with skilled hours and expensive equipment involved, how can a repair like this cost less than £100? The lower the price, the more likely something is being cut: skill, equipment or time.
Our price for a PS5 HDMI replacement is £120, including the deep clean and liquid metal service. More than 80% of our customers find that reasonable and are happy to go ahead.
FAQ
£120. That includes the full teardown, microsoldering of the new port, a deep clean of the cooling system and liquid metal service. Same-day service is usually available.
At Mr-Fix it can usually be done the same day, including the full clean and liquid metal service. Timing depends on the condition of the board; if pads are damaged, it may take longer, and we'll tell you before going ahead.
You can remove the side panels and clear the dust catchers, which helps. But the heatsink fins and board can't be properly reached without a full teardown, and opening that far risks damage and disturbing the liquid metal.
The most common signs are a fan that's louder than it used to be, the console getting very hot, and sudden shutdowns or restarts during games. These can also be caused by dust, which is why we check and fix both together.
Newer consoles, including the Slim, have a redesigned contact plate with ribs that help hold the liquid metal in place. We've seen this ourselves on a recent Slim, and it confirms Sony knows about the issue and changed the design to reduce it. The one console in our last 50 that didn't need cleaning was a near-new Slim. It still collects dust over time, so regular cleaning still applies. The Slim is still fairly new, so time will tell what the redesign changes in real numbers. In our opinion it should be much better, and Sony's design teams may even have solved the problem completely. We'll be happy to confirm and share what we see on our bench in a few years, once Slims reach the age at which the original PS5s started showing it.
Because the console is already fully open. Closing it back up with packed dust and dry spots means paying for another full teardown later, often after it has started overheating.
The one thing to remember
An HDMI repair fixes the picture. A deep clean and liquid metal service keep the console alive. When your PS5 is already in pieces on the bench, doing all three is the smart choice, and it’s what we do every time.
The way we work at Mr-Fix
Likes on a photo have become a kind of currency. Crypto can feel stronger than real money. In the same way, trust and reviews have become a business’s real currency today, and a far better measure of value than price alone. We bet on quality, on honest reviews, and on making every customer happy who truly wants the best for their device. We hope this article shows exactly that.
Book your PS5 repair at Mr-Fix
Same-day HDMI replacement for £120, with deep clean and liquid metal service included. Every repair carries a 3-month warranty. See all our PS5 and Xbox repairs in Bicester. You’ll find our office at The Eco Business Centre, Elmsbrook, Bicester OX27 8BL.
Thinking of becoming one of our customers?
Have a read of our Google reviews. Do the people who chose Mr-Fix sound like you? If you’d like an experience so good that you’d want to write a review just like theirs afterwards, we’d love to look after your PS5.
Related guides
- MacBook LCD troubleshooting: repair options without replacing the whole assembly
- Why cleaning your laptop, console or PC matters (coming soon)
Sources
- Notebookcheck: PS5 teardown, liquid metal and 120 mm fan
- GamesBeat: why the PS5 uses liquid metal
- GSMArena: PS5 teardown, heatsink and liquid metal
- MP1st: liquid metal leak claims and Slim/Pro changes
- Tom’s Hardware: Sony’s official PS5 teardown
Mr-Fix is an independent repair service and is not affiliated with Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation and PS5 are trademarks of Sony.