Keeping PS5 Upright Won’t Damage It, Report Says

Keeping your PS5 upright is completely fine, outlet Wololo clarified. A report from a few weeks ago suggested that placing the current-gen console in an upright position was likely to cause internal damage by causing liquid metal to leak out of the sides of the APU, and possibly spread on the motherboard. The outlet has now retracted its statement, saying that while the issue may still occur, there is “no evidence” that it will happen to consoles fresh out of the box, free of tampering. This would mainly affect those who have had their PS5 repaired recently, so you may need to be careful how you position it. Cool PS5s are safe when placed upright.

Wololo said the initial report had to do with a misunderstanding on their part, where they “believed” the liquid metal issue had occurred on an untampered PS5 unit. “What he [The Cod3r — hardware Youtuber who first brought the design flaw to attention] said (and meant) were PS5s that hadn’t been opened (the actual console!) by other repair shops before him,” Wololo tweeted. If the problem was indeed serious, it would reflect badly on Sony, as the company continues to advertise the product in an upright position. Sony previously clarified that you can orient a PS5 both vertically and horizontally, thanks to a plastic base that clips onto the console’s outer white shell.

That said, TheCod3r and Wololo cling to their claim that holding a PS5 vertically is indeed risky, ultimately leading to an uneven distribution of liquid metal meant to help cool the APU. However, there is no widespread evidence to support this claim. For what it’s worth, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan announced during CES 2023 that the PS5 has sold over 30 million units worldwide. He also claimed that December – the Christmas season – was the biggest selling month for the console yet and that players should now have a much “easier” time to find a unit from local retailers. It’s still unclear if this applies to India, where PS5s are being made available in batches that go out of stock within minutes.

In September, Sony quietly revamped the internals of the newly revised PS5 models, which first hit Australian markets. The new units sported a CFI-1200 number and were found to be 200 grams lighter than the original CFI-1100 variant, as confirmed by YouTuber tech Austin Evans. The new PS5 also consumed less power and saw changes to the heatsink and included an updated motherboard.

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