A couple of weeks ago reports came out that PS5 owners who used their console in the vertical orientation might be damaging their device in the process. The news was broken by a hardware repair shop owner 68Logic (via Wololo). He showed that the liquid metal used to cool the APU inside the PS5 is not as stable as expected. 68Logic said that he had encountered cases of PS5s that had the liquid metal seep out and ended up shorting out the motherboard.
Making it even worse, he also said that the problem had not only been witnessed in working PS5s but even one console that was still packed inside its box, entirely unopened. That is where the misunderstanding comes in. Wololo updated on Twitter that while the problem is real and can happen, there is no evidence that it can happen to a console that is just removed from its original box.
So What Happens If I Keep My PS5 In The Vertical Position
So if your PS5 has never been opened or repaired, you don’t really need to worry about its orientation. If you have had it repaired though, or opened for any reason, it’s better to be prudent and keep it lying flat, just in case.
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
Opening a PS5 isn’t exactly easy, and can’t be done with tools lying around the house either. Back in 2020, PlayStation engineer Yasuhiro Ootori showed how you need a special screwdriver called a Torx T8 to get into the internals.
In other PlayStation news, Jim Ryan says that the console shortage is essentially over, and anyone looking to buy a PS5 now should be able to acquire one without too much trouble. PlayStation has also introduced Project Leonardo, a new controller for people with disabilities that allows them to have an easier time navigating controllers thanks to bigger buttons and programmable options.