PS4 third-party repair

pilotjj1

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Can someone suggest / recommend a third-party repair shop for PS4. My brother's PS4 died (flashing blue light) and the unit is out of warranty.

We checked the official repair centre (Axis Plus) but they are required to wipe the HDD even before commencing inspection (sort of a SOP from Sony). We would like to save the data as far as possible... that's why looking for third party. Thanks.
 

incubus07

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are you ok with doing a diy backup of your hdd? Its quite easy, just follow steps.
 

PierceLee

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You can't do a backup if you can't power it on. But if you can manage to power it on just for a few minutes, the first thing to do is copy out your saved data to USB.

Google for the flashing blue light, there are some basic steps like holding down the power button to get into safe mode etc. Try those first.

I would also recommend examining the PS4 yourself. Open it up to look for obvious things like dust buildup, clean up the dust, especially from the fan. You will need a special screwdriver though (T9 torx I think, can buy from hardware/DIY stores). Look up some youtube videos. It's relatively safe, just open the casing to expose the interiors and the fan, not dismantling any more than that, no wires to deal with.

If have to send for repair, remove the HDD. Surely the Sony repair center has some spare HDD they can use to examine the ps4, just tell them you already removed the HDD. Otherwise put in any spare hdd you may have. If their repair doesn't replaces the motherboard, there's a chance your old HDD (removed from the ps4) can still work after the repair. After they investigate, before they attempt anything major, they should call you to give you an estimate of the cost anyway (or you can remind them to do so), ask them what they will change and whether your removed HDD will still work (ask to speak to the engineer doing the repair, if the person on the phone doesn't know). [ps. I have not dealt with ps4 repair center before. The above is just general repair center process.]

If the account that was used to play the games is PS+ member, it's likely that the game saves were already uploaded to the cloud. (This requires certain settings to automate the regular upload, as well as putting the PS4 in rest mode instead of powering off completely.) If cloud backup was automated, then the game saves are still recoverable.
 

pilotjj1

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You can't do a backup if you can't power it on. But if you can manage to power it on just for a few minutes, the first thing to do is copy out your saved data to USB.

Google for the flashing blue light, there are some basic steps like holding down the power button to get into safe mode etc. Try those first.

I would also recommend examining the PS4 yourself. Open it up to look for obvious things like dust buildup, clean up the dust, especially from the fan. You will need a special screwdriver though (T9 torx I think, can buy from hardware/DIY stores). Look up some youtube videos. It's relatively safe, just open the casing to expose the interiors and the fan, not dismantling any more than that, no wires to deal with.

If have to send for repair, remove the HDD. Surely the Sony repair center has some spare HDD they can use to examine the ps4, just tell them you already removed the HDD. Otherwise put in any spare hdd you may have. If their repair doesn't replaces the motherboard, there's a chance your old HDD (removed from the ps4) can still work after the repair. After they investigate, before they attempt anything major, they should call you to give you an estimate of the cost anyway (or you can remind them to do so), ask them what they will change and whether your removed HDD will still work (ask to speak to the engineer doing the repair, if the person on the phone doesn't know). [ps. I have not dealt with ps4 repair center before. The above is just general repair center process.]

If the account that was used to play the games is PS+ member, it's likely that the game saves were already uploaded to the cloud. (This requires certain settings to automate the regular upload, as well as putting the PS4 in rest mode instead of powering off completely.) If cloud backup was automated, then the game saves are still recoverable.

I have done most of the stuffs related to resolving the blue light issue short of actually opening up the unit or changing HDD. The PS4 can't even boot into safe mode.

Since the warranty is already over, I am thinking might as well bring it to a third-party shop and be more flexible with the options. Any suggestions?

And no, neither of us have PS+. I regularly back up my game saves to USB so I will not lose much. But my bro will lose everything.
 

delceer

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Anyone know where to repair PS3 ? Some free game on PS3. Thinking to repair it since I have ps plus.
 

jrwong84

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Anyone know where to repair PS3 ? Some free game on PS3. Thinking to repair it since I have ps plus.

Not worth to repair a ps3 now even it cost $100 or below is because ps3 2nd hand bundles with many games can get at $200, or even lesser at carousell so best advice is just buy a good condition 2nd hand, even after you repair your old one it might break down again in a year or two.
 

wwenze

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Wiping HDD is SOP to protect user information. Unfortunately credit card info and save games all fall under user information.

I have done most of the stuffs related to resolving the blue light issue short of actually opening up the unit or changing HDD. The PS4 can't even boot into safe mode.

Well... the most common hardware failure correlated to blinking blue light requires opening up the unit to fix...

Have you tried stepping on it?

j/k, but usually it's the soldering between the APU and the motherboard that goes bad, so people try to add more heatsink pressure hoping the mechanical force will result in contact. Google washer trick.

Or you can try stepping on it if you don't want to disassemble


Although I would start with (gently) placing the PS4 in different orientations: sideways, upside down...
 

nimal90

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Wiping HDD is SOP to protect user information. Unfortunately credit card info and save games all fall under user information.



Well... the most common hardware failure correlated to blinking blue light requires opening up the unit to fix...

Have you tried stepping on it?

j/k, but usually it's the soldering between the APU and the motherboard that goes bad, so people try to add more heatsink pressure hoping the mechanical force will result in contact. Google washer trick.

Or you can try stepping on it if you don't want to disassemble


Although I would start with (gently) placing the PS4 in different orientations: sideways, upside down...

I got the same issue on my PS4. First time feel so disappointing to Sony Quality.
 
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