During a major esports tournament held in Las Vegas, several participants noticed a problem with the PlayStation 5. Overheating would lead to severe deterioration of the USB ports. A flaw that our colleagues from Frandroid have seen.
During the weekend of August 4 to 6, 2023, Evo 2023 took place, a major esports tournament based around several fighting games (including street fighter 6). This event, held by Sony, may be highlighting a PlayStation 5 hardware issue. console. Concretely, pieces of plastic, weakened by overheating, would remain blocked in the connector of the controller when it is disconnected.
Several testimonies abound in this direction, with supporting photos. We see connectors that have “merged” with a piece of the Sony console’s USB port. “ The Evo proves that the PlayStation 5 isn’t the answer. USB ports are melting like snow in the sun (…). We have to play on PC or Xbox “Laments SabreAZ. The Evo uses the PS, because the competition has been Sony’s property since 2021, with all the constraints that this entails (compatibility of certain accessories, limited power compared to supercharged PC configurations).
USB ports melting on PS5, an isolated case?
When this kind of hardware problem occurs, it is not forbidden to think that it is an isolated case. Here, we are still talking about a major tournament, during which PlayStation 5s run at full speed for hours and hours, probably in a room where the temperatures are not the coolest. However, other people, aside from the Evo 2023, have put the concern on the table. This was the case a few weeks ago with Cassim Ketfi, our fellow journalist from Frandroid. On his PS5 purchased at launch, he has “ simply remove the USB dongle of a wireless headset from the front port without forcing it and then saw the damage.
” During our regional tournaments, three PS5s were running Street Fighter 6. During the first weekend that the consoles ran for several hours, the USB ports on the back melted. Either these ports are not designed for this, or they underestimated the heat generated by the console “, noted Danaiden, which provides another testimonial apart from the Evo. The PlayStation 5 has three USB-A ports: one on the front and two on the back. The two on the back are located near the air outlets. The thermal management of the PS5 is normally good, but the console can generate a lot of heat. It even received improvements with some internal revisions.
It’s still too early to make this a major issue comparable to the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con Drift (which Nintendo has come to terms with). Moreover, Sony has still not commented on this case. But, if you own a PS5, be as gentle as possible when unplugging an accessory after using your console for several hours.
Subscribe for free to Artificials, our AI newsletter, designed by AIs, verified by Numerama!