Loud fan, random shutdowns, performance drops mid-game? We diagnose what's actually running hot and address it, from a thermal service all the way to APU reflow when the heat has done real damage.
Most overheating problems start gradually. The fan ramps up more than it used to. The top vent feels warmer to the touch. Then the random shutdowns start, usually during the most demanding parts of the most demanding games. Then it starts shutting down on lighter games. Eventually, if it's left untreated long enough, the heat stress can damage the APU itself, which moves the repair from a thermal service into something more involved.
Catching it earlier matters. A console that gets serviced at the loud-fan stage is a much simpler job than one that's already been thermally shutting down for six months.
Reflow is the controlled re-melting of the solder under the processor chip. It's a real technique with real applications, and it's also widely misunderstood because of how it was abused by less-careful repair operations a decade ago. Done properly, it requires a profile-controlled hot-air station, board preheating, and an actual temperature profile, not just blasting a heat gun at the chip.
A proper reflow can return a console to working order when the fault is cracked BGA joints. It's not a fix for every problem, and we won't reflow a board where the symptoms point elsewhere. When we do reflow an Xbox, it's because the diagnosis identified BGA joint failure specifically.
Sometimes a console comes in for overheating and the symptom turns out to be something else entirely. If the console is shutting off without ever reaching the dashboard, it might be a power supply fault. If the fan is loud but the console isn't actually thermally throttling, it might just be a worn fan. Diagnosis comes first and the repair quote follows from what we actually find. See our PS5 overheating repair page if you have the same symptom on a PS5.
Removal of the original thermal compound between the APU and heatsink and reapplication with quality paste, restoring proper thermal transfer.
Complete teardown, fan removal and clean, dust extraction from the heatsink fins and exhaust path.
Bench testing the main cooling fan for bearing wear or controller fault. Replacement when the fan is the actual root cause of the heat issue.
Controlled-temperature reflow of the APU when sustained thermal stress has cracked the BGA solder joints under the chip.
Book your repair online or visit us at our Orleans location. Walk-ins welcome 6 days a week.