PlayStation 3 repair and data recovery

PS3, PS3 Slim and Super Slim: yellow light faults, disc drives, hard drives and saves.

What goes wrong

The original large PS3 is famous for the yellow light of death: it switches on, the light flashes yellow, then red, and it switches off. The cause is on the motherboard, and it is repairable.

Slim and Super Slim models are more reliable. What reaches us are worn disc drive lasers, noisy fans and hard drives that have simply reached the end of their life, often with years of saves on them.

Repairs

Yellow light fault

The failed components on the motherboard are replaced and the cooling renewed.

Disc drive

Lasers that no longer read games or Blu-ray discs, and drives that will not load.

Hard drive

Replaced, or copied to a new drive to preserve what is on it.

Overheating

Cleaning and new thermal paste.

Power supply

No power at all, or cutting out.

Your saves and data

Like the PS4, the PS3 encrypts its hard drive with a key unique to the console. Many PS3 saves were never backed up, and some games do not allow their saves to be copied at all.

A failing drive is copied to a new one and returned to the same console. If the console has failed, repairing it is the route to the data. It helps to tell us at the start that the saves matter, because the first thing a recovered PS3 should do is back them up.

Sending a console

Take out any disc or game card, and remove memory cards you want to keep at home.
Send the console itself and its power lead. Controllers are only needed if they are part of the fault.
Box it with at least 5cm of padding on every side. The original box alone is not enough protection.
Add a note with your name, phone number and what the console does. Include your sign-in PIN if one is set.

We collect by insured courier from anywhere in the UK, or you can bring it to the workshop in London SE1. Every repair starts with a free assessment and a fixed price, and carries a 3-month warranty. See console repair prices and how the courier service works.

Common questions

Is an old PS3 worth repairing?

For many owners it is the saves and the game library that make it worth it. We tell you the price first.

The PS3 asks to format the hard drive. What should I do?

Do not accept. Switch it off. The drive or its file system has a fault, and formatting removes everything.

Get a price from a technician

Tell us the make, the model and what has gone wrong. A technician replies with a price and the quickest way to get your laptop to us – normally the same working day.

020 7237 6805

Creative IT workshop
Unit 1, 80 Willow Walk, London SE1 5SY
Monday to Saturday, 9am–6pm