PlayStation 5 was said to be nearly inaudible when running games. That claim is now being questioned with a coil whine and buzzing noise coming out of a number of newly purchased PS5 consoles.
Since earlier today, at least three users have posted online to complain about their PS5 consoles producing a noticeable coil whine that increases in volume when running games. The noise subsides when on the main console menu.
The first confirms the problem to be with both the standard and all-digital editions. The second confirms the coil whine to be audible from even eight feet away and similar to the PS4 Pro coil whine. The third does not fare any better.
A fourth user posted on ResetEra barely an hour ago to make the same complaint. He states that he only received his PS5 console last night and which was making a “low buzzing” noise right away. The coil whine increased in volume when playing God of War and became even louder when playing Astro’s Playroom. Returning to the home screen immediately put an end to the noise but playing a game brought back the buzzing as well.
Sony Interactive Entertainment has made no statement on the matter at the time of writing but the problem does appear to be impacting several units.
The problem of a coil whine comes at the heels of PS5 consoles reportedly getting bricked on the first day of launch. The users who saw their units die made no mention of any noticeable noise coming out of either the fans or console.
It needs to be said once again that purchasing a new console at launch always carries a certain degree of risk. The first wave of units are bound to have defective units or have a particular design flaw which needs to be addressed.
It hence is safer to wait out a couple of months or at least for the second (or third) wave of units to arrive. Early adopters though can still jump in knowing that they can always fall back on warranty claims, which either way involves a bit of waiting nonetheless.
Is there a Fix for PS5 Coil Whine?
As mentioned before, officially, there is nothing from Sony’s side on the matter. However, users have been conducting some experiments to get rid of the annoying sound. In fact a user even found a loose label to be the cause of the buzzing sound. He opened his console and found out that a loose label was obstructing the way resulting in loud sound. Once removed, the issue was resolved.
Update
Fixed it!
✅ Ruled out coil whining
✅ Reproduced sound with air (unplugged)
✅ Sound not from the bearings (side)➡️ Object in the way?
Used Security Torx to open fan case and found that a sticky label got lose and in the way. Removed label. Issue fixed. 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/blqHuER44L
— Frank™ (FS7N) | WFH 🏡 (@Frank_Supercell) November 20, 2020
Now, as you can see, it does involve opening up your PS5 which ofcourse in not recommended specially if don’t want to loose the warranty or don’t know what you are doing.
In any case, there has been a lot of reports about this and if the label is the cause of the problem, Sony should definitely address the issue.
