I’ve only had a PlayStation Portal for a few months, and I’ve already run into my first problem with it. While it hasn’t been used as much as I would like, the right thumbstick was primarily to blame for that. And funny enough, it wasn’t even Stick Drift to blame; the thumbstick itself would just… get stuck in place. And obviously, we can’t have that. To circumvent the horror of submitting my roughly 3-month-old PlayStation Portal to the Warranty Gods of Sony, I took it apart myself. And honestly? It’s super easy to repair, and I’m glad to know that for the future.
Before You Do This Yourself, Know That It Voids Your Warranty and I’m Not To Blame if Things Go South
I’ve been ripping apart electronics for just about as long as I can remember. Starting as the go-to repair guy for Xbox 360 issues during my high school career, I fell in love with ripping things apart. No matter if it was swapping shells on Nintendo Switch systems and their joycons, or putting new thermal paste in aging and dying consoles, I’ve just been very fond of repairing things instead of depending on warranties. Sure, it may be costly sometimes, but what better way to learn what you’re capable of than doing it yourself?
I knew the dangers going in; it was going to void my warranty, and there was a chance that the cheap AliExpress joystick module I bought wasn’t going to work. But it was a risk I had to take, especially if I wanted to play more Dynasty Warriors: Origins while sitting on the couch in the living room.
So, I gathered up all of the tools I could muster. My trusty electric screwdriver. A rigid Gamestop gift card that has been my lucky prying tool for years. And a pair of tweezers to grab any ribbons that my sausage fingers could not grab. It was time to play the game.
No, It Isn’t Going to Break; You Have to Apply a Lot of Force to the Playstation Portal
The first thing I needed to do was remove the black stripes from the front of the console. This was by far one of the easiest parts, as I’ve done the same thing with my Dualsense many times before. Just pry under the fat part at the bottom, and work my way up toward the top.
This also gave me the first look at what I was going to be working with under the covers. A beautiful black board, filled to the brim with plenty of sensitive electronics. I’m glad I was working on a towel because I was about ready to start drooling at how masterfully the electronics were placed inside.
From here came one of the most scary parts; removing the R1 and L1 buttons. On previous Sony products, these have been strangely difficult to remove. On the PlayStation Portal? Genuinely super easy. I took the flathead portion of my electric screwdriver and pulled down on the triggers. After gently inserting the flathead, I could just lift them up and out. Over and done with. The R1 button was a little more stubborn, not wanting to initially leave its comfy and cozy home. I can’t blame it, honestly. It’s all it’s ever known besides the cold assembly line.
Getting the Back Cover off Is an Exercise of Patience and Determination
Easily the most difficult part, especially if you don’t have patience, is getting the back cover to come off. It’s held into place by an unholy amount of clips, as well as a few screws located under the R1/L1 button and in the button of the controller. I carefully worked my way around but wasn’t having much luck.
After getting a few clips released, I finally hit my breaking point. Going full Incredible Hulk mode, I just grabbed on and started yanking. Eventually, this did work out in my favor, as I was able to get the clips to release without much if any, damage to them at all. Genuinely surprising; I normally shatter at least a few clips during this part of the process.
After taking off two more screws, I could finally remove the front plastic and buttons to access the piece I needed. The final moments of the livelihood of this malfunctioning nub were approaching. So gently, I removed that front piece of plastic (which also offered an absurd level of force to remove), and got into the good stuff. Four screws in total stood between me and the joystick, as well as a small ribbon cable. It was finally time to end this.
Nice and Easy; No Soldering Required for This Piece of Tech
After removing the two black screws and popping open the housing of the ribbon cable, I carefully placed the new module down in its place. While the Aliexpress listing claimed it to be Hall-Effect, I have my doubts that it actually is. Fingers crossed I won’t need to do this again for a little while, but at least I’ll be prepared for the next time.
Now, it was time to do it all again, only in reverse. I attached the ribbon cable, clamping it down to secure it in place. Two small black screws adorn the outside once again after my frankfurter fingers decided to finally cooperate enough for me to drop them in there. More plastic is placed, screwed in, and piecemealed back together to get some sort of Frankenstein’s Portal ready.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s not to put something back together fully until you know that it’s actually working as it should be. So I booted up my Franken-Portal and tested out some Dynasty Warriors, and wouldn’t you know it? It actually worked. So, I powered it down once more and finished putting it back together, eager to dive in and play some more games on my Portal.
I’m Genuinely Surprised That the PlayStation Portal Is This Easy To Repair
While I know it’s likely meant to be easier for techs to work on, I was genuinely shocked to see how easy it was to get this thing open. Frankly, both this and the PlayStation 5 are really easy to work on if things go wrong. It’s mainly just trying to get around the massive number of clips that are on either of the devices.
If you’re not afraid to void your warranty by unscrewing the screw with the sticker on it, it’s a pretty painless process. The whole thing was said and done within an hour. Now, I can only hope that at some point or another, Sony will begin to sell authentic replacement parts for it. Or even shells, so I don’t have to buy another PlayStation Portal to match the aesthetic of my Dualsense. At least until ExtremeRate finally releases shells for it. I’ve used them in the past, so I know I can trust the quality levels there.
But, as I learned throughout this experiment, the Portal is easy to work on. Like, it’s consumer-friendly grade easy. And I’m glad I don’t need to be without my portable gaming pal for a few months if the warranty horror stories are to be believed. Now let’s hope this joystick doesn’t give out on me.
The post I Tore My Playstation Portal Apart for Repair, and It’s Easier To Fix Than I Thought appeared first on VICE.
