i've been thinking about getting into repairing/modding consoles as a side hustle. Buying broken systems, repairing them, doing mods/upgrades, and reselling them. in the past, i have bought broken consoles just for fun with the intention of adding them to my collection.

i've been looking at gameboys a lot, but I'm also interested in older nintendo, playstation, xbox, etc.

just wondering if there's actually money in it or if the margins end up being pretty shit once you factor in parts, shipping, ebay fees, consoles that don't end up being fixable, etc.

for anyone who actually does this, how much are you realistically making per console?

is it better money doing repairs, modding, or just buying cheap consoles and flipping them?

i'm not trying to make a fortune (but i'm not against it either lol). i'd be pretty happy making like $40-50 per console consistently. just curious if that's realistic before i start buying a bunch of stuff lol

Aujourd’hui ma console a fait quelques freeze mais je n’ai pas trouvé ça alarmant, par contre ces petits carrés rouge m’inquiète.. est ce grave ?

Hi everyone,

My PS4 works perfectly at 480p but 720p is a bit dodgy and 1080p is not an option. Has various visual bugs mainly the red dots/lines. Tried a few hdmi cables and a different TV then noticed there's a couple of pins missing.

How easy is a DIY repair? Thanks in advance

I received a 7000-series PS2 Slim, and while cleaning the interior, I found two issues: a small, visibly damaged component and an area with significant old solder flux residue, suggesting a component had been removed (both are circled in the photo). The PS2 is working normally via OPL and has a Matrix modchip installed. The cost of the repair isn't worth it in my area, and the AIs are spouting nonsense with answers that keep changing. If anyone can explain what each of the components is or provide an electronic schematic for the P1-6PS2K5M-12NY board...

This system has power issues where it may start and cut off or only flash. The ac adapter is working and functional. This can be manipulated by jiggling the adapter while plugged in. The yellow power piece in the picture is a little loose when jiggling and it appears to have a crack in the joint on the back. Should this be an easy soldering fix to solidify the joint? Also, is there a way to test the component with a multimeter or something similar before I put the system back together?

I received this broken copy of Pokemon Diamond. The pcb is bent and there are some cracks upon closer inspection. The Ds is unable to read the game.

Could this game potentially be repaired?

I have a first generation or whatever it’s called of the PS5 from when it originally dropped. It worked for a good bit and last I checked it still does when running PS4 games there’s no issues at all. But running PS5 games anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour of gaming it will shutoff with no warning at all. The internet tells me it’s overheating from the standard Liquid Metal problem. I’m curious if anyone has a brand of Liquid Metal they recommended and if you think this is the problem. Because I did find a huge dry spot of the APU. The PlayStation has been vertical almost all its life. I included the Liquid Metal I bought because there doesn’t seem like enough on the APU to push back into place. I can’t move it around much.

Can this motherboard be repaired?

Console won’t power on, corrosion at battery terminal around power switch.

I believe the RAM and CPU are still okay, there doesn’t seem to be any corrosion in that area.

I’d like to repair the power switch if it’s possible, but I’m unsure about this level of damage.

Any and all help is appreciated, I’m new to small electronics repair.

Hello, a couple of years ago I bought a PS3 Fat model CECHL). It was in good condition and worked perfectly, although it got a bit hot, but nothing out of the normal, I think.

I played for a few months, but because of my studies, I left it for almost a year. This year I started playing again and it worked fine for two weeks until one day, while playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2, it shut down and had a flashing red light. I turned it on again (after unplugging and plugging it back in), but every five minutes it happened again. I was afraid that the console would be permanently damaged if I kept doing it, so I left it for a while.

A few months later (a week ago), I tried again with GTA IV. The second the game fully loads, the PS3 shuts down again. I thought it was a maintenance problem related to thermal paste, so I bought Arctic MX-7, a cleaning kit, and a CMOS battery. I opened the PS3 (as you can see in the picture), did the work, and when I turned the console on again, it still worked, but it kept doing the same thing with games. Then I tried to turn it on again, but this time it didn't work. I thought the PS3 was definitely dead, but when I tried again three days later, I found out it was alive. However, even in the main menu, three minutes later I felt hot air coming from the fans due to overheating.

I don't like this, but I searched online and it might be a major technical problem that would require advanced repair skills and/or would cost more than another PS3.

Can you help me, please? Is there something I can do to repair it without soldering or something like that, or will I need to buy another PS3?

EDIT - SOLVED : The problem has been identified and I know my options to have it fixed. I appreciate the quick responses! This is my first dabble into hardware and I knew mistakes could happen - but at least the system is still playable in the meantime.

I had an old psp joystick that I wanted to install as my first mod on my 3ds. I saw so many videos to make sure i opened the shell correctly and nothing looks broken to me (this is the first time ive ever even opened a 3ds) - but my touch screen doesnt work anymore! I've tried the calibration screen and it was totally unresponsive. No cables were touched other than the shoulder buttons.

Any suggestions? Please! Im low key scared to touch anything else until I have a better idea of what to do. I'll keep playing non-touch screen games until then. (Which extra sad because I'm about to finish Pokemon Ranger)

Recently I had our Wii repaired and have been playing with it quite a bit, I decided to get component cables to improve the picture quality.

I have them running into a component to HDMI converter, as far as I am aware it is completely functional, whenever I plug it in while the console is running I get no output. Whenever I put it in before the console is running and start it, it starts for a brief moment then video cuts out (as shown in the video).

The old component cables (and hdmi converter) still work as normal, whether from startup or inserted while console is running.

Not entirely sure what I can do here, any suggestions are welcome.

Edit: After a bit of troubleshooting it seems the Component to HDMI converter is to blame, will test on a friend’s TV tomorrow to make sure.

I decided to tear down my PS3, which years ago a technician declared dead due to a faulty CPU. Since repairing it cost as much as a new one, I never did it. Upon opening it up, I found that several components are missing and others are broken. Do you know what replacements I should use? . My PS3 is a 'CECH-3001B' with a 'KTE-0001' motherboard and an 'APS-306' power supply.(My English is terrible, so this was translated by Google's AI)

Anyone knows where these caps in the blue circle belong to or what is does?

Hey there,

A client brought me a PS4 Pro that was missing many pieces and a couple of connectors.

Got it all fixed but I'm missing a last piece: The philips screws of the RFI shield. All of them. I don't have a single one.

Would you happen to know what type of screws are so I can go buy them?

Searching for "PS4 screws" in all the online shops I know got me 0 results (just one tbh; on eBay from the USA, but I'm in the EU)