Xbox Series X overheating: fan clean, heatsink and thermal paste
A Series X that runs loud, shows overheating warnings or switches off in games usually has blocked vents, dust in the top fan and heatsink, or tired thermal paste and putty after years of use. Fix placement first, then open the back, clean the fan and heatsink, and if that's not enough, replace the APU paste and memory putty.
Written by the CircuitScope research team in our own words, from the sources listed at the end, and checked by our moderators.
A Series X that runs loud, shows overheating warnings or switches off in games usually has blocked vents, dust in the top fan and heatsink, or tired thermal paste and putty after years of use. Fix placement first, then open the back, clean the fan and heatsink, and if that's not enough, replace the APU paste and memory putty.
Difficulty: Moderate · Time: about 2 hours
Related codes / lights: On-screen 'console is too hot' style warning before shutdown
Symptoms
- Fan much louder than usual
- On-screen warning that the console is too hot, or sudden shutdowns during demanding games
- Games crash, stutter or drop frames after playing for a while
- Hot air not coming out of the top vent, or dust visible in the top grille
Create a free CircuitScope account to see the full step-by-step guide.
- Every step, photo and measurement in this guide
- Pinouts, expected readings and fixes for the boards you work on
- Alerts when new guides are added