PLAYSTATION 3 YELLOW LIGHT
OF DEATH / RED BLINKING LIGHT RSX GPU REBALL
SERVICE
Price:
$99.00
Does your first
generation PS3 briefly display a yellow light
then a flashing red light when you try to turn
it on? This problem is known as the "Yellow
light of death" or "YLOD" because it signals your PS3 has
experienced a serious hardware malfunction on
the motherboard, usually around the RSX graphics
chip. This service procedure includes a lead-tin
solder reball of the RSX GPU and provides
longer-lasting
results than the more common "reflow" service
procedure. We'll also give you a
Lifetime Labor
Warranty if your unit has never been previously
tampered. See the FAQ below for other important
service details.
Warranty:
LifetimeLabor*
Typical Turnaround
Time:
2-5 business days
* Lifetime Labor Warranty applies to previously un-tampered
consoles only. Previously tampered consoles will receive a 30-Day Labor
Warranty.
Product Description
Price
PLAYSTATION 3
YELLOW LIGHT OF DEATH / RED FLASHING LIGHT RSX
GPU REBALL SERVICE.FREE RETURN
SHIPPING.
The PS3 YLOD RSX 1254 BGA Reball
service includes a Lifetime Labor Warranty for
un-tampered consoles, or 30-day Labor Warranty
for previously tampered consoles. True long-term
solution for this common worst-case PS3 symptom.
Typical turnaround time for this service is 2-5 business days from receipt
of your console at the
Service Facility. Warranty Terms & Conditions
may be downloaded from
www.rsolpc.com/warranty. PLEASE NOTE: 1) This service is most
effective on un-tampered consoles. We do not
recommend this service be purchased for PS3
consoles that have already been subjected to a
"reflow" repair. 2) This service will not be
performed on consoles where the motherboard
displays excessive tampering such as warp or
heat damage. 3) This service is not available
for the following models: CECH2001A, CECH2001B,
CECH2101A, CECH2101B, CECH2501A, CECH2501B,
CECH3001A, CECH3001B.
PS3 Yellow Light / Red Flashing Light RSX Reball Service PS3:YLOD-REBALL-LIFE30-PP $99.00 $0.00 $0.00
Optional Services & Products
PS3 RETURN SHIPPING INSURANCE.
Your PlayStation 3 will be insured for $300
in case it gets lost or damaged during return
transit.
PS3 SIGNATURE REQUIRED UPON DELIVERY.
The Fed-Ex driver must obtain a
signature from someone at your address when
delivering your repaired PlayStation 3 console;
the driver will not leave your PlayStation 3
unattended on your doorstep.
PS3 SIGNATURE REQUIRED UPON DELIVERY SVC:DEL-SIG $4.00 $0.00 $0.00
...
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT IS THE "YELLOW LIGHT OF DEATH", "YLOD" OR "RED BLINKING LIGHT" PROBLEM ON
THE PS3?
The video on the right shows a PS3 that has the common symptom known as the
"yellow light of death", "YLOD" or "red blinking light", taking its name from
how the power light rapidly goes red-green-yellow-blinking red. According to
Sony, this means the PS3 has encountered a "general hardware failure" and the
unit needs to be sent in for service. For a fee that varies depending on the
specific model you have, Sony will exchange the entire console for a refurbished
"slim" unit and you'll lose
all your game-saves on the hard drive. The cause of the actual problem is
normally attributable to the failure of the lead-free solder spheres beneath the
RSX graphics chip. Our PS3 RSX Re-Ball Service provides an alternative solution that
allows you an opportunity to retrieve all your hard-earned saved game data and
continue to use the PS3 for a while longer before it ultimately needs to be
replaced.
WHAT IS THE PS3 RSX REBALL SERVICE?
Specifically, the RSX Reball service includes the complete removal of the RSX graphics chip from the PS3's motherboard so the
original BGA consisting of
1254 lead-free solder spheres can be
replaced with new lead-tin eutectic solder spheres.
The RSX graphics chip is then precisely re-attached to the 1254 pads on the motherboard
then
coated with premium thermal compound (Arctic Silver 5) to help dissipate
operational heat to the fan/heat-sink assembly. The system then undergoes a testing phase
to ensure the procedure has been completed successfully before it is finally reassembled.
Its an intricate and labor-intensive procedure that requires a great deal of
patience from our customers (and our technicians), but the reliability of the
RSX chip is going to be practically "bullet-proof" simply because of the targeted elimination of
the most probable cause of failure (degraded /
micro-fractured solder spheres on the RSX chip from years of
extreme heat-cycles).
It is important to remember though that this symptom can also be attributable to other
chip failures on the motherboard too, such as the Cell Broadband Engine™ CPU or
memory chips. In these instances our RSX re-ball service will be
totally ineffective in resolving the "yellow light / red blinking light"
symptom, and the console will ultimately need to be replaced.
To begin the repair process, follow the instructions on our main
PlayStation 3 repair page.
HOW DOES PS3REPAIRSHOP.COM COMPARE TO OTHER PS3 REPAIR COMPANIES?
Check out
independent customer
reviews including Better Business Bureau ratings
for PS3RepairShop.com and our competitors
in the table below.
The ratings are based upon reviews posted by customers on independent third-party
websites, where they cannot be hidden or manipulated. Another reason why you may
want to trust us to reball your PS3 is because we apparently seem to be the only
company that knows the RSX BGA consists of
1254 spheres, not 1344.
"YELLOW LIGHT OF DEATH / YLOD / RED FLASHING LIGHT" RSX REBALL SERVICE
Data is accurate as of 1/2/2012.†Quoted prices do not include sales tax or
return shipping charges, if applicable.
DO YOU REBALL THE CBE / CELL BROADBAND ENGINE CHIP?
No. This service includes the reball of the RSX graphics chip only. We
currently do not offer any separate services to reball the CBE CPU chip.
HOW LONG WILL THE PS3 REBALL SERVICE TAKE?
Due to the high
demand for this intricate and labor-intensive
service procedure, all repairs are processed on a "first-come first-served" basis and completion time
may vary between 2 to 5 days,
not including weekends or transit time to and from your
address.
Actual ETA will be provided to you via email upon our receipt of your console
and issuance of a Work Order Number.
To begin the repair process, follow the instructions on our main
PlayStation 3 repair page.
HOW MUCH WILL THE PS3 REBALL SERVICE COST?
The cost for the PS3 RSX Re-Ball Service is $99.00 and includes free return
shipping by Fedex Ground on successful repairs. If you are
a resident of Florida, we are required to collect 6% sales tax. Other
optional services are also available for an
additional fee. To begin the repair process, follow the instructions on our main
PlayStation 3 repair page.
HOW MUCH WILL I HAVE TO PAY IF THE PS3 REBALL SERVICE DOES NOT FIX MY YLOD /
RED BLINKING LIGHT?
If the repair attempt is unsuccessful, you will receive a full refund minus
return shipping charges. Alternatively you can apply the amount you already paid
towards a brand new PS3..
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF PS3'S ARE NON-REPAIRABLE EVEN AFTER PERFORMING THE REBALL
SERVICE?
We are currently seeing approximately an 11% non-repair rate where the "yellow light / red blinking light"
is still present immediately after the RSX chip had
been re-balled. While most initial "yellow light / red
blinking light" symptoms are directly related to
the RSX chip, it is important to remember that
some are attributable to other solder fractures
or chip failures on the motherboard, such as the
Cell Broadband Engine™ CPU or memory chips. In
these instances our RSX re-ball service will be
totally ineffective in resolving the "yellow
light / red blinking light" symptom, and the
console will ultimately need to be replaced.
To put things into perspective, the original 60GB "CECHA01" PS3 model has
nearly 60 chips on just one side of the
motherboard, and any one of them has a potential
to cause the "yellow light of death",
especially since they all utilize the same
lead-free solder as used on the RSX chip. Quite
simply, it is not always going to be the RSX
chip's fault, so be cautious of other shops that
claim to have "near-perfect" success rates with
their RSX reball repair procedures.
Click here to start the PS3 reball service.
IS THE PS3 REBALL SERVICE A PERMANENT FIX FOR MY "YLOD"?
The lead-free solder spheres beneath the RSX chip is by far the most common
point of failure causing the "yellow light / red
blinking light" symptom due to the extreme
temperatures this one chip reaches, and our PS3
Reball service focuses on the specific
replacement of these solder spheres with
superior lead-tin spheres. On un-tampered
consoles it is the most reliable repair
procedure that can be offered to resolve the
YLOD issue, however the reality is there is no
such thing as a totally "permanent fix". Here's
why:
The "reball" procedure is performed
on only one of the system's chips -- the RSX graphics chip. When you consider
the PS3 motherboard contains approximately 60
chips, any one of them can theoretically fail at some point in the future for
the same reasons why the RSX chip failed in the first place. If
your PS3 has never been previously tampered before it is sent to us, we will
provide you with a
Lifetime Labor Warranty. All you need to do is take care of the round-trip shipping charges to
and from our Service Facility and we will re-perform the actual "revival" of
your unit whenever you require us to do so. The
Lifetime Labor warranty expires when the PS3 can no longer be revived or when
you no longer own the unit.
HOW LONG IS THE PS3 REBALL SERVICE WARRANTY?
In order for us to provide our customers with a
limited Lifetime warranty, the PS3 console must have an
un-tampered original Sony or RSOL PC / PS3RepairShop.com warranty sticker. If
the PS3 was ever sent back to Sony for repair or has a warranty sticker that was issued by another company (or has been totally
removed), the customer will receive a
30-day warranty. Why?
There are
just too many random variables that we would need to take into consideration,
such as not knowing what procedures were previously performed on the unit. Since
we cannot be certain of the procedures that were performed, we can only offer a minimal warranty for your unit.
If the YLOD were to reoccur on a PS3 that previously had our RSX reball
procedure service already performed, chances are it is due to some other (non
RSX) chip failure. However we will perform whatever labor procedures are
necessary to revive your unit again at no additional charge and for as long you
wish to keep sending us your PS3. If the failure reoccurs within the first 30
days we will cover one-way shipping, otherwise your only out of pocket costs
will be the round trip shipping charges to and from our Service Facility. Our
Lifetime Warranty may be viewed in full at
www.rsolpc.com/warranty.
DON'T NEED THE COMPLEX
REBALL SERVICE AND WOULD LIKE A QUICKER &
CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE? WE OFFER A LOW-COST SERVICE FOR CUSTOMERS
WHO ONLY WISH TO RECOVER THEIR GAME-SAVE DATA
FROM THEIR "YLOD" PS3 SO IT CAN BE TRANSFERRED
TO THEIR REPLACEMENT PS3. AN ADDED BENEFIT OF
THIS SERVICE IS THE "YLOD" PS3 WILL TEMPORARILY
BE FULLY FUNCTIONAL, MAKING IT A PERFECT
CANDIDATE FOR A TRADE-IN AT YOUR LOCAL VIDEO
GAME STORE !
DETAILS HERE.
HOW CAN I TELL IF MY PS3 HAS A VALID WARRANTY STICKER?
The picture on the right (click to enlarge) shows an un-tampered original Sony warranty seal. If
the sticker on your PS3 does not look like this one, or says "void" or is
totally missing, you must then assume your PS3 has been previously opened and is
not eligible to receive the
Lifetime Labor warranty for our PS3 RSX Chip Reball
Service procedure; you will receive a
30-day warranty instead. If your goal is
to simply recover the game-save data from the hard drive and are not too
concerned about the warranty length (because you intend to replace the
console in the near future), then consider purchasing our "YLOD Reflow / Data Recovery
Services" instead. See below for more details.
Click here to start the PS3 reball service.
HOW DO I SEND MY CONSOLE?
We’ve been shipping & receiving PS3 consoles for quite a
while now, so we
have a pretty good idea what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to
safely shipping a console across the country.
Follow the steps here.
HOW MANY SOLDER BALLS ARE THERE ON THE RSX CHIP?
We have seen some misinformation on the internet that the PS3's RSX chip has
1344 solder balls. This information is false as the RSX
BGA actually consists of 1254 balls.
Here's the proof. The last row of the
diagram shows each column's total in red, and
then the grand total of these values is
calculated at the end of the row. Just an FYI to get
the correct information out there because we're
seeing more and more shops claiming to offer a
reball service for PS3 consoles but they all
seem to be copy & pasting the erroneous 1344
number into their service descriptions.
WHAT IS THE "YLOD DATA RECOVERY SERVICE"?
Our "YLOD Data Recovery Service" caters to PS3 owners whose
primary goal is to retrieve the trapped
game-save data from the hard drive. A benefit of
this service is that the PS3 will be functional
when you get it back so it can command a higher resale or
trade-in value; a working system is worth a lot
more than one that does not work at all.
As far as the actual process is concerned, we
will temporarily resolve the "Yellow light / red
blinking light" symptom so any stuck discs can
be retrieved from the bluray drive and then copy
the non-protected game-save data to a USB flash
drive. We will even supply the flash drive.
Please note: some game-saves are copy-protected
and cannot be copied. Examples of copy-protected
titles include Killzone 2, Rockband, Guitar
Hero, Resident Evil 5 and Assassins Creed 2. If you're a Final Fantasy, Uncharted, or
Call of Duty fan, you'll be pleased to know
their game-saves are not copy-protected and can
be successfully transferred.
Since this is technically a "recovery" and not a
"repair" procedure, there will be a minimal
30-day warranty
offered for this service. Cost ranges between
$59.99 and $69.99 if we
can get the unit back up & running and
whether you need us to perform the actual data
recovery. Service time is approximately 2 to 3 business days
from when the console arrives at our facility.
More details about
our Data Recovery Service can be found here.
If you have any
additional questions, please read our general FAQ here
or call us at 888-214-8625.
“PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION”, and “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Better Business Bureau" and the "BBB" logo are
registered trademarks of Council of Better Business Bureaus. R.S.O.L. PC
SERVICES, L.L.C. is not affiliated with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc or
Council of Better Business Bureaus.
