What causes the PS3 laser fault?
The laser diode in all consoles, not just the fat original PS3 naturally deteriorates to the point that they no longer read discs. The strength and focus of the laser reduces over time. It is normaly the Blu Ray laser diode that fails first as it is normally the most used. You may find DVD and audio discs still work as these use a different (red) laser which is on the same assembly.
Some times physical damage can happen to the PS3 laser lens. If the console is moved or knocked while a disc is spinning inside, it can cause it to make contact with the laser lens and damage it. You may also notice a circular scratch on the disc when this happens.
There has also been times where updates have caused issues with lasers too.
** We always recommend trying a few discs prior to booking this repair in to rule out a damaged disc. If you're having problems with one disc it may be that which is at fault **
How do we repair the PS3 laser?
The first thing we do before any repair is test the console to confirm the fault. We then proceed to open the PS3 original and remove the internal PSU. We then have access to the disc drive.
We inspect the mechanism of the disc drive to rule that out as a fault. If all is okay with the drive mechanism we swap the whole laser assembly for a new one.
We reassemble the PS3 at the repair desk and give it an initial test. If all is ok the PS3 is passed down to the main testing bench where all consoles are stress tested and all functions checked.
