Retro console repairs with me cost from £20 for a cartridge save battery up to £189 for a Retro GEM HDMI mod. Clear faults, like a PS1 or PS2 that won't read discs, have a fixed price. Faults that need diagnosing, like a console that won't turn on, start with a £4.99 assessment, and I send you a quote before any work.
Nintendo, Sega and Sony don't repair these consoles any more, so independent repair is the only route. Below is every price, how the assessment works and what you get with each job. You can also browse everything on the retro console repairs page.
How the £4.99 assessment works
Some faults can't be priced without opening the console. "Won't turn on" could be the power supply, the power socket or the board itself. For those jobs, I use an assessment:
- You book and pay £4.99.
- I assess the console on my bench and send you a quote before any work.
- If you go ahead, the £4.99 comes off the repair.
- If you decline, the £4.99 covers the return postage and the console comes back to you.
Each assessment page shows a guide "repairs from" price, so you have an idea of the cost before you book. For no-power jobs, please send the power supply (the power brick) with the console. Old power supplies fail too, and I need to test both.
Super Nintendo (SNES) repair prices
- SNES won't turn on or no picture: £4.99 assessment, repairs from £39.
- SNES RGB picture fix: £45. RGB carries the red, green and blue colour signals separately, so it's much sharper than composite, the single yellow plug. This board-side fix is for later SNES boards that give a soft or noisy RGB picture.
- SNES recap: £55. A recap replaces the ageing capacitors on the board with new ones of the right values. It's skilled board work, not a cure for every fault.
Before booking the RGB fix, read why your SNES picture looks blurry. The right cable is sometimes all you need.
Nintendo 64 repair prices
- N64 won't turn on or black screen: £4.99 assessment, repairs from £39.
- N64 HDMI mod: £179, board included. It uses the Retro GEM, an HDMI board made by PixelFX that fits inside the console and outputs digital video straight to HDMI.
If your N64 shows a black screen, check the Jumper Pak first. It costs nothing to check before you book.
Sega Mega Drive repair prices
- Mega Drive won't turn on or no picture: £4.99 assessment, repairs from £39.
- Mega Drive recap (sound fix): £59. Ageing capacitors are a well-known cause of quiet, crackly or missing sound on the Mega Drive, and a recap is the usual fix.
- Mega Drive RGB mod (Triple Bypass): £85, board included. It gives a cleaner RGB picture and reduces jailbars, the faint vertical lines that can run across the picture.
PlayStation 1 repair prices
- PS1 not reading discs: £49 for a replacement laser and a drive service. The laser is the part that reads the disc.
- PS1 won't turn on: £4.99 assessment, repairs from £39.
PlayStation 2 repair prices
- PS2 disc read error: £55 for a replacement laser and a drive service, on fat and slim models.
- PS2 won't turn on or overheating: £4.99 assessment, repairs from £45.
Prices that cover all retro consoles
- Cartridge save battery replacement: £20. Many SNES games, and some N64 and Mega Drive games, keep saves on a coin battery in the cartridge. Replacing the battery clears the existing save unless it's backed up first.
- Recap for other consoles, such as the Saturn, PC Engine or Mega CD: £4.99 assessment, recaps from £45.
- Retro GEM HDMI mod for PS1 and PS2: £189, board included. For the GameCube and Dreamcast, please get in touch.
For Saturn, Dreamcast, GameCube, NES and Master System faults, get in touch and I'll tell you what I can do. I don't offer region mods or retro controller repairs.
What can change the cost
- Parts: some faults need parts that are hard to find. If that applies to your console, I'll say so in the quote.
- Postage: posting a big console costs more, so pack it well.
- Collector value: rare or boxed consoles lose collector value when modded. It's worth weighing that up before an HDMI or RGB mod.
What's included with every job
I've been repairing electronics for over 25 years, and every job follows the same steps. You book and pay online, and you pay the inbound postage to send the console to me. I do the work, test it, and send it back insured and tracked, with the return included in the price. Every repair comes with a 12-month warranty. It's no fix, no fee: if I can't fix it, I refund what you paid, less return postage.
Frequently asked questions
Do Nintendo, Sega or Sony still repair these consoles?
No. They don't repair these consoles any more, so independent repair is the only route to getting one working again.
Does the £4.99 assessment come off the repair price?
Yes. If you go ahead with the quote, the £4.99 comes off the repair. If you decline, it covers the cost of posting the console back to you.
Why do you need the power supply for a console that won't turn on?
The power supply is one of the likely causes of a no-power fault. Old power bricks fail with age, so I need to test it alongside the console to find the real fault.
