If your PS5 won’t pull a disc in, won’t eject, or makes loud clicking and clunking noises when you press eject, the disc drive’s mechanism is often out of position. In this video from our YouTube channel, David works on a PS5 whose owner thought a disc was stuck inside. There wasn’t one: the drive mechanism needed to be reset.

Watch on YouTube: PS5 Won't Accept or Eject Discs? Blu-ray Disc Drive Repair

Symptoms

The PS5 won’t accept a disc, or grabs it and does nothing
Pressing eject causes loud clicking or clunking
It sounds or acts like a disc is stuck inside, even when the drive is empty

Likely causes

The drive’s lever is out of position. In the video, the lever sat partway along its teeth, the position it should only be in when a disc is loaded. With no disc inside, the drive acted as if one was there.
Rollers off track. The rollers that pull discs in can come off. David notes the PS5 rollers have a locking mechanism, an improvement over the PS4’s, which came off often.
Loose gears. Based on how PS4 drives fail, David checks for loose gears that need to be tightened and reset.

What the repair involves

Here’s what the video shows:

Reproduce the problem. David inserts a disc (the drive grabs it and does nothing) and presses eject (loud clicking and clunking).
Open the console and reach the drive. This takes removing a lot of screws.
Inspect the drive. He removes the drive’s top chassis and confirms there’s no disc inside.
Reseat the rollers. He takes the rollers off and puts them back on track.
Reset the lever. With no disc in the drive, he moves the lever fully back to its home position, off the teeth.
Test before and after reassembly. The drive takes a disc in. After putting the console back together, he presses eject (no noise), inserts a disc, hears it spin normally, ejects it and inserts it again to confirm.

No parts were replaced in this repair. David calls the drive repair itself fairly easy; the hard part is taking the PS5 apart and putting it back together, because of the number of screws.

Parts involved

No new parts in this repair: the existing rollers were reseated and the drive lever was reset
The Blu-ray drive’s rollers, lever and gears are the parts inspected

When to send it in

Send it in if you’re not comfortable fully disassembling a PS5. David points out that the console has a lot of screws and recommends watching a disassembly video before trying it yourself. Also send it in if resetting the rollers and lever doesn’t fix it, because then the drive needs a closer diagnosis.

FAQ

My PS5 says a disc is stuck, but I don’t think there’s one inside. What’s going on?

In the video, the owner thought a disc was stuck, but the drive was empty. The lever was in the “disc loaded” position, so the drive acted as if a disc was inside.

Do I need a new disc drive?

Not in this case. The rollers were reseated and the lever was reset, with no new parts.

Is this the same problem as a PS5 that won’t read discs?

No. This guide covers a drive that won’t take in or eject a disc. A drive that takes the disc but shows an “unrecognized disc” error is a different fault and needs its own diagnosis.

How long does the repair take?

Mail-in repairs take 3–5 days, and repairs at our Lincoln store take 3–5 days.

Get your PS5 repaired

Don’t want to open it yourself? Game Repair Shop, the repair side of Gamers, can do it for you.

Mail-in repair: ship it to us. Diagnosis is free, and if it can’t be repaired the only charge is a $40 fee. Turnaround is 3–5 days. See how mail-in repair works.
Lincoln, NE: walk-ins are welcome at the Gamers store, 2711 King Ln Ste 202, Lincoln, NE. There’s a $25 diagnostic fee up front, and it goes toward the repair. Turnaround is 3–5 days.
Omaha: our Omaha store is opening soon.

Questions? Call or text (402) 703-4403, 10 AM–9 PM every day.

More on this repair: PlayStation repair (PS5, PS4 and PS3) · Browse all repair guides.