The Bitmain Antminer S19 Models are all powerful machines, but they’re not without their flaws. One of the reasons we started our Antminer repair service, TEKMINING PROS, is actually because of underlying reliability issues with Bitmain’s technology. 

While we were operating a hosting company, only 50% of our purchased ASIC mining machines actually worked. After a significant capital expenditure, the lack of cash flow that resulted from such a high rate of faulty miners was unacceptable to us. Half a fleet of machines that don’t work is half of your revenue down the drain. 

So yes, the Bitmain Antminer S19, S19 Pro, S19j Pro, and S19 XP models are known to be temperamental. When a miner breaks down, a wide range of potential issues can be uncovered during inspection and diagnostics. Here are the top reliability issues to look out for with these models.

The Silicon Lottery

This first issue is innate to all ASIC chips, not only those used in the S19 series. A phenomenon known as the “silicon lottery” means that no two chips have the exact same computational power — even two processors of the same product line will differ. This means that each chip will have a unique life cycle that might fall out of sync with the rest of the machine. 

A certain degree of unreliability must be assumed, and so each and every chip needs to be treated with caution. Just one malfunctioning chip can dramatically reduce miner efficiency or even make it unable to function. Chips must always be tested and checked whenever there is an issue.

Visible Hardware Flaws

Roughly 50% of problems with Bitmain Antminer S19, S19 Pro, S19j Pro, and S19 XP can be resolved by simple visual inspection. It is both alarming that visible problems are so common and fortunate, because it makes a fix that much easier to prescribe. We’ll always check for signs of bad bonds, displacement of resistance capacity, rust, and corrosion and run ASIC diagnostics as a first step for determining our troubleshooting approach.

Temperature Sensor Problems

The resistance and capacity around the temp sensors in the S19 family are not reliable. A “temperature sensor failed” error is one of the most common issues we see. 

This error doesn’t always mean the sensor itself must be replaced, as it can also result from broken traces (usually on account of corrosion). The signal traces are unstable in this type of miner. Failed traces prevent any signal — say, from a rising system temperature — from successfully transmitting.

 

An Unstable Power Supply

When your Bitmain Antminer S19 is working, the hash board’s power output can reach a current of 200-300A (or higher with a liquid cooling miner). Large fluctuations in power output can cause the hash board to restart. 

This is not a simple issue to detect, but the simple solution is to replace the power supply. You’re in luck, too — TEKMINING PROS is the only Bitmain-certified repair service in the USA that provides Antminer repairs of power supply units (PSUs) for the Bitmain S19, S19j Pro, S19 Pro & S19 XP.

Issues With Thermal Paste

The thermal paste on the top of the hash board chips themselves is a common culprit of breakdowns with the whole family of S19 Antminers. Located between the bot and the chip, this thermal paste is critical to protecting the resistance and capacity capsules around them from damaging heat. 

We use thermal imaging while conducting performance tests of the chips to get a good look at heat performance and the level of protection the paste is providing. This is how we make sure that the proper amount of thermal paste has been applied.

Call in the S19 Experts: TEKMINING PROS

Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, TEKMINING PROS is a comprehensive Antminer repair service for hash boards, temperature sensors, power supplies, and everything in between. We’re Bitmain-certified and always use genuine Bitmain components in our Antminer repairs — a luxury that not many services in the USA are able to offer. Get in touch with our team to get your machines back to mining as quickly as possible and keep that revenue flowing.