Hacking Current state of PS3 Hacking, Homebrew, and Piracy

[chyyran]

I've recently been thinking of buying a PS3 to catch up on the console exclusives I've been missing, and of course, being the cheap, dirty pirate I am, as well as just being opposed to Sony in general, have to know what degree of piracy I can achieve on it. As well, some nice emulators (PSP?) and other homebrew would be a nice bonus.

Rather than rely on the pieces of information that I found with googling, and since there really doesn't seem to be an up to date guide on how to hack a PS3, I'm going to ask other 'tempers. So, what PS3 SKUs/models, on what firmware versions, can be hacked, in what way, and to what extent? Also, what forms of piracy is available (Can you pirate PSN games? Can you play off an USB HDD?) and what forms of emulation are possible? (PSX, PS2, PSP are the 3 I'm most curious about, since I can do most others well on a PC)

tl;dr: Thinking of getting a PS3, how can I hack and pirate the shit out of it? Also, can I play PSX, PS2 and PSP games on it?

I'm not asking for ROMs and stuff, just, how can I hack it, and how can I run "backups" on it.

Thanks a lot

 

[DinohScene]

Only thing I know is that you'll need a somewhat older Slim or a Phat.
You can downgrade those with an E3 flasher.

Use this as a reference on what PS3 model is downgradable to a minimum FW of 3.50

 

[chyyran]

Only thing I know is that you'll need a somewhat older Slim or a Phat.
You can downgrade those with an E3 flasher.

Use this as a reference on what PS3 model is downgradable to a minimum FW of 3.50

I saw something on google about a CFW 4.30, what's that about then?

Also, does this mean that if I go right now to pick up a PS3 at Wal-Mart, it's completely unhackable?

 

[DinohScene]

I have no idea since I'm only knowledged in the 360 xd

Basically all I know is that you'll need to be on 3.50 or 3.55 to install CFW (I think it was 3.55) and that the only way to install CFW on newer FW's is to downgrade it.
Or you could get an 3K3Y but at this moment you'll need a CFW to extract the BD keys.

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

Or buy one already hacked... About back ups, currently just soft mod lets you play PS3, PS1 back ups but PS2 and PSP could be on the way soon. Some one just cracked the Cobra dongle recently. hmmmm PS2 requires a BC unit. They seem to get a good price these days. Might sell mine soon....

Edit : About 4.3 firmware you must be on 3.55 the new firmware is hmmm sort of a fake new cfw its hacked but not the same way as 3.55 hard to explain.

 

[chyyran]

Or buy one already hacked... About back ups, currently just soft mod lets you play PS3, PS1 back ups but PS2 and PSP could be on the way soon. Some one just cracked the Cobra dongle recently. hmmmm PS2 requires a BC unit. They seem to get a good price these days. Might sell mine soon....

Edit : About 4.3 firmware you must be on 3.55 the new firmware is hmmm sort of a fake new cfw its hacked but not the same way as 3.55 hard to explain.

PS2 and PS1 aren't that important for me, ePSXe and PCSX2 get the job done well enough. I don't really want to buy a secondhand PS3, and I'm not planning to get one so soon yet. But still, is it not possible to hack just any random PS3 that I can get off Wal-Mart or Best Buy or whatever? Even with some kind of hardware flasher?

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

PS2 and PS1 aren't that important for me, ePSXe and PCSX2 get the job done well enough. I don't really want to buy a secondhand PS3, and I'm not planning to get one so soon yet. But still, is it not possible to hack just any random PS3 that I can get off Wal-Mart or Best Buy or whatever? Even with some kind of hardware flasher?

No you can't pick up a PS3 at the store and hack it, well unless you can find one that has been sitting on the shelf for a very very long time. If you want a hacked PS3 you pretty much have to buy it used at this point in time.

Next week could be a different story, some one could find the keys for a true 4.X CFW and everything would be good for buying a new PS3 and hacking it. Right now though, it's a big no. Sorry

Edit: And even used ones, you have to watch out for. If they came from the factory with a firmware over I think its 3.65 you cannot downgrade them or they just blow e fuses and brick. (At least that's what I think I remember.... lol)

 

[chyyran]

No you can't pick up a PS3 at the store and hack it, well unless you can find one that has been sitting on the shelf for a very very long time. If you want a hacked PS3 you pretty much have to buy it used at this point in time.

Next week could be a different story, some one could find the keys for a true 4.X CFW and everything would be good for buying a new PS3 and hacking it. Right now though, it's a big no. Sorry

Ah, that sucks. Well, patience is a virtue eh? I have one more question though, if I have a hacked PS3, would I be able to pirate PSN exclusives?

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

Ah, that sucks. Well, patience is a virtue eh? I have one more question though, if I have a hacked PS3, would I be able to pirate PSN exclusives?

Right now I think like 99% of them yes, I have very little experience with that but I have tested out a couple of games and they did install and run fine. Not sure what the issue is with other ones but I have heard some refuse to be signed...

On the PSN issue since you will probably ask. Right now Sony is banning PS3's left and right running any sort of CFW. If you really know what your doing you can unban your self sort of (New console ID you lose all your friends saves and pretty much everything...) but Sony will just ban again in like 5 minutes....

Mine isn't banned but that's because I imposed a self ban, the way I see it if I am not 100% legit on a console it is best to keep it offline completely.

 

[chyyran]

Right now I think like 99% of them yes, I have very little experience with that but I have tested out a couple of games and they did install and run fine. Not sure what the issue is with other ones but I have heard some refuse to be signed...

On the PSN issue since you will probably ask. Right now Sony is banning PS3's left and right running any sort of CFW. If you really know what your doing you can unban your self sort of (New console ID you lose all your friends saves and pretty much everything...) but Sony will just ban again in like 5 minutes....

Mine isn't banned but that's because I imposed a self ban, the way I see it if I am not 100% legit on a console it is best to keep it offline completely.

I don't really play online that much, so that doesn't bother me that much. Thanks for clearing everything up though

 

[mechadylan]

I saw something on google about a CFW 4.30, what's that about then?

Also, does this mean that if I go right now to pick up a PS3 at Wal-Mart, it's completely unhackable?

From my understanding, CFW 4.30 can only be achieved from CFW 3.55 first, which can only be achieved from OFW 3.55 or lower. It's important to note that a PS3 cannot be downgraded to an OFW lower than what it shipped with.

If you manage to come across a PS3 on OFW/CFW 3.55, it is recommended to turn on the QA flag before updating to a CFW 4.xx (Rogero, Ermac, etc.) Migrating blindly from kmeaw CFW 3.55 to Rogero CFW 4.30 revision 2 (for example,) is ill-advised as revision 3 can only be installed from OFW 3.55. By QA flagging your PS3, you can downgrade to OFW 3.55 first without any additional hard-modding.

 

[Symphony1]

Thanks guys this answered a lot of my questions as well. I'm in the same boat as OP, might be buying a PS3 within a few days (xmas).
Though I haven't followed modding PS3 for years. A few years ago I saw that someone created this USB device for jailbreaking PS3 firmware to install pirated games, and I remember the USB cost like $150 or something. What's the status with that now? Completely discontinued?
Oh and what is CFW? PS3's firmware?
Also I'm not sure what the 4.3 and 3.5 is about. In order to hack the PS3 it means I have to be on 3.5/3.55 first, then upgrade it to 4.3 and install this CFW? What is the firmware version that comes with new PS3s right now? It won't work if I just buy a PS3 that already comes with 4.3 or newer?

 

[Fear Zoa]

I can't answer all those questions but I can tell you that the scene has pretty much moved away from dongles, so yea i'd say its discontinued. Newer ps3s come with 4.3+ so I'm pretty sure they can't be modded. And yes if you want to softmod you need a ps3 with 3.55 or less then upgrade to 4.3 cfw.

Also about backups, If i'm not completely out of my mind multiman currently does ps3 and ps1 backup, and since cobra was hacked recently we may get ps2 and psp as well but we'll just have to see.

 

[ColeGingeyRamey]

Alright here's the scoop guys.

4.31 needs you to downgrade with E3 flasher.
3.55 (Your fking good) use a PUP file like KMEAW or Geohotz Jailbreak to do your system!
Then do one of the two (you decide)

1. Update to Rogero CFW
2. Stay on 3.55 and spoof 4.31

 

[Zetta_x]

Alright here's the scoop guys.

4.31 needs you to downgrade with E3 flasher.
3.55 (Your fking good) use a PUP file like KMEAW or Geohotz Jailbreak to do your system!
Then do one of the two (you decide)

1. Update to Rogero CFW
2. Stay on 3.55 and spoof 4.31

Yeah, stay on 3.55, it's fun having to get resigned eboots for all your newer games and having to resign game updates yourself.

 

[ColeGingeyRamey]

yeah I'm looking for an e3 as of now to get back to 3.55 cause I screwed up and updated :/ 25$ dollars short :'(

 

[Zetta_x]

My advice would be to update to 4.21 or 4.30 custom firmware. Needs to be done from 3.55 as the private keys for 3.55+ are not released

 

[ColeGingeyRamey]

Correct Now here's the thing, There is a lot of testing and that going on for 4.XX CFW's from 3.55 better to just spoof if your looking to play online