Hacking Is my PS3 hackable?

[Bryon15]

I got it in september of last year. The current firmware on it is 4.25. The number on the back is - CECH-3001A

I had an old PS3 before I bought the new one. But it stopped loading games. It was a 60GB model too. So it had PS2 backward compatibility and everything.

 

[rizzod]

No.

 

[Devin]

Rather than the above guy's "No." answer which at all doesn't give any information to the user as to why. I shall tell you why. The PS3 needs to have a base firmware of 3.55 or lower in order to be downgraded. Only PS3s on firmware 3.55 or lower can be hacked. The way PS3s on newer firmware are hacked is they are downgraded using a progskeet or E3 Flasher. The PS3 3000 series is too new to be able to downgrade to 3.55. There's a list of downgradeable PS3s which I'll link below.

Hackable PS3 Phats
Hackable PS3 Slims

Excuse the small size on the Phats list. All of them are downgradeable.

 

[Bryon15]

Dammit! So in hindsight it probably would have been a better idea to just pay to have my old PS3 fixed and then hack that one. It seems like all I do is screw myself over. Just over a month ago I tried softmodding my PS2 to play backups off an internal hard drive. I bought all the necessary stuff, did everything right, and it didn't work. My PS2 couldn't detect the drive. It would just get stuck on the HD loader screen. I made a topic about it here.

http://gbatemp.net/threads/now-my-ps2-wont-detect-the-internal-hard-drive.345225/

So I ended up wasting 70 bucks. > Anyway thanks for your detail answer.

 

[Cyan]

I think this should be stickied.
We have seen this question a lot of time already, it wouldn't hurt to have it always visible at the top.

Thanks Devin for the explanation and links to PS3 models.
I hope it will help the users.

 

[codezer0]

Rather than the above guy's "No." answer which at all doesn't give any information to the user as to why. I shall tell you why. The PS3 needs to have a base firmware of 3.55 or lower in order to be downgraded. Only PS3s on firmware 3.55 or lower can be hacked. The way PS3s on newer firmware are hacked is they are downgraded using a progskeet or E3 Flasher. The PS3 3000 series is too new to be able to downgrade to 3.55. There's a list of downgradeable PS3s which I'll link below.

Hackable PS3 Phats
Hackable PS3 Slims

Excuse the small size on the Phats list. All of them are downgradeable.

And just to add to this...

The reason that we can have newer CFW's but still have the problem of 3.56+ is that if you've seen the 27C3 Console Hacking panel by fail0verflow, it mentions how while we do now have the LV0 keys, we can't change metldr, and that is one of the things that was changed since 3.56 (among the previously suspected 'firmware rootkit' that was mentioned at the time). But since OFW 3.56, Sony updated metldr and revised it to have additional 'sanity checks', as I can put it nicely. While CFW tools have been able to successfully pass the metldr that was implemented up to 3.55, the secondary portion of metldr in 3.56(+) will fail the signature/hash checks, and at best refuse the update... at worst, brick the console.

That's why we still have this problem.

 

[warweeny]

Rather than the above guy's "No." answer which at all doesn't give any information to the user as to why. I shall tell you why. The PS3 needs to have a base firmware of 3.55 or lower in order to be downgraded. Only PS3s on firmware 3.55 or lower can be hacked. The way PS3s on newer firmware are hacked is they are downgraded using a progskeet or E3 Flasher. The PS3 3000 series is too new to be able to downgrade to 3.55. There's a list of downgradeable PS3s which I'll link below.

Hackable PS3 Phats
Hackable PS3 Slims

Excuse the small size on the Phats list. All of them are downgradeable.

so according to that list a cech-2504A is hackable even tho it has the latest firmware installed? (little confused by the numbers on that list xP)
if so i am a happy man that it is possible xD

 

[Foxi4]

so according to that list a cech-2504A is hackable even tho it has the latest firmware installed? (little confused by the numbers on that list xP)
if so i am a happy man that it is possible xD

It's not so much relevant what firmware you currently have but what firmware the motherboard is compatible with.

 

[warweeny]

It's not so much relevant what firmware you currently have but what firmware the motherboard is compatible with.

well i guess for a hard mod it doesnt matter.
but to clarify, that ps3 (2504A) is hackable right?

 

[Foxi4]

well i guess for a hard mod it doesnt matter.
but to clarify, that ps3 (2504A) is hackable right?

As far as I know, yes.

 

[soulrazor]

most of them are. if version has hdd 320 or 160 gb it is non hackable. check the board of slims on devin post and you will see what i mean

 

[Cyan]

According to the picture, PS3 Slim CECH-250xA are not always hackable.

There are different release dates using the same Serial number.
CECH-250xA released in 2010 are hackable (initial and most lower installable firmware : 3.40 or 3.50)
CECH-250xA released in 2011 or newer are not hackable (minimum downgradable firmware 3.60! you need to be on 3.55 to install a custom firmware)


But there are maybe another way to install custom firmware without downgrading : Can you patch your NOR dump on your computer to Rogero 4.40 and flash it back in PS3 ?
I don't know if it's really possible, but isn't what BwE NOR NAND Validator/Patcher is doing ? I don't understand it very well, and nobody seems to report using the patch feature.
Maybe Devin could test it, if he didn't sell his console/E3 Flasher yet ?

Or is the patch needed only to validate the dump?

edit:
http://www.ps3hax.net/showthread.php?t=54377
http://www.betterwayelectronics.com/
http://www.ps3devwiki.com/wiki/Validating_flash_dumps#BwE_NOR_Validator

 

[warweeny]

According to the picture, PS3 Slim CECH-250xA are not always hackable.

There are different release dates using the same Serial number.
CECH-250xA released in 2010 are hackable (initial and most lower installable firmware : 3.40 or 3.50)
CECH-250xA released in 2011 or newer are not hackable (minimum downgradable firmware 3.60! you need to be on 3.55 to install a custom firmware)


But there are maybe another way to install custom firmware without downgrading : Can you patch your NOR dump on your computer to Rogero 4.40 and flash it back in PS3 ?
I don't know if it's really possible, but isn't what BwE NOR NAND Validator/Patcher is doing ? I don't understand it very well, and nobody seems to report using the patch feature.
Maybe Devin could test it, if he didn't sell his console/E3 Flasher yet ?

Or is the patch needed only to validate the dump?

edit:
http://www.ps3hax.net/showthread.php?t=54377
http://www.betterwayelectronics.com/
http://www.ps3devwiki.com/wiki/Validating_flash_dumps#BwE_NOR_Validator

i have really no idea if this ps3 is from 2010 or 2011 D:
it is a few years old but i dont know how old :C
its the 160gb version, is there any way to see on what year it was build?

i dont know anything about hacking a ps3 but a friend of mine does and i want to make certain mine is hackable before bothering him

 

[Cyan]

There's a way to check which minimum firmware can be installed on your console.

I'll link to it in a minute.
it will be useful for this thread to check if the console can be downgraded or not.

Edit:
Follow this guide :
http://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-check-minimum-firmware-version.318773/

You need to put a file on your external USB drive, and it will display the minimum firmware you can downgrade to.
Attention : remove any game disc you have, or it could update from the disc instead of loading the one on USB.

 

[NariIro]

OK so being a member over at ps3jailbreaking.com and psx-scene.com and knowing habit about downgrading here's a quick guide.

Cech2001-24xx can be downgraded.
If your on anything above 3.55 you MUST use a hardware flasher I.e proskeet or an E3.
If your own a 3.55 system all you must do is download the CFW.
ANY SITE THAT REQUIRES A SURVEY IS FAKE AND WILL BRICK YOUR PS3!
IF YOUR REQUIRED TO ENTER A PASSWORD TO UNZIP THE FILE ITS A FAKE AND WILL BRICK YOUR PS3!
If you have any other questions about jailbreaking message me or post here and I'll respond asap.

 

[Devin]

According to the picture, PS3 Slim CECH-250xA are not always hackable.

There are different release dates using the same Serial number.
CECH-250xA released in 2010 are hackable (initial and most lower installable firmware : 3.40 or 3.50)
CECH-250xA released in 2011 or newer are not hackable (minimum downgradable firmware 3.60! you need to be on 3.55 to install a custom firmware)


But there are maybe another way to install custom firmware without downgrading : Can you patch your NOR dump on your computer to Rogero 4.40 and flash it back in PS3 ?
I don't know if it's really possible, but isn't what BwE NOR NAND Validator/Patcher is doing ? I don't understand it very well, and nobody seems to report using the patch feature.
Maybe Devin could test it, if he didn't sell his console/E3 Flasher yet ?

Or is the patch needed only to validate the dump?

edit:
http://www.ps3hax.net/showthread.php?t=54377
http://www.betterwayelectronics.com/
http://www.ps3devwiki.com/wiki/Validating_flash_dumps#BwE_NOR_Validator

I use the Rogero NOR patcher typically. When I flash the patched NOR dump onto the PS3 it still says "Insert media device containing 4.** or higher". I was able to install Rogero 4.40 from there. I still have both but my E3 clip ripped. So I have two more of those coming in. I'd be willing to give it a shot.

 

[mechadylan]

According to the picture, PS3 Slim CECH-250xA are not always hackable.

There are different release dates using the same Serial number.
CECH-250xA released in 2010 are hackable (initial and most lower installable firmware : 3.40 or 3.50)
CECH-250xA released in 2011 or newer are not hackable (minimum downgradable firmware 3.60! you need to be on 3.55 to install a custom firmware)

@Devin, was that the case with the slim that I sent you? I seem to recall having issues finding it on your list, but I remember it shipping with 3.50. If Sony uses a sequential numbering system, it might be helpful to figure out exactly where the break point is by S/N as most people probably can't recall exactly when they bought it or perhaps bought it used.

 

[Devin]

CECH-2501A. Used the same method I posted last in this thread.

Said made in November of 2010.

 

[mechadylan]

CECH-2501A. Used the same method I posted last in this thread.

Said made in November of 2010.

Ahh, that's right. Forgot about that.

 

[blanshdivua]

OK So I'm new here, and I don't understand anything I'm planning on buying a PS3 this summer so I don't know the model. I understand looking at the chart you posted that the last models marked with red color are not hackable. The ps3 comes with 250gb HDD, does that mean that it is probably model 250.B and therefore hackeable? Thanks guys