This is my 100th attempt to make a PS3 hacking guide/FAQ. Forgive me for my writing.
About ps3 hacking
PS3 hacking has advanced a lot since its beginning in 2010. PS3 hacking is a lot different from Wii hacking since hackers have managed to find all the signing keys which is/was used in the drm process. The only major drawback is that it hold a cell-powerPC architecture so software are not easily ported because most devices these days have x86(pc) or arm(ios/android) processors.
That means there is nothing Sony can do now to block anything whatsoever. Whatever they attempt software-wise can be circumvented by the scene. As for now, 3 and half years later, pretty much everything is unlocked and works flawlessly.
Do I want a hacked PS3?
Well, it depends. I’d rather have an Online unhacked PS3 than a hacked offline PS3. There is just a lot awesome games that you can probably find used for dirt cheap these days. PS+(playstation plus) is also a good bet not very expensive for the numbers of games you can play and they have a lot of very good sales. The bundled Youtube/Netflix/etc softwares are very good. That being said an online hacked PS3 is the best but it depends on your ability to find one at a price that is worth it. You also might want to skip to PS4 because the price point is not much above. But it’s in the end your own choice to make.
Is my PS3 hackable?
Yes, as of today(01-2014) all PS3 are hackable.
How do I hack my PS3?
There is 3 ways
1.ODE(optical disk emulator) hardware install. You need skill/knowledge to install this but less than number 2. There is solderless install for some PS3 models. You can run every PS3/PS1 games flawlessly but there is compatibility issues with homebrews. You have to install this to hack newer PS3s. They cost around 100$.
2.Hardware downgrade. If you have a downgradable PS3 you can use hardware to bring it back to 3.55 and use CFW. It requires more skills as there a lot of solder to do. The services is available in professional locations. It should cost you around 70-100$ to get the extra hardware or get it done by a pro.
3.Softmod hack/jailbreak should be rare to get by these days. You have to have a OFW(original firmware) below 3.56 which was released in January 2011 so it has to not have been online in the past 3 years. It is much easier to find a PS3 that already has CFW(custom firmware). All PS3 manufactured after mid-2011 were prevented to run softmod.
In sums what does a PS3 with CFW can do?
You can play/rip PS1/PS2/PS3/Blu-RAY/DVD. PS2 playback is not perfect on not FULL-BC consoles because it’s using Sony’s own emulator which is not perfect they would have to fix it and this is most likely not going to happen since they removed the feature a long time ago. There's also some PSP games going on(also on OFW ).
Run linux PowerPC builds. This was removed by Sony a long time ago also. Still PS3’s linux is not very performant so you might just want to skip using your PS3 as a PC.
Use as a media player. The built-in media player is restricted in the formats it can play. Showtime media player, although not as nice as XBMC, will let you play almost everything it gets thrown at. The only drawback is that PS3 only has wireless-G so you might want to have it wired to use it’s superb gigabit connection.
Run emulators/homebrew. There have been ports of pretty much every system up to and excluding N64. For the reason I stated up there is not many homebrews on PS3 but one can code pretty much anything you want as the system is so much open. The unofficial SDK is called PSL1GHT.
Can I go Online with CFW?
Yes, yes an yes! Given that you have proper latest CFW or spoofs and that your console is not banned. The current firmware number is 4.53. I have just bought a banned console so I might have some details on how to unban a console in the next weeks/months.
The trick is that Sony does not know/care what you have done in the past they never check your files/history. They only know/care what you are running right now so that means running homebrews while online will get you banned immediately even if you are not connected to PSN.
They don’t care about piracy either because they can’t tell legit games from not legit games. There’s something called gamesharing that is widely used amongst and accepted by Sony so even PSN titles you can run without worring of getting banned. Also I have heard that playing COD: black ops 2 online would get you banned but if someone can confirm this it would be awesome.
There’s a few ways to run homebrews without getting banned.
1.Spoof gameID. There only one homebrew I know can do that right now it’s the stealth version of Multiman but theoretically you can do that with any homebrews.
2.Settings and disable internet.
3.Enter a wrong DNS in Internet settings. Just change 1 number. If you want to be offline the internet but still use your home network.
4.Block playstation.net in your router. You can still use the internet but will not be able to communicate with Sony.
Which CFW is best/safest?
Almost all CFW are best/safest depends what you want. The truth is I have installed over 40 differents CFW over the years. Just don’t install until you are sure that other users have tested it and there have not been any bricks reports for a few days. And even there I think the only unrecoverable bricks were caused by the first waninkoko CFW on some fat models. To reduce even more any risks you can turn on QA flags in rebug’s CFW which will will even let you downgrade your console to any firmware from your console’s original firmware(not below brick brick) to 3.55. Never downgrade straight to OFW, as it checks for Level 1 hash. Dehash on 3.55 CFW then move to OFW.
Always update from XMB and not from recovery, that way a bad usb/update file will not go through. If you cannot seem to be able to update use rebug’s 999 downgrader(where you can turn QA flags on) then rebug’s 3.55.2. From here any CFW will go through 100% guaranteed.
It is always best to check MD5 checksum on your flash drive before you install a .pup to make sure the file you are installing is not corrupted. Signature verification on CFW is disabled so you could (if you are unlucky) end up with a bad flash.
What CFW do you recommend?
I recommend latest Habib 4.53 cobra 1.05 CFW because it does not need any spoofs to get online and it’s the most like the OFW you can’t tell it has CFW if you don’t know what is CFW. But like I said previously whatever works works.
About ps3 hacking
PS3 hacking has advanced a lot since its beginning in 2010. PS3 hacking is a lot different from Wii hacking since hackers have managed to find all the signing keys which is/was used in the drm process. The only major drawback is that it hold a cell-powerPC architecture so software are not easily ported because most devices these days have x86(pc) or arm(ios/android) processors.
That means there is nothing Sony can do now to block anything whatsoever. Whatever they attempt software-wise can be circumvented by the scene. As for now, 3 and half years later, pretty much everything is unlocked and works flawlessly.
Do I want a hacked PS3?
Well, it depends. I’d rather have an Online unhacked PS3 than a hacked offline PS3. There is just a lot awesome games that you can probably find used for dirt cheap these days. PS+(playstation plus) is also a good bet not very expensive for the numbers of games you can play and they have a lot of very good sales. The bundled Youtube/Netflix/etc softwares are very good. That being said an online hacked PS3 is the best but it depends on your ability to find one at a price that is worth it. You also might want to skip to PS4 because the price point is not much above. But it’s in the end your own choice to make.
Is my PS3 hackable?
Yes, as of today(01-2014) all PS3 are hackable.
How do I hack my PS3?
There is 3 ways
1.ODE(optical disk emulator) hardware install. You need skill/knowledge to install this but less than number 2. There is solderless install for some PS3 models. You can run every PS3/PS1 games flawlessly but there is compatibility issues with homebrews. You have to install this to hack newer PS3s. They cost around 100$.
2.Hardware downgrade. If you have a downgradable PS3 you can use hardware to bring it back to 3.55 and use CFW. It requires more skills as there a lot of solder to do. The services is available in professional locations. It should cost you around 70-100$ to get the extra hardware or get it done by a pro.
3.Softmod hack/jailbreak should be rare to get by these days. You have to have a OFW(original firmware) below 3.56 which was released in January 2011 so it has to not have been online in the past 3 years. It is much easier to find a PS3 that already has CFW(custom firmware). All PS3 manufactured after mid-2011 were prevented to run softmod.
In sums what does a PS3 with CFW can do?
You can play/rip PS1/PS2/PS3/Blu-RAY/DVD. PS2 playback is not perfect on not FULL-BC consoles because it’s using Sony’s own emulator which is not perfect they would have to fix it and this is most likely not going to happen since they removed the feature a long time ago. There's also some PSP games going on(also on OFW ).
Run linux PowerPC builds. This was removed by Sony a long time ago also. Still PS3’s linux is not very performant so you might just want to skip using your PS3 as a PC.
Use as a media player. The built-in media player is restricted in the formats it can play. Showtime media player, although not as nice as XBMC, will let you play almost everything it gets thrown at. The only drawback is that PS3 only has wireless-G so you might want to have it wired to use it’s superb gigabit connection.
Run emulators/homebrew. There have been ports of pretty much every system up to and excluding N64. For the reason I stated up there is not many homebrews on PS3 but one can code pretty much anything you want as the system is so much open. The unofficial SDK is called PSL1GHT.
Can I go Online with CFW?
Yes, yes an yes! Given that you have proper latest CFW or spoofs and that your console is not banned. The current firmware number is 4.53. I have just bought a banned console so I might have some details on how to unban a console in the next weeks/months.
The trick is that Sony does not know/care what you have done in the past they never check your files/history. They only know/care what you are running right now so that means running homebrews while online will get you banned immediately even if you are not connected to PSN.
They don’t care about piracy either because they can’t tell legit games from not legit games. There’s something called gamesharing that is widely used amongst and accepted by Sony so even PSN titles you can run without worring of getting banned. Also I have heard that playing COD: black ops 2 online would get you banned but if someone can confirm this it would be awesome.
There’s a few ways to run homebrews without getting banned.
1.Spoof gameID. There only one homebrew I know can do that right now it’s the stealth version of Multiman but theoretically you can do that with any homebrews.
2.Settings and disable internet.
3.Enter a wrong DNS in Internet settings. Just change 1 number. If you want to be offline the internet but still use your home network.
4.Block playstation.net in your router. You can still use the internet but will not be able to communicate with Sony.
Which CFW is best/safest?
Almost all CFW are best/safest depends what you want. The truth is I have installed over 40 differents CFW over the years. Just don’t install until you are sure that other users have tested it and there have not been any bricks reports for a few days. And even there I think the only unrecoverable bricks were caused by the first waninkoko CFW on some fat models. To reduce even more any risks you can turn on QA flags in rebug’s CFW which will will even let you downgrade your console to any firmware from your console’s original firmware(not below brick brick) to 3.55. Never downgrade straight to OFW, as it checks for Level 1 hash. Dehash on 3.55 CFW then move to OFW.
Always update from XMB and not from recovery, that way a bad usb/update file will not go through. If you cannot seem to be able to update use rebug’s 999 downgrader(where you can turn QA flags on) then rebug’s 3.55.2. From here any CFW will go through 100% guaranteed.
It is always best to check MD5 checksum on your flash drive before you install a .pup to make sure the file you are installing is not corrupted. Signature verification on CFW is disabled so you could (if you are unlucky) end up with a bad flash.
What CFW do you recommend?
I recommend latest Habib 4.53 cobra 1.05 CFW because it does not need any spoofs to get online and it’s the most like the OFW you can’t tell it has CFW if you don’t know what is CFW. But like I said previously whatever works works.
