Hacking act.dat and idps.hex CFW/HEN (tutorial)

KISSMYRAIFU · Jun 29, 2019

first of all this will not work on HAN since it requires homebrew apps.

starting with act.dat :

you need multiMAN (which i recommend) or any other homebrew app that allows you to manage the system's files. (FTP works as well)
enter the file manager and go under dev_hdd0/home/000000xx/exdata/ (as shown in the pictures).

the act.dat file that you're looking for is just sitting there copy it to your usb and you're done.

when u open home folder, you will find inside of it a lot of folders with a number e.g 00000026.
each one of these represent one of the accounts you currently have on your ps3, and each one has it's own act.dat
but you want to have the act.dat of your main account which you use to play your games and go online.
let's assume you picked a folder named 00000016, to check if it's the right one open it and browse to 00000016/friendim/avatar/ (as demonstrated in the pictures).

open me.png and it should show your current psn avatar.

AND BEFORE ALL MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALREADY ACTIVATED YOUR SYSTEM

For idps.hex :

this one is not the same as the act.dat file, you can't find it anywhere in your ps3 which means you have to make it yourself.
but first you need to identify your idps, we will be using psnpatch, run it and you will get this.

normally the real and current idps should be the same, but for people who switched from CEX to DEX these two IDs won't be identical due to changes on the LV2 thus you have to pick the real one (framed). Write it down and head to your computer.

next you will need a hex editor software. I used HxD since it's simple, easy to install and doesn't require a system restart.
install it, click on file then new and type your idps.

type your idps as it is then save it and name it exactly "idps.hex".
in case you are confused here's a video showing you how to type your idps in the hex editor.

so that's it you got the 2 files you were looking for, hope this tutorial was helpful and good luck with your hunt.
if there is anything that i missed lemme know.

links:

multiMan : click here
PSNpatch : click here
HxD : click here

SoulReaperDude · May 29, 2020

Thank you so much for putting all that time and effort in order to make such a detailed walkthrough that's so easy to understand!

Miguel-Veloso · Apr 2, 2021

Hello. The new idps file should be put in hdd for ps3hen to work properly? If so, where?

KISSMYRAIFU · Apr 11, 2021

Miguel-Veloso said:
Hello. The new idps file should be put in hdd for ps3hen to work properly? If so, where?

since im on cfw got no idea.

tunex · Jun 7, 2021

hi, what if my console is psn banned? there`s a way to get the act.dat? or any way to use pkg that require rap activation?

godreborn · Jun 7, 2021

tunex said:
hi, what if my console is psn banned? there`s a way to get the act.dat? or any way to use pkg that require rap activation?

If on cfw, use reactpsn.

Codemastershock · Jun 7, 2021

tunex said:
hi, what if my console is psn banned? there`s a way to get the act.dat? or any way to use pkg that require rap activation?

godreborn said:
If on cfw, use reactpsn.

on cfw it is not such a big deal, reactpsn can activate pkg, rap and rif files by itself, just make a profile named aa and press R1 when starting reactpsn with the license files on the usb drive, the name of the profile will change telling how many licenses are installed. I had a banned cfw console and I installed PSN games and DLC fine without having my console activated. For save resigning it worked fine too.

On hen however, psnpatch is not compatible and backing up act.dat, xregistry.sys and idps is crucial since if your console is banned and you format the hard drive, you will lose the ability of installing pkg files, the on the fly activation process needs a activated account and console to do this. This guide is right for hen except when it enters psnpatch (as mentioned, psnpatch doesnt work on hen).

On hen consoles, first start the console with hen disabled and login to PSN on the activated account. After this, disconnect from the internet, uncheck PSN autologon and turn off the console. We did this to save your login credentials into xregistry.sys. These credentials tend to be lost when you use "Rebuild Database", that is why I recommended to login to PSN once. Your email and password are saved there in plain text if you somehow forget them. (good job on the security department, Sony!)

After this you can turn on "enable hen" (with the console disconnected from the internet and/or from PSN) to obtain idps. On the Network column, on Hybrid Firmware Tools, click on Dump Tools and on backup xregistry.sys. After this,click on Clean Log File, then click on Dump IDPS. The necessary files will be generated inside dev_hdd0/tmp. Copy the hfw_settings.log and the xregistry.sys.bak files. Opening the hfw_settings.log you will have the idps written there and then you can create the idps.hex.
xregistry.sys can be copied from /dev_flash2/etc too.

tunex · Jun 7, 2021

Hi! In my case its HEN, but the console is banned, there`s something that I can do? maybe convert the pkg to iso? It may work?

thanks!

Codemastershock · Jun 7, 2021

tunex said:
hi, what if my console is psn banned? there`s a way to get the act.dat? or any way to use pkg that require rap activation?

tunex said:
Hi! In my case its HEN, but the console is banned, there`s something that I can do? maybe convert the pkg to iso? It may work?

thanks!

it is possible for games in digital format (Scott Pilgrim vs the World for example), but I dont think it is possible with DLC, unless they made some tools to use the "DLC on disc" feature. Some games like Skyrim Legendary Edition include all DLC on the disc (when you insert the disc, the game icon appears as usual, but below that a Downloadable Content icon appears too) so this game and DLC works and dont need a activated console.
If your console is banned but it wasnt formatted, probably it is still activated and it can work, you have to install pkgs as usual, but place the license files (rap) into the dev_hdd0/home/(your profile number, 0000001 for example)/exdata. Hen activates automatically any license file that is written lowercase (SOMETHING.rap works, SOMETHING.RAP fails) when you enter the game. If it works, you need to backup act.dat. idps and xregistry.sys to avoid losing the ability to install pkgs in the future.

godreborn · Jun 7, 2021

I think you can get dlc to work within an iso by using the PS3_EXTRA feature. aldostools has an app for it as part of ps3 tools. I don't know much about it, and you probably need the rap unless you fix the dlc yourself. I think it creates a separate thing on the xmb. fixing dlc isn't hard, but it's tedious if you have to do it for everything. I don't even know if hen works with fixes. and, yeah, as long as you have the act.dat, even if you're banned, it should still work. some believe it wouldn't or be blacklisted, but I got banned many years ago and mine still worked. I did format the system subsequently, but I was on cfw and using reactpsn instead. evilnat is creating a method to create an act.dat, at least for cfw, and there has been talks of bringing that to hen, if possible.:

tunex · Jun 7, 2021

so if Hen do it automaticaly, I just need to put the ap file in exdata folder and when I run the game, Hen will do the magic? I don't need to do anything else?

Codemastershock · Jun 7, 2021

godreborn said:
I did format the system subsequently, but I was on cfw and using reactpsn instead.
View attachment 266130

as I mentioned on the first post of mine: on cfw is not a big deal, reactpsn doesnt need a activated console to install licenses.

godreborn · Jun 7, 2021

rap needs to be in exdata on usb root or hdd root from what I remember. you do need your act.dat though, do you have it?

Codemastershock · Jun 7, 2021

tunex said:
so if Hen do it automaticaly, I just need to put the ap file in exdata folder and when I run the game, Hen will do the magic? I don't need to do anything else?

if the console is activated, yes, unless the file extension is named incorrectly (SOMETHING.RAP)

godreborn · Jun 7, 2021

Codemastershock said:
as I mentioned on the first post of mine: on cfw is not a big deal, reactpsn doesnt need a activated console to install licenses.

that is incorrect. it creates a fake act.dat in order to install rap files. it's a patch to vsh.self. look on psdevwiki if you don't believe me. it's called the reactpsn patch, because a fake act.dat is deleted upon reboot without the patch.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Codemastershock · Jun 7, 2021

godreborn said:
that is incorrect. it creates a fake act.dat in order to install rap files. it's a patch to vsh.self. look on psdevwiki if you don't believe me. it's called the reactpsn patch, because a fake act.dat is deleted upon reboot without the patch.

but what matters is that it works with this fake act.dat, on hen there is no such feature at all. When I had my cfw console, it wa banned and it didnt had anything that I couldnt install unless the file itself was corrupted or the guy who shared the license file messed up in the process of sharing (which is very uncommon)

godreborn · Jun 7, 2021

there have been talks about creating such a thing for hen users. it explains how to create an act.dat on psdevwiki, but I don't know about the properly signed portion.

Codemastershock · Jun 7, 2021

the good thing about hen is that if it works, it does like magic, you just put the license file and done. On cfw I always had to rename the profile to aa, then open psnpatch pressing R1 (I dont remember the exact button, but I think it is R1) and then open the game and see if it activated successfully.

godreborn · Jun 7, 2021

there's an easier way if you create a separate user named aa, then you won't have to rename the reactpsn profile. you can also check if it's good by going into the game's information. it should say the reactpsn account as the buyer, so no need to enter the game.

Codemastershock · Jun 7, 2021

yes, I did that.

there have been talks about creating such a thing for hen users. it explains how to create an act.dat on psdevwiki, but I don't know about the properly signed portion.

At the same time, some cfw makers want to put this live patching system because it is easier and more consistent than relying on an app that wasnt updated properly in years and can be installed on consoles it is not supported (hen). The fake act.dat is very useful since it is very good to not rely on PSN services to use functions in the future.

Hacking act.dat and idps.hex CFW/HEN (tutorial)

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