How to redeem DLC vouchers with jailbroken PS4?

[Nynrah]

I got a PS4 with an appropriate firmware version at home that I am considering to jailbreak and I got a stack of games I want to make backups of. That's all fine and dandy. I know there are means to acquire patches to update my games with even on a jailbroken system, but then there's the DLC. Some of my games are editions that include DLC. More specifically, some of them include the DLC by including a DLC voucher/code. And that's where my current problem lies.

The way I see it, redeeming the DLC I paid for through these specific editions would require me to update to a firmware that can't be jailbroken and that's a no-go for me. At the same time I'm loath to discard my legit bought DLC.

Is it possible to redeem my DLC somehow so I can back the data up without giving up the opportunity to jailbreak my PS4?

 

[KiiWii]

Without hardware, you cannot, sadly.

Ideally you would have bought the ps4 on jailbreakable firmware when that firmware was current, filled your boots with games and DLC, and then taken it offline and waited for the jailbreak.

Most DLC is available for FPKG games, so unless it’s something not yet released, it’s probably out there in FPKG form.

When I mentioned hardware: it should be possible to update to current from your initial firmware, redeem the dlc, and then REVERT back to your initial firmware but it’s out of reach for most end users.

Modded warfare covered reverting a while back:

 

[Nynrah]

None of my games are fortunately very recent. I kinda bought a pile of PS4 games years ago and later got my brother-in-law's PS4, which was already past firmware 9.00 because he used it just one last time to watch Netflix. But 9.00 wasn't recent back then anymore. Not sure what the latest update was at the time, but in hindsight I should have done all the redeeming and downloading back then. But Hindsight is 20/20. At the time I was too afraid that by updating I might miss the boat again and so left the console to collect dust for some time.

I'll check the video guide out that you refered to (thanks for that, by the way). It might just be what I need without needing to resort to plan B, which would be search for FPKGs.

EDIT: Just watched part of the video. I get what you mean now when you spoke about hardware. I guess I will need to look for FPKG files after all.

 

[Nynrah]

Hi @KiiWii, one more question about this.

This is mainly spurred on because I recently got confronted on my Switch with Monster Hunter's unusual 'DLC' practices. Having a base game, updates and DLC in the form of files is straightforward, but some games like Monster Hunter have event quests where they release them through a time-gated scheme. The data is already in the game or update, but you still need to go online to 'download' them. By that I mean unlocking them. This usually ends up registered in a part of the save data. CFW just can't deal with such obscene practices and it's a major pain for preservation purposes.

So this idea popped up on my end of getting a second PS4 and play the game the legit way on OFW there. Off course this has the added benefit of me being able to redeem my DLC on top of download any obscure faux-DLC like this. I am hoping I could use data transfer to move my data to the PS4 that I'm going to put CFW on. And that finally brings me to the actual question.

Can I transfer downloaded data from an up-to-date OFW PS4 to a PS4 on lower firmware prior to jailbreaking it? I want to be sure that this process won't overwrite the firmware or demand the other PS4 to also be up-to-date.

 

[KiiWii]

@Nynrah you should be able to copy from OFW to jailbroken as long as it’s activated (if not use Apollo) but the contents will probably have a specific firmware requirement or online requirement to start it.

As long as it’s lower than latest jailbreak and doesn’t require online, it should work with the disc.

For example if the base game disc requires 4.50, your PS4 is on 5.05, and the update requires 6.72: you would need to at least be on 6.72 to use the update/dlc, as long as no online connection is required.

Does this make sense?

Also the ps4 will prompt for updating if required and will never force you to update from a disc or online. It might nag, but it won’t update without you pressing “update”.

 

[Nynrah]

@Nynrah you should be able to copy from OFW to jailbroken as long as it’s activated (if not use Apollo) but the contents will probably have a specific firmware requirement or online requirement to start it.

As long as it’s lower than latest jailbreak and doesn’t require online, it should work with the disc.

For example if the base game disc requires 4.50, your PS4 is on 5.05, and the update requires 6.72: you would need to at least be on 6.72 to use the update/dlc, as long as no online connection is required.

Does this make sense?

Also the ps4 will prompt for updating if required and will never force you to update from a disc or online. It might nag, but it won’t update without you pressing “update”.

I see. Yes, that sounds clear enough to me for the time being. It's good enough to know that it's possible. Thanks.

 

[Pismire]

For example if the base game disc requires 4.50, your PS4 is on 5.05, and the update requires 6.72: you would need to at least be on 6.72 to use the update/dlc, as long as no online connection is required.

Does this make sense?

I see. Yes, that sounds clear enough to me for the time being. It's good enough to know that it's possible. Thanks.

I just want to clarify that although this is technically true, if you have a PS4 on 5.05 I'd recommend never updating past that as it's considered the "Golden" CFW.

The general gist is you want to stay on the lowest FW possible just in case the FW keys eventually get cracked for true CFW. Also for a lot of compatibility reasons but Homebrew has been quite good on the PS4 scene now.

The exploits reliability is another one, 5.05 is by far the most stable besides the newest one that works from USB, I hear that's relatively stable now too. I remember back when the PS4 was first hacked, safe mode would break no matter whan exploit you used and was a big point for a while.

ANYWAYS, what I really wanted to say is that games, updates, and DLCs are most often BACKPORTED to lower firmwares. Even the newest PS4 updates get backported to 5.05 via various patches these days, so personally I'd stay on the lowest firmware, and get to searching to find those archives.

 

[Nynrah]

I just want to clarify that although this is technically true, if you have a PS4 on 5.05 I'd recommend never updating past that as it's considered the "Golden" CFW.

The general gist is you want to stay on the lowest FW possible just in case the FW keys eventually get cracked for true CFW. Also for a lot of compatibility reasons but Homebrew has been quite good on the PS4 scene now.

The exploits reliability is another one, 5.05 is by far the most stable besides the newest one that works from USB, I hear that's relatively stable now too. I remember back when the PS4 was first hacked, safe mode would break no matter whan exploit you used and was a big point for a while.

ANYWAYS, what I really wanted to say is that games, updates, and DLCs are most often BACKPORTED to lower firmwares. Even the newest PS4 updates get backported to 5.05 via various patches these days, so personally I'd stay on the lowest firmware, and get to searching to find those archives.

Unfortunately my PS4 is on 9.03, so I missed the ship for this 5.05 CFW by a long shot and I'll have to settle for 11.00 CFW. I just hope the exploit for that one isn't too laborious to use every time I start the console.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Unfortunately my PS4 is on 9.03, so I missed the ship for this 5.05 CFW by a long shot and I'll have to settle for 11.00 CFW. I just hope the exploit for that one isn't too laborious to use every time I start the console.

Calling it a CFW is inaccurate, it's more of HEN.

11.00 HEN with a Raspberry Pi box attached to it isn't that bad.

 

[Nynrah]

Calling it a CFW is inaccurate, it's more of HEN.

11.00 HEN with a Raspberry Pi box attached to it isn't that bad.

I started realizing that as I started reading more into it. I do got a Pi that's collecting dust, so it can be used for this purpose. I just hope that the rumors of crashes/kernel panics and the jailbreak not always is overexaggerated. If the jailbreak taking longer than on older versions is the worst of it, then that's bearable until the day comes that we can enjoy a true CFW on an end-of-life PS4.

 

[Marc_LFD]

I started realizing that as I started reading more into it. I do got a Pi that's collecting dust, so it can be used for this purpose. I just hope that the rumors of crashes/kernel panics and the jailbreak not always is overexaggerated. If the jailbreak taking longer than on older versions is the worst of it, then that's bearable until the day comes that we can enjoy a true CFW on an end-of-life PS4.

That 9.03 PS4 couldn't be downgraded to 9.00?

 

[Nynrah]

That 9.03 PS4 couldn't be downgraded to 9.00?

From what the Modded Warfare guide said that KiiWii referenced, we're talking about a hardware mod here. At least it requires soldering, even if you don't apply this as a permanent mod. I don't feel it's worth the trouble if I can work with 11.00 while hooking a Raspberry Pi to the PS4 until the jailbreaks improve.