Can I connect my Sony PSP to the Internet via USB cable?

Dave, if i take a usb cable from a psp and a dsl cable and I cut them both in half and connect the usb to the dsl cable would that make my Internet work on my Sony PSP? I have firmware version 2.70.

Dave's Answer:

Oh, there are so many reasons that your idea is wrong, but let me state right up front: don't do this or you'll fry your PSP and possibly your DSL modem too. Okay, I feel better now.

If all electrical wires and data wires were really like the plumbing in your house, your solution would be a novel and ingenious one. Unfortunately, it's not water flowing through whatever pipe and connectors you can hook up, it's electricity, and that has an infinite variety of different voltages and frequencies. Get it wrong and either your device simply won't see the electrical signal (imagine connecting your power cord to a 9 volt battery rather than a 110 volt wall outlet, for example) or it'll be more than the device can handle and you'll quite literally destroy the device.

There are yet other problems with what you suggest too: more likely than not, your DSL modem connects to a computer via an Ethernet cable and when you say "a dsl cable" you're probably talking about a cable that's actually comprised of 8 or more active wires, each sending a different signal at, possibly, different voltages. USB, however, only has five wires: four 'pins' inside the USB connector and the outside itself, which I'm guessing serves as a shield more than anything else. Different number of wires = big problems.

But there's a bigger problem with what you suggest, even if you could figure out a junction box or connector that would let your DSL modem speak USB directly (and some do, to be fair): the Sony PSP cannot connect to the Internet via USB.

That's right, you can't do it anyway.

I get questions from people asking if they can 'piggyback' off their existing Internet connection by hooking up their PSP to a PC via USB and while they can definitely access files, copy movies, etc., there's no way that I have heard of that lets you instruct the PSP to look to the USB cable rather than wifi circuitry to find an Internet connection.

Thanks for the darn interesting question, though! :-)

Additional useful reading:

• PSP Internet Help
• PSP USB Connectivity Help
• General Sony PSP Help

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Categorized: iPod, Sony PSP and MP3 Player Help (Article 6580, Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: dsl, psp, psp internet, sony psp, usb
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Reader Comments To Date: 46

Gabriel said, on July 26, 2006 10:07 AM:

Hello Dave,

There are some discussions on the net about connecting a keyboard to the USB port, however none of the participating people seems very knowledgeable about the subject. One said that it requires a power feed or a "host mode" that the PSP USB port does not provide. What is your opinion?

Regards,
Gabriel

omar said, on December 27, 2006 10:05 AM:

how can i hook my usb cable to pc i did it my psp.

patrick said, on February 17, 2007 1:02 PM:

my question is is there anything i can buy to hook into my dialup computer to project a wifi signal so that i can play my psp online because i live to far in the woods to get highspeed internet so can u help me?

Gabriel said, on March 10, 2007 5:42 PM:

How could I watch Tv cable on my PSP?

Brad Pitt said, on March 10, 2007 5:47 PM:

Your website rocks!!!!!!
-Brad Pitt

Gabriel Armijo said, on March 10, 2007 5:52 PM:

How could I watch Tv cable on my PSP?

joshua said, on April 25, 2007 4:08 AM:

i cannot connect to the internet it says that there are no access points!!! :(

FROM JOSHUA

joshua said, on April 25, 2007 4:12 AM:

i cannot connect to the internet it says that there are no access points!!! :(

FROM JOSHUA

Angelo said, on May 1, 2007 9:08 PM:

For those of you who don't already know this and can afford it, the WiFi MAX for PSP sold at CodeJunkies.com allows you to connect your psp to your computer via a usb wireless dongle adaptor that shares your Internet connection to your psp. This little accessory costs $40. I've invested in it and I'd just like to say that it works GREAT! Go get yourself one now.

jamar said, on July 1, 2007 8:32 PM:

try going to someplace with wireless i got a 10% signal from my computer and its not even wireless get a wireless laptop n put the psy near pr next to it im sure ull get a strong signal

heidi said, on July 26, 2007 2:44 PM:

i had the comcast cable guy come out to hook up the cable from the back of the cable box to this pc he had to install the cd but wasn't picking it up he said either he said this couputer is old or he said its the settings

tom said, on September 8, 2007 7:32 AM:

dave my psp says when i try to conect to the internet that a conection error has acured the atempt to obtain the ip address timed out please can u help me.

tracy ward said, on October 15, 2007 6:26 PM:

I still can't get connected to the internet after following all the instructions it says there is a connection error and a connection to the access point has not been established bla bla bla but my computer is right beside me how come it won't connect me, plus the internet is on hmmm.....toughy can you please help i feel jealous looking at your screendumps on google haha

madden said, on October 18, 2007 7:32 PM:

how do i find out what my wep code is?

poy said, on October 19, 2007 2:48 AM:

there is a way of connecting ure usb to a psp and then to a t.v. if u want iknow how go to

http://newerrunescapemastercom.blogspot.com/to

rahees said, on December 8, 2007 8:09 PM:

how can iconnect internet by usb cable

Trey said, on March 19, 2008 6:44 PM:

I have put everything in correctly for psp online manually put it still reads "internet connection: failed". if anyone can give me some help it will be greatly appreciated.

you dont need to know my name--ha said, on March 31, 2008 8:38 PM:

When i try to connect it takes a little and than a box pops up say that the acess point has timed out please help me dave

allan birrell said, on April 6, 2008 10:06 AM:

very good helpfull i am not a computer wizz.
but this has help me i am 47 still find out
suff yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.thank,s
for the info

vijay said, on June 17, 2008 5:13 AM:

as i connect my sony psp to the computer through usb cable the error msg comes that the usb device is unregognized help me out

adonis said, on June 20, 2008 7:26 AM:

how can i put internet to my psp by a cable?

adonis said, on June 20, 2008 7:46 AM:

how to put internet t my psp by my dsl modem?

john said, on June 22, 2008 3:09 PM:

can i connect my web ready phone to my pc then hardwire my psp to my computer and have my pc go online via webphone throu the psp wlan

bob said, on October 28, 2008 1:29 PM:

my laptop say "connecting" but just stays like that for a long time and doesnt connect to the internet? any ideal what might be wrong? thks Bob

Clark said, on November 11, 2008 9:00 PM:

Is there a way to connect an internet stick(aircard) to a psp?

jerry said, on November 14, 2008 5:05 PM:

How do I connect my cable to a modem that had a dial up connection? I put in my cable disk and it tell me I have no connection to cable.
Do I have to buy a device for the back of this computer?

ethan campbell said, on December 11, 2008 2:56 PM:

after i put my usb cord in do i go to
foldes and go on psp.well just tell me every-thing to do after i put my usb cord into my computer and its all set for u to tell me.and remember this im not one of those bosoz that think u will tipe them back and u don't so email me or something if u don't u are the dumest bozo in the whole planet im counting on u 4 rite now!

gmail said, on December 22, 2008 2:44 AM:

Hi Dave
I connected my data cable to the cpu, other head to the psp wanting to load some games but apparently there's no indication pop up from the monitor to indicate the presence of my psp. I try troubleshooting and it all says device working properly.

If the usb data cable isnt working, or the usb port has got problem, how isit that i can still charge the psp with the same cable?

So where the problem lies? I've been switching around the data cable (i've got 3pcs) and still no indication on monitor. Cant be 3 cables are faulty. I tried various methods like rebooting the system, switching usb ports but still in vain.

Please adv what else could be a problem.

Thanks

Lori said, on February 27, 2009 3:41 PM:

I have a Windows XP, but it will not recognize my PSP by using the USB cable.

devinder said, on March 23, 2009 5:18 AM:

i cannot connect to the internet it says that there are no access points!!! :(

FALLAN said, on April 8, 2009 5:29 AM:

hey dave when i try to connect to the internet on my psp it says error ( 80410aob ) what does this mean and how do i fix it im desperate!!!!! :(

nii_san35 said, on April 13, 2009 3:20 AM:

For One Ya'll are dumb THERE IS NO WAY FOR YOU TO HOOK UP A PSP TO YOUR COMPUTER FOR INTERNET ACCESS YOU HAVE TO HAVE WIRELESS NO MATTER WHAT
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU ASKING FOR HELP ABOUT NOT RECOGNIZING THE THE PSP USING USB GO OUT AND BUY YOUR SELF THE VIDEO VAULT FOR THE SONY PSP
SO DON"T GO TRYING TO HOOK YOUR PC UP TO DIAL UP OR DSL U HAVE TO HAVE WIRELESS END OF STORY

shawn said, on July 15, 2009 9:27 AM:

i want internet in my psp please and me i well give you psp game download

rey said, on July 15, 2009 9:30 AM:

plese can you givee download in my psp only you give me the internet me i well give you psp games download

william said, on July 23, 2009 8:30 AM:

hey dave i hate to say but why can't i ever fix the psp internet i mean for the past 4 yrs i have tried but no luck bye my regards william

Paul said, on August 21, 2009 5:22 AM:

How to hack the Nintendo WIFI USB Connector, so that I can use ANY device to connect to the internet (especially my PSP).

Eddy said, on September 19, 2009 8:03 AM:

I wanna buy a Wi-Fi but I don't now what type bcause I want to put The Net on my PSP but I don't have Net n my computer .SO , is there a way 2 put the Net n my PSP without Net on PC .

Ryem said, on September 27, 2009 12:58 AM:

I have the version 6.00. But I cant play any copied games in my psp.What should I do???????????????

roy said, on November 1, 2009 2:09 PM:

i was playing my psp game prince of persia rival swords and when i go to multiplayer it says disconected and wont let me connect what do i do

keegan said, on December 27, 2009 9:33 PM:

i do the infrastructure modeand whene i finish and it says test in 20-30 seconds it stops and says the connection time ran out wat das that mean

jennifer adams said, on February 17, 2010 6:08 PM:

Hi Dave-
Although I consider myself savy when it comes to the different gaming platforms, I was unable to figure out this hook-up prior to finding your website. Thanks entirely to your concise, step by step and most importantly, for me, illustrated instructions, we were able to complete the connection successfully. What should have been a nightmare by all accounts, was an easy process.
I will be passing along your web site to my friends and family so they too can benefit from your expertise. Thank you very much for the obvious time and efforts that you've dedicated to helping the "less fortunate"! ;)
Be well!
Sincerely,
Jennifer

avishek said, on March 23, 2010 8:42 AM:

how can i get internet in my psp?????

maviya said, on April 10, 2010 9:39 AM:

hi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael said, on May 30, 2010 6:14 AM:

U ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sakina said, on July 18, 2010 7:12 AM:

hello i have a question,i have a psp and i tried already several times to get internet on it,at first it looks like its gonne work but when its looking for the IP adres it says 'Timeout during attemd to get your IP adres'If somebody could please help me!!!

Justin said, on December 26, 2010 9:17 PM:

Hello. I just bought a new PSP for myself which came with a promotional code for a free DVD. Now dont get me wrong i like everything about it but my only problems with it is that i cant connect it to the internet to download the movie onto it. And i'm really wanting to get that done before the experation date runs out or it'll just be a waste. Anyway i have a laptop with windows vista and a verizon wireless air card internet access. I've tried using the usb cable to try and make an internet connection but i cant even seem download any pictures or music on to. I've read all the directions but nothins seems to work. So please help if you can. I have to take a trip up north soon so i'm really looking forward to that movie and some music to occupy myself on that really long plane ride. So cant wait to hear back from you and thank you for time sir.

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

Can I connect my Sony PSP to the Internet via USB cable?

Reader Comments To Date: 46

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

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