How can I recover my stolen Sony PSP?

Recently my PSP was stolen, I know who stole it but I also need proof. He only took the PSP console, battery, game and memory stick. I have also found out each PSP has their own individual ID and my question is, does the psp manual contain the PSP's ID code to the PSP it came with? If so then where would it be located?

Dave's Answer:

As the Sony PSP becomes more popular, it's not a surprise to me that I'm starting to hear from people who have their PSPs ripped off and, occasionally, from people who "got a good deal" on a PSP but don't know how to circumvent the password therein. Ungood.

Unfortunately, as with Apple's phenomenally popular iPods, small expensive electronic gadgets are perfect for theft, whether it's someone ripping it out of your hands on the subway or it just "vanishing" from your backpack while you're going to the bathroom or similar.

The serial number is on the front edge, it's basically a tiny sticker:

In addition to the unique serial number of every PSP - something you should make a note of in case you ever need to prove ownership of your PSP in a situation like what's outlined here - there is indeed a unique number associated with each and every PSP, even if someone were to peel off or otherwise deface the serial number sticker on the edge: the MAC address.

That you can find by looking at the System Information screen:

The MAC address is basically the unique identifier that the device uses to connect to public networks so unless the thief is willing to pop open the PSP and actually hack the chips themselves, it's not something that is going to ever change and can be used quite reliably as a unique identifier.

However, the MAC address isn't something that shows up on the PSP box nor in the manual, though it's quite possible that your original packaging includes an indication of the serial number on the outside package. If that's the case, and if it matches the PSP in question, I'd say you have a very strong case that it's your stolen PSP indeed.

Good luck to you. Tough situation.

And if you haven't had your PSP ripped off, it might well be worth making a note of both your serial number and MAC address for foolproof identification down the road. Just in case. Write them down both in your manual and on a separate piece of paper that stays at your house, rather than traveling with you.

Questions about the Sony PSP? Find everything you need to know at Dave's PSP Help area.

Categorized: iPod, Sony PSP and MP3 Player Help (Article 6522, Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: recovery of stolen objects, sony psp, stolen psp, theft
Previous: How do I read system mail on my Mac OS X system?
Next: How can I connect to MySpace at school?

Subscribe!

Never miss another Q&A article! Click to subscribe:

Comments

my psp was stolen i have no idea who stole it but they took the console, a movie, battry, and a 4 gb memory card
how do i go about recovering my psp

Posted by: cody huff at May 14, 2007 9:00 AM

yeah that helped a lot.. but.. WTF do i do with the MAC address?

Posted by: Andrew at July 13, 2007 10:53 AM

my psp was recently stolen in my gym period,i dont know my serial number or mac address.what do i do

Posted by: shaday at August 2, 2007 12:21 PM

i lost my psp but someone stole it is ther any way i can find it pls

Posted by: alian at October 21, 2007 8:22 PM

dude, what if you don't know your serial or mac address. how do you find it?

Posted by: luka at December 11, 2007 3:44 PM

I'm suspicious of someone who may have taken a friends PSP. The missing PSP was purchased in Canada, and brought here while visiting us. The person I suspect now owns a PSP. I got hold of it and looked for the serial number. I noticed the battery said "made in Canada". My question: Are all batteries for PSP's made in Canada? or only the one's sold in Canada?

Posted by: Amy at February 29, 2008 11:15 AM

My PSP, 2 movies, 3 games, my battery, my 2GB memory stick, and my case to put it all in was stolen. I have the serial number off my box it came in. Will that be enough to get it back. I also have my name programed in MAC address. I don't know who stole it.

Posted by: Kaia at April 4, 2008 7:48 AM

i lost my psp and i dont know the serial code or mac address how can i get it back?please help m e.....im in the 7th grarde and cried over the psp because i lost my psp i cried about an hour please help me

Posted by: steven at April 11, 2008 9:37 AM

Was wondering if the serial # for a psp was located anywhere on the booklet that came with it? also can the name that was programes in it be changed?

Thanks Charlotte

Posted by: Charlotte at April 29, 2008 3:06 PM

i just got my psp jacked too. to help answer some questions, yes they can change the name of your psp, but they might not know how. and im thinking the only way your mac adress and serial will come in handy is if they tried to pawn it. in which case they would have to have stolen the power cord too. they didnt take my cord so im all around screwed out of mine. theiving bastards

Posted by: anonomous at April 30, 2008 6:28 PM

hey can u help me out my psp got stolen the 3 day ago but the problem is i dont know my serial number but i only know it a mode 1001 can u help me find serial number please or call me and help 678 817 3298

Posted by: Sang at May 15, 2008 8:39 AM

if i know my serial number and mac address, how would i find my stolen or lost psp? {it doesnt help to have the info but theres no way to find it}

Posted by: B.moore at June 10, 2008 10:54 PM

This is Babu Jayaraman. I got your information in internate. Please help me to find my mobile.

Your name : Babu J
Address : 79-B, Rajendra prasad Road. Nehru Nagar. Chromepet. Chennai -600044.
Phone model : Sony Ericssion K750i
Make : SONY
Last used No. : Singapore Call.
E-mail for comm : babuj03@gmail.com, babuj03@rediffmail.com
Missed date : 11/06/2008
IMEI No. : 350995307373354

Thanks lots for services.

Posted by: Babu at June 12, 2008 2:14 AM

My PSP was stolen i need to know if it was my best friend and i need to know where it is please help me

Posted by: Joseph Spinney at July 21, 2008 7:40 PM

can a stolen PSP be blocked, I can only find the serial number, (sticker at back of box)I did not however wrote down the MAC ID,
I'm just asking if the console can be blocked so that the theif can never sell it or use it in any way. I saved for 3 months just to buy that.
I just had my PSP for 1 week

Posted by: jem at August 23, 2008 11:40 PM

My PSP IS lost . And i know its somewhere near me but i cant find. Please send me a way to recover my PSP back.

Posted by: Muhsin at October 25, 2008 11:54 AM

My psp 2gb mem stick and a load of content I cant get back was stolen while I was in gym someone knew I had it because my backpack was the only one touched when it was next to all the others and i dont have the money for another one

Posted by: j2m555 at November 4, 2008 1:33 PM

i dunno serial or anything and i looked rfor it for 2 weeks and im getn really frustrated how do i find it
crapheadthe4th@yahoo.com

Posted by: alexb at November 22, 2008 5:21 PM

If The Theif Is Smart They Could Just Take The Sticker Off The Bottom, Downgrade It(Which Changes The Mac Adress)and get on with their lives, in short don't lose your psp and keep it near you at all times

Posted by: Witheld at November 25, 2008 2:23 PM

How can I find my stolen psp, that I do not know hwere it is now. And my mom is going to ask my teacher what happened. So what do I do about it after I told the deputy, and the assitant principal. Will the person give back to me, becasue my mom and my dad are mad at me. Do I convice my problems to my teacher or who ever . And hpw dp I find the number on the psp that got stolen from me in my bookbag.

Posted by: Kyemira at December 19, 2008 7:39 AM

i lost my psp but i do no my mac number please help me

Posted by: kumar at May 20, 2009 1:35 AM

i have lost my psp please help me

Posted by: kumar at May 20, 2009 1:49 AM

my psp got stolen on friday at my school and i know who did it but nobody is going to believe me so i want proof, is the code on the box the same as the psp?

Posted by: joe at May 31, 2009 6:32 PM

Even if that certain person actually torn that sticker off you would still be able to get it back even if you don't know the mac address. I ripped my serial number off the edge since it dind't look nice with the psp but you can always get your psp back if you kept your receipt.

Posted by: Raymond at July 26, 2009 2:10 PM

waht u do is make pass or a homebrew and make a password or spend about 50 $ make a tracker on the internt look it up but if 50 to 200$ not sure

Posted by: loner at September 25, 2009 11:00 PM

This doesnt help. we cant remember our psp serial number, i recnetly got mine stolen from a freind, and a new psp that comes out should have a chip in it so on a website with it, you will be able to rack down or find where your psp is.

Posted by: j-man at March 26, 2010 1:55 PM

My psp was stolen recently, along with a lot of other things when my house was broken into. I used the device to download updates and purchase games which required that the device be registered. I wonder if I can retrieve my serial number from psp online site? Do they retain serial numbers and associate them with user account info?

Posted by: Lesley at July 25, 2010 7:31 PM

I have lost my psp so how will i get it plz help plz

Posted by: MAC at July 31, 2010 11:18 AM

can the mac number be located anywhere around yhe psp box. and what website can i find it

Posted by: james at May 2, 2011 9:19 AM

My car is broken so i put it on the workshop and forgot to get my PSP on my car.
Few hours on repairing my car. My PSP ISNT THERE!!!!

Posted by: Erick at July 1, 2011 12:54 AM

MY SON GOT A PSP FOR HIS BIRTHDAY AND WE DIDN'Y WRITE ANY INFORMATION DOWN ON IT HE RECENTLY WAS AT A FRIENDS HOUSE WHERE THEIR WERE MULTIPLIE CHILDREN HE THINKS ONE PARTICULAR KID HAS IT BUT THE YOUNG MAN DENIES IT CAN YOU HELP

Posted by: K.D at July 22, 2011 10:36 AM

Do you have the original box, KD? If so, the sticker on the side of the box (if there is one) might have the unit serial number listed. Otherwise, good luck, don't know of any other way to prove that it's your son's PSP.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at July 23, 2011 10:08 AM

My psp was stolen and I dont remember my serial number, if there us anyway you can help my please contact me, as soon as possible. Thank You.

Posted by: Lil Ace at November 30, 2011 10:37 PM

please help me dave i really got attached to it
,imagine four long years!

Posted by: kapembwa at December 21, 2011 3:27 AM

i recently went to the hospital for an appointment and had my psp so i could listen to music, a few days l8er i realised i didnt have my psp. i am certain that my psp is at that doctors office, but they cant find it. is there away to find the psp using its mac address? and if so how? please help

Posted by: joe at January 28, 2012 1:05 AM

Joe, I'm afraid that I don't know of any way that you can track down a PSP by MAC address unless you happen to be on the same wifi network as the other device while it's online. Odds of that happening are pretty slim so I'm afraid you might need to just replace it.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at January 28, 2012 10:23 PM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

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