How do I send my busted Sony PSP into Sony for service?

Dave's Answer:

First off, the bad news: like any other piece of electronics, your warranty for your Sony Playstation Portable isn't going to cover accidents like having dropped it and broken it. Specifically, the warranty with your PSP states:

"Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) warrants to the original purchaser that each of the constituent products of this PSP system shall be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the date of purchase (the "Warranty Period"). If one or more of the aboveidentified products is determined to be defective during the Warranty Period, SCEA's liability shall be limited to the repair or replacement of this product with a new or refurbished product at SCEA's option."

It also says "This warranty shall not apply if your PSP is ... damaged by acts of God, misuse, abuse, negligence, accident, wear and tear, unreasonable use, or by other causes unrelated to defective materials or workmanship." Got that? Your experience fits in the "accident" category here.

Let's dig around a bit and see what alternatives there are, however. First, start by going to the official Sony PSP Support Area on the slick Sony site (ironically, you'll need to do this from a regular computer: the PSP browser can't handle all the graphic sophistication of the site).

You can find a Safety and Support Manual for the PSP, but really, it's not very helpful, though it does have this great warning that makes me think you've a tiny nuclear reactor in your hands:

"Caution: Use of controls or adjustments or performance of procedures other than those specified herein may result in hazardous radiation exposure."

Radiation? Yowza!

Nonetheless, there's a pretty good set of troubleshooting tips that might apply to your situation with your Sony PSP, with it not powering on or having a display. Here are some highlights:

• Power does not turn on: Check that the battery is charged and the battery pack inserted properly.
• Battery does not charge: Check that AC adapter is functioning properly and plugged in to a live outlet, that the WLAN function is not in use (apparently the unit can't charge when the WLAN is being used, which I never knew), failing that, try a replacement battery pack.
• Power indicator is on, but LCD screen stays off: check that the LCD screen's backlight isn't turned off. If it is, press any of the system buttons to turn on the backlight.
• Screen suddenly turns dark: Check that backlight auto-off (under Power Save Settings in the system configuration menu) hasn't been enabled.

Those are the highlights. If you've tried all of these tweaks and fiddles (I'd pay particular attention to whether the battery pack has become dislodged when it fell) and you still have a brick on your hands, well, you have a couple of options.

The first choice is that you can send it in to Sony. If you want to follow that path, you can call SCEA Consumer Service at 1-800-345-SONY (7669) Monday - Saturday 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM PST and Sunday 7:00 - AM 6:30 PM PST. Unfortunately, that's going to be the most expensive of the choices, because Sony charges a lot to fix your Playstation Portable. Last time I called and checked, the minimum service cost was $99, which is pretty excessive for a device where you can buy a new one for $169. It's the inevitable result of our consumption society, I think, but that's another story.

Instead, I recommend that you check out TechRestore and specifically its overnight PSP repair service. For $29 you'll get a fast, accurate assessment of what's wrong with your PSP and if it is fixable, they can do it fast, and if it isn't, well, it's time to save up and buy a new one. Still, $29 to find that out is better than $99.

I think those are your basic options at this juncture. There are other service companies out there, of course, but when you drop and break a piece of electronics, unfortunately you don't really have that many good alternatives for repair. Oh, one last thing: if you do replace your PSP, you might just check out whether you can sell the old, dead one on eBay for a few bucks. There are PSP hackers out there who are always interested in getting good parts...