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My PSP died during an upgrade and now it's dead?

Hi Dave!!! Yesterday i was updating my psp to the new firmware version but it suddenly ran out of power and turned off. Now when i turn it on there is no response, just the power indicator light on. What do i do???


Dave's Answer:

Oh, do I have bad news for you. I have heard from many people that have unplugged their PSP accidentally during an update, got bored during the slow download, or had some other glitch interrupt a network update or processing a downloaded update just to end up with a completely dead Sony PSP device.

The only advice I can offer you and other people in this situation is to call Sony and talk to them about how lame it is that you can kill your expensive Playstation Portable device by a relatively random or unlucky event during a firmware update. It seems to me - though I'm definitely not a part of Sony and cannot speak with any authority here - that Sony should replace PSPs that are killed during a failed firmware update. I don't know if they do, but they should.

Which makes me think: if you have had this experience and call Sony about your dead PSP, please leave a note here to tell us who you called, what your experience was like and how it turned out. That is, did they make good on the problem or did they just say "ah, bummer, dude." and hang up?

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to:

  • plug your PSP into the wall during the entire firmware upgrade process, and
  • don't interrupt it during a download, even if it's taking a long time

lest you "brick" or otherwise kill your unit.

Also note that you can likely minimize the problem of slow or stalled downloads by actually downloading the firmware update package on your PC or Mac. In that situation nothing bad will happen if you kill the download halfway. Then all you have to do is copy the downloaded firmware package onto your Sony PSP and run it. Elapsed time once you've finished the download? Just a few minutes. Much less risk.

Here's my article on the subject: Download Sony PSP firmware update

Hope that's useful. Again, call Sony or contact them through their customer service area (select PSP --> Troubleshooting from the popup menu on the bottom of the page, then click "Continue"), find out what they'll do, and let us know how it works out!


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Categorized: iPod, Sony PSP and MP3 Player Help   (Article 6635, Written by )
Tagged: dead psp, failed psp firmware upgrade, psp bricking, sony psp
Previous: How do I disable the Windows OneCare firewall?
Next: How are job services getting ahold of my resume?




Reader Comments To Date: 101

?? said, on June 24, 2006 5:33 PM:

can't u plug in ur psp via USB and deleted the halffinished psp firmware download and then download the firmware to ur comp and transfer to psp?

Tam said, on July 9, 2006 3:18 AM:

No matter what I've tried I am still unable to get video's put on my psp.It always says "no videos found" and I see them right in the 100mnvo1 folder ? It's driving me crazy , any thoughts why this is ?

Thanks

Jas man said, on August 12, 2006 12:27 PM:

Hi,

I have a sony Vaio and the Fn key doesn't work

Any ideas


PS sites great, Keep it up Dave!)

Ryo said, on October 3, 2006 12:51 PM:

Great place to find the answers for PSP problems!

thx

AS said, on October 4, 2006 10:54 AM:

My son bricked his PSP last weekend. He finally saved enough money to buy a game that was $40 (he is 10) and he was so excited to play it, he put it in and the PSP needed to update. The battery was not fully charged but the unit was plugged in. Long story short, only the green light turns on. I have talked with Sony 3x and the only solution they offer is to purchase a refurbished (no doubt previously bricked) unit. I think this is a major product flaw. The unit should error out if the update cannot proceed, not completely die. I refuse to give Sony more money, especially for a product that has a manufacturing defect.
If you have had this problem - I suggest you write to their consumer affairs division and call you local Consumer Protection Agency to file a complaint.

DH said, on October 13, 2006 9:45 PM:

My 9-year old son also managed to brick his PSP while upgrading the firmware when he rented the game 'Cars'. I could not believe it was so easy to completely wipe out the entire unit. Sony's customer service was no help as I refused to pay the $140 to have it repaired. I asked to speak to the person at the highest level. They put me through to a manager who was also no help and when I asked him to give me the phone number of their corporate head office he said he didn't know what it was!! I'm now boycotting Sony products.

aggy said, on November 2, 2006 1:59 PM:

i too killed my psp.i rang sony and the only options i had where to either buy a new one or they would sell me a repared psp for 60quid.

izzy said, on November 25, 2006 12:39 PM:

i have a psp and it bricked i want to call those $%#&*$()@&#$ who invented it but i don't have there phone#

Dave Taylor said, on November 25, 2006 2:32 PM:

Well, Izzy, you can go to the Sony Web site and dig up a number, but I don't know that you'll get much satisfaction by yelling at them. Good luck!

Paul cowles said, on January 8, 2007 4:51 PM:

Hi took your advice about bricked psp.My kid tried installing a new xmas pressie on the a psp thats a year old and (no extended warranty)so phoned sony. Not happy they will replace the psp for a refurbished one of the same age for £65.00.Think this sucks how many more people have done this by accident and how many in the future.THANKS.

Ford said, on January 11, 2007 3:39 PM:

My son was playing with his PSP and the battery low icon came on.... Power cut out before he could exchange to a fresh battery. He put in his extra battery and the PSP refused to read the UMD... everything else worked but the UMD player. we turned off the unit and did not restart it 3 days later. Now when we recharged the old battery it would just have th elittle loading circle in the bottom right hand corner... the whole screen is plain colour and nothing else....Funny it has the nerve to show me SONYCOMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT introduction and nothing else !@##$$%% !!!

Called Sony and they were no help !!!!! i was told to ship off somewhere and I would have to pay $120.00 for them to look at it... I don't even know if they can fix it... what the ????


thx


Ford

Minh said, on February 1, 2007 4:24 PM:

I recently bricked my son's PSP two weeks ago. I was trying to do a firmware upgrade. Had the unit plugged into wall outlet but connected through WIFI. Download gave no indications of errors of any kind. It asked me after the download if I'd like to apply the firmware that was on my memory stick (which had plenty of room to spare) and I said "yes". It fails and I retry 9 times and the 10th time it tells me to contact support. When I contact Sony support they ask me a bunch of questions; most notably when I bought the unit. I told them a little less than 2 years ago. The rep on the other line says "We'll be happy to replace the unit for you but since it's out of warranty (warranty is good for 1 year only) it will cost you $89 plus shipping. I tell her that the unit just bricked and that I had performed several firmware upgrades before without problem and that this was an issue with the unit itself. She says "I understand sir, but the unit is out of warranty. I understand that it is an issue with the unit and there is a known defect with your model but the fact is that it's out of warranty. I can have a refurbished unit sent to you for $89 plus shipping." After hearing that I thanked her and hung up. I'm now purchasing a replacement board off of E-Bay and will replace it myself. What a rip-off! If I didn't have so much invested in my son's games ($1500 worth) I'd throw the damn thing away and switch to Nintendo!

ace said, on February 7, 2007 8:08 PM:

hmmm psp unit itself should be rater t for 13+, psp game makers should stop making games rated E for everyone, that leads parents to buy their spoiled kids expensive units which has manufacturing defects...well its the parent's fault they let there 9 year old upgrade firmwires himself.
----
----

btw FORD i have a solution for your problem, same happened to me i went nuts, i had 3 or four UMD non worked,, then my i used one of my friends UMD <<-- fresh one works like charm :D its not the unit's fault, get a new UMD and try it in there, do me a favor ya know you can pop off the plastic covering off the UMD right? pop it off and replace with the demo disk plastic covering...whilst the plastic cover is cracked or broken, it interferes with the data layer which leads to psp making whirling noises <<-- loud ones, LONG loading times, sometimes even no loading, but the loading icon is there...

Allen said, on February 11, 2007 10:17 PM:

I have a psp and until now i was not aware of the risk of "bricking" is there any way which would make downloading the updates safer. i know i would not like it if mine stopped working. i would probably want to kill them, and i have guns.

bender said, on February 15, 2007 10:33 PM:

hey i called sony and said im gonna sue you if u dont iv me another psp i had awarranty and they said ok and now i hav a brand new psp

craig said, on February 22, 2007 1:02 PM:

my son also fried his psp while upgrading by taking out the battery to shut it down. called sony and they knew right away what the problem was.they said to send it back because it's still under warranty. have to say that they weren't very pleasant.i am assuming that they do not want the hassle of sending out a brand new psp. they sent an email with strict guidelines with sending the psp back to them. hopefully, my son will get a new one. they only give you 30 days to take care of the matter.

Shawn said, on February 28, 2007 10:08 AM:

just 3 minutes ago i phoned sony told them what had happend, i had tryed to upgrade and it failed on me ( but the only reason i upgraded was cos some nasty homebrew and i had to put it back to 1.5.) and soon as i told them they sed theyll come on fri ( 2 days from now) and replace it FREE!!! woo hoo.. it was under warranty tho!! btw this is my fourth psp the other 3 were broken 2 times cos of smashed pixels and once cos of upgrade fault!! loving it !! im might still do homebrew tho... PS paul cowles, yes i payed 65 to get mine fixed.. twice it is a pain but its worth it in the end just buy ure kid some protective stuff like my mum did e.g. case, umd cases, screen plastic protecter, AND WARRANTY!! Peace out !

Cory said, on March 4, 2007 1:24 PM:

I just called sony. I told them about how my psp won't turn off after my psp shut down in the middle of the update. and she said that it has happened plenty of times. and if you have proof of purchase you can send it to them and they will replace it for free. If you don't have proof they will charge 89 dollars for it.

john said, on March 15, 2007 5:43 PM:

My son also bricked his PSP last weekend. He got a new game for his birthday and was so excited to play it, he put it in and the PSP needed to update. Not sure what was going on, he turned it off. Long story short, only the green light turns on. I have talked with Sony 4 times and the only solution they offer is to purchase a refurbished (no doubt previously bricked) unit. I think this is a major product flaw. The unit should error out if the update cannot proceed, not completely die. I refuse to give Sony more money, especially for a product that has a manufacturing defect.
I will never buy another Sony Product. I am taking all the games back and getting a DS lite.

zack said, on March 21, 2007 7:13 AM:

My psps is bricked I dont know how but i was listening to some music the screen turned off and i had just charged it. i thought it was anything but the mainboard, i rang up sony and told them what happened and tht it was out of warranty they told me it was going to cost 150$. I went to the local pc store which happened to fix the psp unit by replacing the mainboard for 90$

good-E said, on April 1, 2007 12:54 PM:

i bricked my psp about four months ago bought it 6 months ago. I have a TA-082 motherboard so i thought i would wait till the mod-chip comes out. Well to tierd of waiting so i called sony told them i was updating and the power ran out and now there gonna give me a new one.(plus my psp was bricked because of down-grading)

L0S7M1ND said, on April 12, 2007 12:54 AM:

I ran into the same problem with my PSP except for I was hooking it up to the PS3 and it required an update. Things were going fine when it just went black. I phoned Sony and they said that because its out of warranty (by 3 f*cking months) that I will have to pay $120 to get it fixed. Needless to say I am very choked. I'm going to probably return my PS3, & buy an XBox 360. I'm also contemplating starting up a website petition for anyone who has ran into similar trouble. It is complete BS that their own updates will kill the PSP, and that we have to do these updates if we want it to work with the console. Sounds like a lame money making scheme if you ask me. Anyone know what can be done?

dave said, on April 21, 2007 9:19 AM:

ibricked my psp what can i dooooooooooo ??

connor said, on April 23, 2007 1:49 PM:

i dropped my psp yesterday and the wifi doesnt work when i try to connect 2 da internet it says an internal error has occurred (80410AOB) how do i fix this problem plzzz help me i dnt want to pay alot of money 4 it 2 be repaired.

Chris Helms said, on April 24, 2007 7:12 PM:

I was updating my firmware to hook up to my PS3. I went through once and it said my battery was too low to install. I started to go through it again and (i think) I cancelled it. It was stuck on the wallpaper and said Network Update with the loading circle in the bottom right. I tried resetting it but it didn't work,

BUT, my psp was not bricked. I could still change the screen brightness and the volume. SO, I took out the battery and put it back in. If anyone has this similar problem, give it a shot. I was still getting a screen, but it was frozen.

Scott said, on April 29, 2007 8:31 PM:

Same problem. Star Wars game required a firmware upgrade and the disc stalled in the middle of the update and now the unit is bricked. Sony wants 89 dollars for a refurb unit. This is nuts.

Jared said, on May 26, 2007 10:36 PM:

while my psp hasnt encountered any of these problems yet, it takes an incredible long time to turn off after i finish playing Pro Evolution Soccer 6 but it doesnt do this with any of my other games. Any ideas why it does this?

Jay said, on May 27, 2007 3:06 PM:

so i called sony for the same issued everybody was having (bricked psp) and its out of warranty. they want to charge me 89 and i explained the the person that its a catch 22. that is, if you wanna play new games you have to update, but if you dont update then you cant play new games. i was transferred to a supervisor and he said taht since im out of warranty, he cant help me. so i told him i will file a complaint with consumer affairs and will discuss with a lawyer if i have a chance at taking them to court.

Kenny said, on May 28, 2007 10:48 PM:

Well my psp turn off when the update was happening will my psp ever work again?

Dave Taylor said, on May 29, 2007 12:05 PM:

Sorry to tell you, Kenny, but yeah, it's dead. You don't have to go through Sony to fix it, however, try TechRestore instead:

http://techrestore.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17203&cat=322&page=1&KBID=1573

Good luck!

Darren said, on June 9, 2007 3:30 AM:

I too have boycotted Sony products, my lad is 8 years old, he does not understand firmware updates and how by the battery going flat halfway through he has killed his pride and joy.

Result = PS3 pre-order was cancelled and we are now the proud owners of an Xbox360 and a DS lite.

damien said, on June 12, 2007 1:22 PM:

i just found out that the part that gets fryed when a updait is failed is the "logic borde"

Zubair said, on July 2, 2007 5:05 AM:

hey i want 2 update the firm ware in my psp3.11
so is it safe 2 do so?
coz in Bangladesh the charge $100 for updating a firmware !
so i wanna try it at home so can a transfer the firmware from the pc to my psp?

edson said, on July 11, 2007 3:35 AM:

hi guys, i drop my psp last week, now im looking for cheap DEAD/BRICKED psp, coz i have to replace some parts inside it.. if so hapened your selling yours, kindly email me. thanks

arifur said, on July 25, 2007 2:47 AM:

U guyz can u help me out, last night i wasn't sure if i wanna upgrade my psp but i didn't care i wanna see what the firmware can do. Then when i downloaded the 3.52 firmware i seen everything about it,if i download this firmware i would miss all homebrew games, unfortunately i pressed x buttom on my psp and went to download part where its actually intalling the latest version; i did not want to install it so i just took off the battery quickly with 10% installation on the psp. When i puted the battery back on the psp, Now when i turn it on there is no response, just the power indicator light on. Can u help me out to solve this problem? plleeaaase!!!!

Arifur said, on July 25, 2007 8:16 AM:

hey, this message for Edson. I can help you out with ur psp because ma brand new psp had just brick. i wanna sell my psp to u. so if u want it, just leave a comment der

thnx

big mo said, on July 26, 2007 8:29 PM:

my psp died on update but i dont know if it died because when i turn it on the screan is black no sound but the green light is on for a brief period of time and i have tried charging it but nothing happends can you help me solve this problem pllleeeaaassseee

Dave Taylor said, on July 26, 2007 8:52 PM:

Big Mo, you're right, I'm sorry to say, your PSP is bricked, dead, DOA, kaput. You need to either send it in to Sony or a third-party repair facility for it to be fixed. See this article for more info:

http://www.askdavetaylor.com/broken_sony_psp_fixed.html

Arifur said, on July 27, 2007 5:38 AM:

Hey u people think brick psp cannot fix, well ur very wrong actually! u just have to buy Undiluted Platinum World's first PSP modchip! And then replace it inside the psp and remove the older one. Its great because it can use two firmware in the psp and play anything u want. I got mine fix up I have 1.5 and 3.4OEA firmware. its cooool!!

Arifur said, on July 27, 2007 5:41 AM:

Hey, once again i forgot to give u the website to bye the psp modchip!
http://www.modchip-store.co.uk//Undiluted-Platinum-Psp-Modchip-p-226.html

Yoey said, on July 31, 2007 2:00 AM:

if you say tell them that you've bricked your psp by upgrading and the power went out.... will they replace a new one for you if your psp still has warranty?

sam said, on August 31, 2007 10:43 AM:

same thing happened to me i bricked my psp i called sony they said just send in the psp and we will give you a refurbished one for 99 dollars. so i did just do it. and this time dont upgrade to the new firmware upgrade to the costume firmware it is asy and better you can even download some games on pspiso.com

kyle said, on September 9, 2007 4:07 PM:

my psp is bricked and all the time i try to turn it on the green light only comes on for 20 secs and it goes back off but i cant see nothing on the lcd and i want to know if i could get a new one posted to me in barbados

EBAY said, on October 2, 2007 9:45 PM:

Hey guys if you are upset at sony and they won't give you your new psp without paying some absurd ammount of money, then the best thing to do is to list it on ebay so you can get some of your money back!

Nightrise said, on October 24, 2007 12:51 AM:

hey guys how u goin
i too have bricked my psp but i unbricked it using something called Pandora's battery it reboots the system u can get it off e bay... good luck!
p.s for some reason when i put in my daxter UMD it doesn't work it shows the loading sign but nothing comes up please help!

doucme said, on November 4, 2007 2:15 PM:

well i updated to 3.72 firmware and now no matter wat i do (movies,gaming,music) my psp crashes or just freezes after a couple of mins the only thing i can do is use the web couLd ne1 heLp me diagnose thnx

conor said, on November 21, 2007 9:52 AM:

you could just make a pandoras battery to unbrick it ;)

Rakada said, on December 2, 2007 3:01 AM:

I have had issuse with psp bricking in the past and also downgrading so i researched the problem and come to a conculsion on how to fix them.

after unbricking/downgrading the psp i will add IrShell 3.70 and two games of your choice i have a list of 44 games and growing but they are "full game demo" also included is Team M33 CFW 3.52 M33-4 and other mods to fit your needs

a list of games:
Afterburner Black Falcon
Brunswick bowling
burnout - legends
Burnout - Dominator
CASTLEVANIA THE DRACULA X CHRONICALS
Diner Dash
Family Guy - Game
Final Fantasy TacticsTWOTL
Ford Street Racing XR Edition
FREAKOUT EXTREME FREERIDE
And much more i just got tired of coping and pasting
if interested plz email me at rakadariver@gmail.com

Owain said, on December 6, 2007 1:05 AM:

Hi, the same thing has happened to me recently!
Whats the UK number for sending this product back ?

Bryan said, on December 11, 2007 9:33 PM:

HI, if u want to get rid of ur psp. Let mwe know, i woudl gladly purcahse it from you, given a reasonable price. Just email me at bryan_112_83@yahoo.com. Thanks - bryan

Liam said, on December 22, 2007 3:31 PM:

i have just bricked my 5th psp and sony are cumin xmas eve to replace it again lol

Ibraheem said, on December 23, 2007 7:24 AM:

Hi guys. My little brother have a psp and I want to upgrade it to the 3.52m33 firmware and I am totally freaking out of the bricking thingy and of course since the psp is not mine I am very afraid of bricking it. The psp is still new still under warranity. I guess bought before 2 months ago(not shure of the date which we bought it but shure its under warranity). Should I have a pandora battery to upgrade? Please help me its the first time I am going to upgrade. Pls pls pls help me.

Martin said, on December 26, 2007 9:22 PM:

Do you think there maybe grounds for class action lawsuit?

Jeff said, on December 27, 2007 9:55 PM:

My son has a psp and I bought him 2 new games , when he tries to play them it says he needs a download 3.51 so he enter yes and it says battery is to low, evev if its plugged in. Is that a battery issue or is it bricked

david said, on December 29, 2007 7:53 AM:

@ martin

The battery must be at least 75% charged when updating the firmware, even with the AC plugged in, otherwise you will not be able to update.

david said, on December 29, 2007 7:56 AM:

oops

@ Jeff

The battery must be at least 75% charged when updating the firmware, even with the AC plugged in, otherwise you will not be able to update.
Posted by: david at December 29, 2007 7:53 AM

Ryan S said, on December 31, 2007 10:04 PM:

BUYERS BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so upset with SONY right now! As I own many Sony products and I must say most of all my Sony products I own my old Sony Trintron T.V., my Sony Vaio desktop computer, my Sony Vaio Laptop, my Sony Wega HDTV, my Sony PS2 and Sony PS2 Slim, Sony PSP, Sony PS3 80gig, my Sony Walkman, Sony Cybershot Digital Camera's. I am not thinking twice before I make my next Sony decision.

I'm in the same situation as you all. I have a PSP that just now shows a green power light without the LCD working at all. The unit ran fine for a few months. I only have 18 hours of game play being the first game ever used on the system was the first Need for Speed game made for PSP. For the next few months I stored my unit hardly ever used it not even a scratch or scuff on the unit itself and I still have the original box and everything it came with. On Christmas day I got a gift from my brother in law it was the Need for Speed Carbon video game.

Keep in mind this unit is practically mint and brand new never abused, dropped, as I've had it stored with no time to play with it. As excited as I was receiving the game I took it with me on my vacation for this year. As I got in my hotel room I charged the unit as I always do. The orange light would indicate charging and go out when it's completely charged.

Anyway, once the battery was charged I unwrapped the new video game loaded it in my PSP. It asked me to updated to a new Firmware. I begin to follow the instructions during the next few minutes I get a screen saying can not download do to power being low. But the power was completely charged from what the power indicators told me. So I try it again this time the system turns on loads the main PSP screen and enters the same update Firmware menu. I follow the instructions and continue to update the Firmware. It goes through with the download and the next thing you know status shows 1%, 7%, 10% complete. SHUTS OFF without completing the entire download.

Once I turn the unit back on. All it does is light up the green light stays on for 15-20 seconds and shuts off. This is very upsetting I hardly used this damm PSP and paid good money and not i'm stuck with a damaged product. I don't know what to do whether to throw this unit in the trash. I am out of warranty and never once enjoyed this unit. I don't even want to try to hack into it or go through the troubles. I've read so much it's just been a headache.

I'm great with electronics but I will not repair this nor will I try to hack it. Sony needs to fix all these glitches in this system. Why would my unit just shut off??? I'm thinking the cheap power cord was defective, the cheap battery was defective, and the stupid updating of firmware was not clear in the users manual that sh*t like this would happen in the event of a battery failure?

My suspects are the cord end and battery somewhat not being able to hold a full charge??? What is the life expectancy on normal conditions of these cheap batteries? And the programming software that's built into the motherboard not being able recover to protect the unit for these causes. Much like a cheap cell phone that shows a full charge when a broken power cord is inserted or a battery no longer can hold the charge. SONY needs to make serious repairs regarding this issue.

This is very unfair how this all happened and now I'm here with a shinny piece of junk that I want to throw at the wall. Sony will be hearing from my lawyers, along with the B.B.B, consumer affairs, and all the gamer forums. I can't believe I waited in line until the morning for the PS3. Now what do I do if my PS3 gets damaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very frustrated with this situation. It only takes one bad experience to loose many valued customers. I hope everyone who uses the PSP use it with caution. It is not a good gift to give to a young kid yet alone an adult. Was it my fault I have a defective cord, battery out of the box? trying to find an answer online figuring out what the term "BRICK & Pandora Battery meant"????


Gerard said, on January 8, 2008 9:38 AM:

All you need now to fix your bricked PSP's is a Pandora's Battery and a Magic Stick. Search Ebay or Google for some.

Ibraheem said, on January 18, 2008 5:01 AM:

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ

VERY IMPORTANT

Hey guys I found a way to unbrick the psp just go to this website http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcCnrswzETI and watch how to unbrick the psp.

I haven't tried it because my brother's psp is not bricked but you're not losing anything so try it. If the website link didnt work go to www.youtube.com and search for (unbrick psp).

Hope I helped.

Smith said, on January 27, 2008 2:39 AM:

why upgrade then.... and waste monet on buying games my psp is modified so i download games for free and that so just get modified psp..

Jacobdead said, on February 4, 2008 6:16 PM:

HEY IF SONY WONT FIX IT THERE IS ALWAYS THE PANDORA UNBRICKER.

Wheelz said, on February 16, 2008 5:22 AM:

ok if u have bricked ur psp through the netwrok update or !@#T like that all u do is contact sony ok but when u do dont tell them u messed it up through the update u say i had enough money to buy a ps3 or fix my psp so i chose to buy a ps3 so i cant fix it could you do it? i heard this online quote "they should buy this because its kind of like saying to sony fix this n ill buy a ps3 or dont fix it an ill buy a xbox 360" unquote

Syrione said, on March 10, 2008 2:42 PM:

One of two things anything with a flashrom is sensitive device even your PC equipment with firmware updates can "brick". 2nd thing a pandora battery is a solution to this the pandora can be created through custom firmware GoogleIYF and it's based off Sony's method so people saying Sony can't unbrick your PSP your lying. A PSP bricking is fixable by Sony under warranty they'll even fix it for free more than I can say for the Xbox360 whose red ring of death has no solution except sending the unit back and getting a replacement.

Chris said, on April 13, 2008 9:49 AM:

PSP's can be unbricked at www.psp-repairz.co.uk

ACE GAME WIZURD said, on April 16, 2008 1:50 PM:

I WAS ON MY PSP AND I CLOSED THE BROWER, HOWEVER IT JAMED SO I TURNED IT OFF BUT THE POWER LIGHT WAS STILL ON,IT WAS A BLANK SCECEN. WHEN I TURNED IT ON IT CAME WITH A LINE ACROSS THE SCECENWHAT DO I DO?

Alex said, on April 22, 2008 9:21 PM:

Yeah, from what I've been looking up online, all you need to fix your shiny new brick is an extra battery 11.00$ american shipping included off of ebay, and a 1 GB memory stick 9.00$ american off of ebay, simply create a pandora's battery and magic stick and you're set, however, I would suggest doing this before even modding your firmware in the first place, otherwise you'd have to buy a pre-made pandora's battery and magic stick off of e-bay, which isn't a bad idea, only the battery ID won't be the same as the original, which might cause some small issues. Also keep in mind that once you've un-bricked your psp you are running a custom firmware (most probably Dark_Alex's 390 M33-3 at this point in time) which is a great thing if that was what you were attempting to install when you bricked your psp, however it might be against your values to use such a genius's free hacks, if so (I am sad for you) but you will have to buy another PSP instead of using my suggestion... Morals are good and all, but frankly, sony should know better, in this case, I feel no remorse.

Educated said, on June 1, 2008 1:30 AM:

Please research before posting nonsense. There is no defect when PSP's are bricked during an update. If you didn't have your PSP plugged in like the update tells you to, it's your fault. You need to understand the technicalities of the process before calling it a defect. The update writes files from the memory stick to internal flash memory needed to boot the PSP, which is similar to updating the BIOS on your PC. Surprise! If there is an error or you lose power during a BIOS update, you'll also brick your PC.

Dave Taylor said, on June 1, 2008 8:28 AM:

You can have your perspective, "Educated", and others have their perspectives. In my view, any upgrade process that can destroy the machine is a badly designed process.

Jonadab said, on June 2, 2008 7:44 PM:

I followed all instructions provided on Sony's website to the letter, and my update still failed, and now I can't use any UMDs. Sony tells me that even if thay saw me buy it yesterday if I don't have a receipt... $89. So even if you are doing things "by the book" it doesn't guarantee a good outcome.

luke said, on June 20, 2008 12:52 PM:

my psp is bricked and the backlight won't even switch on. Will a pandora battery still work

Tom Pearson said, on June 27, 2008 12:25 PM:

Hey, have u guys heard of a pandoras battery? it reflashes the PSP system in order to unbrick. More info can be found on N00bz.eu

Tom Pearson said, on June 27, 2008 12:28 PM:
johnathan garcia said, on October 14, 2008 9:27 PM:

hey my psp is messing up.i really dont know what happend my power light will come on for a limited time only and then will turn off and the screen will not show turn on or any thing and its fustraing turn on and i need help............................................................................................................................... screen wont turn on ..........................................................................................................................................................................please help me

Camron said, on January 23, 2009 4:04 PM:

I was playing my psp which was pluged into the wall, i got up to change the TV channel and when i tutched it i got a static show, this shock turned off my psp and now no matter how long i hold power button it wont come on

mo said, on February 2, 2009 4:26 PM:

so if i have a warranty that didn't go out would the store or sony replace it for me??( if not i'll kick their a#@)

dj sman said, on March 29, 2009 7:31 AM:

u will need a pandora battery to unbirck your psp :) if any probz with battery buy a new battery:)

Ondox said, on April 23, 2009 11:05 AM:

Hey , I think , maybe I can solve problem of everyone .. There are many PSP servicemen out of sony that can fix this . I gave it to one , and after 5 mins he did it . He just did something with service battery , runned PSP in safe mod connected to PC deleted firmware and instaled new . Im not 100% sure he did it like this but you can fix it :) ..

hoobie360 said, on May 5, 2009 7:16 PM:

if you guys don't know, you can make a special memory stick/modified battery combo and unbrick any psp. send me e-mails for instructions. hoobie360@yahoo.com

angel said, on June 3, 2009 1:50 PM:

hi!

my psp 10000 is just connected to the pc while i was looking for ctf themes..but im not doing something with my psp..it's just plugged in..but the moment i was to remove it, i noticed that it's already turned off so i charged it..after an hour it'
s still not booting up..i tried to turn it on with the adapter only but it's also not working..
im not doing any updates or upgrade with my psp at that time but is it still possible that it was bricked?

hoping for your response..

thanks

wulalaz said, on June 15, 2009 4:05 AM:

Hi All...
my psp 3k whn i turn on my psp 3k got green light but the screen is black any 1 can help me plz

jfue said, on July 15, 2009 11:27 PM:

whoa!
so if u have a new psp that was bricked because u tried to use their update to play their games....they dont send u a new one free? they make u BUY AN OLD ONE!? thats BS!! im srry for all u out there who have to deal with that. paying $200+ for a psp is one thing but paying for sony's faults is ridiculous!!! you'd expect that with the amount u invested in this product that it wouldnt break from stupid things like that...jeez!!!

m said, on July 23, 2009 5:38 PM:

sounds like we need to get a lawyer to file a class action suite against sony. with this many complaints a good lawyer could get every one their psp fixed anyone know a good lawyer?

Evan said, on November 12, 2009 2:00 PM:

hi guys. it happened yesterday......my psp is now bricked because of the update and the battery turning off. This officially stinks that sony wont give you anything helpful about it or something else. Im 13 and i have had it for 2 years and nothing bad until this happens. i neeed sony to do something

E said, on November 12, 2009 2:02 PM:

guys you can make something called a magic memory stick and something called a pandora battery (can buy online) and it unbricks the psp. But these are also used to hack games online like socom 2 for psp

RedSooty said, on January 16, 2010 8:51 AM:

-TAKE THE BATTERY OUT AND PUT IT BACK IN-

The same thing happened to me, My PSP died during an update. All I did was take the battery out, then put it back in and it worked.
TRY IT!

curtis said, on June 1, 2010 3:16 PM:

dave i was upgrading my psp to 6.20 and the battery accidentally droped out and now it wont turn on
do u know wat is the problem
it only turns on for like a minute
and the shuts off
please explain
:)

Chris said, on June 2, 2010 4:38 AM:

This happened me years ago, just decided to see if the psp was working today and still the same green light, blank screen and the light goes off,

I had rang and emailed sony, emailed complaints... etc and never got a reply... There a bunch of ****

Jarrick said, on July 8, 2010 3:30 PM:

During a PSP update, my PSP turned off and it won’t turn back on, it is still under warranty, but I don’t have a receipt. When I talked to a SONY representative, they told me I couldn’t get a receipt because their system only goes back 90 days. So now, I have the box that SONY sent me to ship my PSP in, but I don’t have a receipt and the barcode number is not on the PSP. So now, they want $89 plus tax to fix it for their malfunction. This is my third PSP.

raymund said, on July 22, 2010 11:05 AM:

sir can the pandora battery fix it i have the same problem (My PSP died during an upgrade and now it's dead?) i switch it on and just the power indicator lights and the psp screen is nothing... im wondering if can the pandora battery access it and erase the file or restart the psp? pls. i need answers thanks..! my email add raymund_challikis@yahoo.com you can jsut cntct me in facbk thnks and god bless

R said, on August 1, 2010 2:27 PM:

I also killed my PSP during a firmare upgrade 6.30. The firmware installed correctly, but after de restart it never came alive. I also called Sony Playstation in the Netherlands. The only thing they could tell me is that my psp is older than a year (1 year and 2 months) and I don't have any warranty... I hate Sony and I never ever going to buy a new one. My Sharp tv's dies after almost 3 years and Sharp has given me a new one. That is the service you expect buying expencive hardware!

shreyas said, on November 11, 2010 12:15 AM:

i was formatting me psp memory stick and i deleted d whole folders which were in the memory stick. after that when i was selecting any options like settings and all.. it wont show up and when i turned my psp off and again turned it on it was only showing a green light nd after that d gren light goes of..plz help me ?

Samantha said, on December 1, 2010 6:47 AM:

My daughters psp turned off during upgrade I called sony and they were nice about the whole thing said they would replace the system for a new one for $90+tax and shipping but ya know my a** hole still hurts because of the $200+ I have already paid for the system! So I do believe that I will be buying a DSi this time anything but sony!

tahamee said, on March 1, 2011 4:23 AM:

When i play games on my PSP it stops then i have to take out the battery.Can you tell me what to do.

SmileXD said, on April 28, 2011 2:40 AM:

Guys... i've watched and researched for a whole hour about "bricked psp's" and it's like a miracle that the MAGIC MEMORY STICK and the PANDORA BATTERY truly works.. it's like rebooting the whole psp system... want more info.? search everything from YOUTUBE up to EHOW they always show the terms PANDORA BATTERY and MAGIC MEMORY STICK

ME said, on May 19, 2011 8:35 PM:

Well about the dead psp, that happened to me before and the way i fixed it was by installing cfw on my psp. Now my psp is fully working.

hrichik said, on July 29, 2011 12:02 PM:

Actually there is a way......you have to buy pandora battery and magic memory stick. you can also make them out of a spare battery and a spare memory stick. the place where i bought both of mine are at http://pandorasales.com/

psp said, on December 16, 2011 10:23 PM:

HELP PLEASE i was upgrading and i took of the battery by mistake is there any other way to fix it.

Lem said, on January 6, 2012 8:40 PM:

I have a prob bout my psp!
I upgraded it from 5.00 m33-3 to the official 6.60 version, i got it from the playstati0n site, then, when i sucCesfuly upgraded it, my game was gone but my music and photos are there. I checked my mem0stick and the iso folder is there with my games, . Please help me.

keith wamah said, on March 6, 2012 1:56 PM:

I came from school and wanted to play my PSP it did came on but the screen was blank,I don't have a warren and it is a new PSP, I bought it on december 8.2011 I live in New York .Can you please change it SONY, cause I'm going crazy.

chemjes said, on January 10, 2013 1:29 PM:

Basically Sony lost me as a customer forever on this issue. I'm a gaming family with 2PS3, a PSP, a Wii, and computer system. They are not smart doing this to their customers.

I put a game in my PSP and it said updating software for over a day. No buttons would work. I tried to reboot and now its bricked. Sony says not under warrenty and they want $69 to fix. I wont buy Sony products going forward if that their response to a well known issue with their product that many many people have. There are lots of other gaming systems out there to choose from if thats their response on a well known issue. They should have a disc or online software to reboot/reload these devices. I bought this thing and I expect the software to work without paying more in a couple years. Seems like they are just trying to make more money.

Starbucks coffee cup 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!
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