Sony warns you that your PSP warranty will be void if you install custom (third-party) firmware. To be on the safe side install the official Sony firmware upgrade.
Your Firmware Version
Before upgrading your PSP firmware, you will have to determine whether your existing version needs an upgrade or not. This is how you go about it:
- Step 1: Switch on your PSP
- Step 2: Locate the Settings Mode
- Step 3: Move down to System Settings and select
- Step 4: Move Down to System Info and select
The System Info will display, among others, information on System Software Version. This is where you should look for your firmware version. Now that you’ve known your firmware version you will be clear as to whether your PSP needs an upgrade or not.
Upgrade Your Firmware
The rest of the article will concentrate on upgrading to the official Sony version through your computer. To update your firmware through this method, you must have the following ready:
- Your PSP device complete with your battery pack and AC adaptor.
- Your Memory Stick. There must be a minimum of 25 MB free space available.
- You must be connected to the Internet to download the update file.
- USB cable to connect your PSP to your computer, or
- External USB Memory Stick reader/writer, or
- A computer with a slot for Memory Stick.
How to Download
The first step is to prepare to save the download data in your Memory Stick. To do this, you can either:
- Connect the PSP system to the PC using a USB cable or
- You can use an external USB Memory Stick reader/writer or
- Use your computer’s built-in Memory Stick slot.
Use your computer to create a folder called PSP on your Memory Stick. Within the PSP folder, create another folder called GAME. Within the GAME folder, create another folder called UPDATE.
Important: You must save the download file in the UPDATE folder as “EBOOT.PBP”.
Proceed With Update
It is important that your PSP battery is fully charged before you undertake the firmware update. You don’t want to run out of battery power half-way through the process in case the AC power supply suddenly becomes unavailable.
The next step is connecting your PSP to the AC Adaptor and powering it on.
Warning: While the update process is going on, you should not remove or turn off the AC adaptor. You should also not remove the Memory Stick. Do not attempt to cancel the update process once it has started. If you do, you risk damaging the system software.
Final Step
Make sure the Memory Stick with the update data is in your PSP. From the Home menu, select Game and then Memory Stick. Start updating. To confirm whether the update was successful, go to Home menu, choose System Settings and then System Information. If under System Software the version shown is that of the update, the process was successful. Finally, you can now delete the update file from your Memory Stick.
