PSX-Scene: Shipping of the PS Jailbreak delayed

PSX-Scene posted the following earlier:

"A shortage of components has forced the delay of the product's launch. There is no longer an official date for shipping to begin but the delay is expected to be anywhere from 3 days to as long as a week.

Retailers will not be receiving their shipment of PS Jailbreak dongles on Friday as scheduled. Anyone telling you otherwise is either misinformed or disingenuous."

Since the delays is to the retailers, it is highly unlikely that any end-customers will receive the PS Jailbreak device even next week.

Good writeup about why the PS3 Jailbreak can't be easily cloned

garyopa over at PSX-Scene wrote this quite good post on their forum on why the PS Jailbreak device can't easily be cloned, and why you can assume that all those "Jaibreak stick dumps" all are viruses. Some quotes:

"F*ck it even does not TALK USB, sure it might look like a USB device, might PLUG into a USB slot on your idoit-box PC, but neither windows nor linux, will ever see it as it does not send anything over the USB.

It sits and waits dead, until the PS3 sends out a signal which is not anything like USB, more like I2C or encoded-serial and then it wakes up, looks at what the PS3 sends it, and then replys with the right answer."

 ...and...

"Then you will need to take the file, assemble it into a HEX file, BUY a DEVICE programmer, or build one (look up Fluffy2, for one you can buy!), and then source out the micro-controller and buy some, either wire up it neatly, or better let etch out your own PCBoard, and solder all the parts together."

ending with...

"In the end any REAL dump of the inside of the PSJAILBREAK, will be MORE then some lame-a*s EXE, it will not even be a program you can run on your PC, it will be a set of instructions on WHAT micro-controller it is, HOW to build or wire up the chip, and what TOOLS you need besides your BRAIN which is the only part FREE (you hopefully were born with one!), the rest you going one why or the other have to buy, either already build clone from someone that wants to make a PROFIT, or a you going to have to go to a few different stores or order online, like the MicroController, PCBoard, USBplug and either already OWN a programmer or buy one or build one!"

Updates can't be installed or used when running from Backup manager

This review from elotrolado tells us quite many interesting things. Most important is that for most the games they have tested, it's not possible to download updates from PSN. Also those games don't run if the updated previously has been applied while using the original games, the updates has to be uninstalled for the games to run at all. This of course means that these games can't be played online, since they are required to have the latest updates to be able to connect.

The review also tells us that Sony hasn't yet banned them from PSN even that they have been connected to PSN using the backup manager.

Lastly it is also confirmed that the PlayStation 3 must have firmware 3.41 installed for backup manager/PS Jailbreak to work.

New review confirms that game backup can be spread over the internet.

There has previously been some speculation on if it actually was possible to download backups and place it on your external hard drive and play them on another PS3 (with the PS Jailbreak of course). Now several sources confirms this, among others this review reposted by PS3 News. There still is an issue that you can't copy games from the internal HDD since it's not readable by a PC, so the games with files larger than 4GB can't be copied but must be ripped from an original disc.

Please note that I don't encourage you to download games that you don't own, this is just for your information.

More games confirmed not working!

Update: Please see this post for updated compatibility!

Manzzon has updated his list on games that isn't working with the PS Jailbreak:

Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare (black screen on start)

Assassins Creed (black screen on start) 

Call Of Juarez Bound In Blood (jumps back to the menu after some time)

I also found this post over at MaxConsole by modder GameStuff.ca:

Call of duty modern warfare 2 didn't work.... Even on an internal drive.... I tried twice...

So how many more games are going to show up on this list? Will there be a way around it?

Is this the story of the PSJailbreak?

SKFU has an interesting writeup on his blog titled PSJailbreak - The Sad Truth that goes on a bit about how the "the fake hacker" got hold of the original JIG and cloned it. I don't know if there is any truth to it, or just an idea on how it could have been.

First public PS Jailbreak clone?

So this site are popping up all over the place now: x3JAILBREAK.COM, I have no idea if it's real or not, and there are not many details on the site, but this picture doesn't seem to be too faked...

UPDATE: According to this article, the device that are shown on the site is an ordinary USB flash memory, not a micro controller that the "original" device is. So certainly looks like a fake.

RichDevX thinks that the backup manager might cause console bans

RichDevX has posted the following on twitter:

If I understand this correctly, Sony will easily detect if anyone is launching the backup manager and sending the following in response: SCE_NP_AUTH_ERROR_CONSOLE_ID_SUSPENDED 0x8002a227 which is as I understand suspends the console from PSN.

PS Jailbreak enforcing price fixing!

So there has been a lot of talks about the pricing for the Jailbreak device. For example, the hardware itself isn't very expensive (around $10 as I understand), and also there doesn't seem to be anyone undercutting the prices. Well thats because PS Jailbreak are enforcing the following:

This was posted by PBX over at PSX-Scene, and seems legit with other sources of information.

PS Jailbreak is $88 in bulk

Some guys over at the PSX-Scene are saying that when ordering in bulk (250 units or more) from psjailbreak, the price for each device is US$88/€70. Maybe interesting for some people to know.

Confirmed: Some games can only be backed up to the internal drive

Update: Please see this post.

OZModchips confirms that games that have individual files over 4GB needs to be backed up to the internal drive due to the fact that external drives must run FAT32 that doesn't support files larger than 4GB. The list of games so far is:

List:

1. 
   

   Metal Gear Solid 4 (file movie.dat is over 8gb in size)

2. 
   

   Resistance: Fall of man (file game.psarc is over 6gb)

3. 
   

   Uncharted 2 (file pak22.psarc is over 4gb)

All games DO work with the PS Jailbreak! (NOT!)

In an interesting turn of events, Swedish modder Manzzon are now claiming that all the games that previously failed now works, after he replaced the internal HDD. He did dump the games to the internal HDD all the time, so maybe there were something wrong with the drive?

UPDATE: He now says that Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare still has problems booting, but the rest do work.
UPDATE 2: More games confirmed not to work, see this post.
UPDATE 3: Please see here for the latest list.

Is this the PIC used in the USB dongle?

garyopa over at the boards on psx-scene claims that this is the PIC used in the jailbreak device: PIC18F4550

However cmal1492 was fast to reply:

Well that chip doesn't even have a usb interface on the pins that are connected to USB D+/D- (but what do I know, I only spent a few hours working on providing diagrams for and big block corrections to 360 JTAG/SPI flasher PIC code.)

Let's see who actually gets it right first. Story developing...

Is GeoHot behind PS Jailbreak? DemonHades seems to think so (UPDATED)

UPDATE: I really don't think this is the case, Mathieulh and RichDevX wouldn't let a such hasty job, as the backup manager is, to pass. Also, they wouldn't speculate on which chips where used or so on if this were true. Seems to come a lot of BS from this DH...

DemonHades posted the following in a blog entry (translated by the famous google translate):

After being by turning the matter and come to the conclusion that behind this is the very Geohot, xorl, Mathieulh and RICHDEVX .. and here my analysis and conjecture.

1-The name, PS Jailbreak = Geohot, is a way to make clear and by track where the shots come.

2-The reference of his friends said that the device works, xorl was the first to say .. the same one that was working with geo in xorhack, too coincidental.

3-Geohot is a former expert on the dongles, in fact takes longer time using the iphone.

4-If you think it tells us to operate the equipment we need to update to 3.41, osease updated to not have access to linux ps3 and be able to dump the ram .. what your dongle is so sure of cloning and claims to be the only source of distribution and sales.

5-Mathieulh and Richdevx knew this and had already planned, so Mathieulh was denying the functionality of the device to confuse people and not be suspected of his friend Geohot and richdevx the night before the publication of my usb said this on the msn:

(0:41) ® i © h -:	anyways, i hope you release soon. I have a big surprise
(0:43) Inves DemonHades:	What surprise?
(0:44) ® i © h -:	that's a secret
(0:44) Inves DemonHades:	Always how
(0:44) Inves DemonHades:	secrets is all ur ppl
(0:44) ® i © h -:	Have you a secret, and i have one too

Not the best translation, but you get the point. Do you think that the famous GeoHot is behind the jailbreak?

Is something strange going on with the whole PS3 Jailbreak business?

Update: All games actually do seems to work, see this post for more info!

So there is lots of conspiracy ideas out there, want to know my take on it?
Well, I do believe that there is something not right somewhere with the whole thing. It is not any questions on that the device does work. But there is some other things that at least for me creates unanswered questions:

Whats up with the site www.ShopPSJailbreak.com?
At first, lots of people was claiming that this site was a scam. It is really cheesy, complete with fake testimonials and everything. Even PSX-Scene had a news item about this. But now the site is listed as a official seller on psjailbreak.com. The shoppsjailbreak.com site was actually created earlier than the psjailbreak.com so it all seems a bit strange.

Why did PSJailbreak.com claim that all games were playable?
As earlier noted, all games does not work. It actually seems like there is a quite big percentage of games that does not work. In the start, they claimed that they had tested hundreds of games and all worked. Why then wouldn't they have tested high-profile games as NHL 2010 and FIFA 2010?

My take is that psjailbreak.com is desperate to move as many units to a as high profit as possible, before either clones are made, it is shown how many games actually doesn't work or the jailbreak is made impossible by Sony. What do you guys think? Is everything in this story 100% legit?

Frequently Asked Questions about the PS3 Jailbreak

This is an attempt to compile the information about the PS3 Jailbreak that is currently know to the public.

What is the PS3 Jailbreak?
The PS3 Jailbreak is an USB device that makes the PS3 able to save complete games from an original Blu-ray Disc to it's hard drive and then play these games without the original game disc in the drive. This is the only current known function.

How does it work?
Currently most people seems to believe that the device is a clone of the "PS3 Service USB Jig" that is used in service centers to enter service mode to fix certain problems. How this has been cloned is not known. The original USB Jig supposedly shows a service menu, which this cloned device does not show. After booting with the jailbreak dongle, it's possible to load a backup manager that is available on the manufacturers site. This backup manager seems to be a homebrew application built with the PS3 SDK, so it's most likely illegal to distribute it in most countries.
The USB device needs to be connected at all times when running games.

Does it work on all PS3 games?
NO, but most of the games tested so far. See this post for more info.

Can Sony block the jailbreak with a software update?
Currently unknown, if it works like the pandora battery in the PSP, it might not be possible for them to block the device without a hardware upgrade. But it could also be the other way around, that it's very easy for them to block the device.

Is it possible to back up movies and PS1/PS2 games with the device?
No, not according to the official site.

Is it possible to run other homebrew applications?
According to the official site, it is possible. However, the only application available so far is the backup manager.

Can't someone just copy the USB drive so anyone could create their own?
No, the device is not a simple USB memory, it contains some kind of micro controller with custom code. It is not recognized by a normal computer.


It is possible to take the games on a USB drive to another PS3 and run them from there when using the device? Is it possible to download backups from the internet and use on another machine?
Yes, this is confirmed. Read more here.

Can I play online with PS Jailbreak? 
Many games require updates to be installed for them to work on PSN, but on many games this does not work when running from the Backup Manager. Read more here.

Will Sony ban jailbreak users from PSN?
No, not yet. But it seems that Sony easily can detect the users and might ban them later on. Read more here.


To be continued. Please add more questions in the comments if you have any!

Welcome to the PS3 Jailbreak Info Centre!

Hi guys and girls and welcome to this new blog!

Why create another information source regarding the PS3 jailbreak you might ask? Well, I thought that the information now is very spread out, and that many of the sites that have information (Official site, PSX-Scene, PS3 News) are having a hard time to cope with the bandwidth demands. Also much of the new information are coming from different forums, and everyone interested doesn't have time to read trough the jungle in all of the different forums.

I have some background on this kind of reporting, for example I ran the blog about the magic $150 computer a couple of years back on www.medisonscam.info, and thought that my information collection would come in handy again.

So hang on tight, this might be a bumpy ride!