How to upgrade your PS Vita to a specific firmware (e.g. 1.81)
This question keeps coming, for example people on vita OFW 1.69 are asking us how they can update to 1.81 without running the risk of installing the latest firmware 2.01 instead.
The Z made a tutorial on how to do this exactly. Keep in mind that this does not allow you to downgrade, only to upgrade to any version you want. You can reinstall your existing firmware, or go up to any version, but not go down. This is nevertheless useful for people who were on a fairly old firmware and want, for example, to try and install total_Noob’s CEF on 1.81 with the latest technique that we describe here.
The Z’s video is fairly old, but I never blogged about it, and now feels like exactly the right time for that 🙂 In addition to this, The Z posted a fairly details Tutorial on /talk. The tutorial is fairly long, so I will simply link to it:
How to: Manually updating to another PS Vita Firmware (Tuto by The Z)
You will need OpenCMA, and a working http link for the update file you want to install (for example, the 1.81 OFW Firmware). The Z provides some links in the tutorial above with everything you need.
Note that if you don’t have a working http link for the file, you can still run a local server on your computer and use a proxy to trick the vita in downloading the file directly from your computer (well, that solves the issue of the direct link, but not the issue of finding the firmware file in the first place… again, google is your friend), but that is out of the scope of The Z’s tutorial.
The basic idea is to install OpenCMA, and trick its firmware file into believing that a firmware update is available. That update will actually point to your own version of the firmware.
The explanation is fairly technical, so don’t expect a “push a button and be done” type of system here.
For those of you who don’t want only the text version at the link above, enjoy the video:
Sounds Great thank’s for posting this. 🙂
this is great will try once i fix my craked vita
The Z found this through JeoWay and TechnoDon from when the vita was released. I give credit to The Z for the Video, but the actual credit for the technique go to JeoWay and TechnoDon
Ive never heard of these people but i dont want to say that it was MY IDEA that you can update your vita with this method.
I just wrote the tutorial, made the video and found it by myself when i was experimenting with my Vita and the CMA.
Nice Work!
How did u create the server? i dnt knw how to create one.. Please help…
email: andrewpitia@gmail.com
can we downgrade??
There is no way to downgrade the vita.
thought i heard sumthing idk dont think anything official right now.but right now the psp mainly sandboxed..
wololo said it in the post above, read lol
‘The Z made a tutorial on how to do this exactly. Keep in mind that this does not allow you to downgrade, only to upgrade to any version you want. ‘
why would you want to downgrade at this stage of the vita’s life anyway? there is a new ecfw coming out on the latest ofw as well. only real reason for us to need downgrading would be when a native ps vita exploit comes, and we can downgrade to use install cfw
yea cant wait to get my vita back to 1.50 *** first thing i got my vita i had to upgrade not basing on the guy that made the homebrew video of the vita in the first week of realse thks u actuly i was thinking for hours that it would be like the psp when it first came out nj when i bought me vita on realse day i toook me like one hour to decide to upgrade the firmae cuz i was thiking to jus wait on the firmware i did have till a expoit was reasles or sumthing but then i was lucky to actuly like playing monter hunter on the psp so had that wen that came out so that was sweet then was lucky ton catch the next tree expoits think i only missed the two first one super colse n tennis one i think but so far iam on 1.81 with mad galaxy crush n urbanix heard the 2.01 firma saposed to block them so iam on 1.81 fo now no rush dough since i can still add games to the vita right now n i jus got uncharted wipeout n glaxy crush 3 vita game fo free..
Sits alone in a dark leaky room banging a metal cup against metal bars thinking………… I just want my 2012 touchscreen to view weather in motion. IT REALLY ISN’T ASKING THAT MUCH!!!!!!!!
I used this guide, which uses charlesproxy to map the requests to your local firmware/xml files.
http://psx-scene.com/forums/f194/%5Bguide%5D-update-your-vita-previous-fw-releases-101831/
What if i got assasins creed psvita with FW 1.69 without it activated . I want to upgrade to 1.80 FW with open Cma can i do that for monster hunter. with activating PSN?
Never mind thanks i do not own my own server =[
good job I’m still waiting EXPLOIT 2.01 🙁
if you have a ps3 you can buy the uno game and update your vita to 2.02 fw
ive bin usin this for ages and its not as hard as every1 is saying ive got a file for 1.80 or 1.81 here ready to go if any1 wants it i jus changed change this part http://djp01.psp2.update.playstation.net/update/ to this http://zload.net/PSVupdate/ but like i said got it ready if any1 wants it
Do I see a tip regarding to the next exploitable game in this post?
I had to do this a few months ago, I wanted to go to 1.69 so I fiddled around but found the easiest way was to get a game on the firmware I wanted (in this case it was Gravity Rush) which simply upgraded from the game cartridge and was sorted.
Maybe it would be good to find out if there is a game with 1.81 firmware in it and then get people to get that, less chance of problems and it supports developers!!
hi all
way to leave this information in case anyone is interested,
seems a homebrew using native code PS Vita
http://yifan.lu/category/devices/ps-vita/
yea yifan realse the uv thing a whiile agao think the pages is an update to it since it like dis month date… thks do talk more about the uv load …
Dis ideya iz offeichal im gon tri dis 2 c if it wurks.
can u also provide manual update on some applications like youtube? also sir do you know how to install some apks
Hey wololo, a complet side note, what are the chances that coldbird will retuirn to the sene?
would be nice with coldbird again but heard he needed the break so its okay we still got guys like z n frotegator n a lot outhers… i was watching a documentry the outher day about phoenix n electron weird to think about the internet back in there days. i mean now day with the load or sum webpages u would think would take days on there modem jus to load the facboook home page .. but yea oof note subject prety goood movie dough learned of zoskro(think spelled differnt)
Whit this method ( theoretical) can i flash a different zone firmware ( ie: HK firm) to me 3g locked vita.. and unlock it ?
thats actutly thinking idk if would work but thinking it should or can if tweeek with it cuz i dont think there is realy any regional diffenerce with the 3g units only that they had differnet coverge plans by different cell companies but think the firmware a bit different with the wifi n the 3g since the firm ware inn the 3g that i have has to have the atnt app on it so i would think that its not in the wifi units since no need fo atnt wen only get wifi but i would think the same diffenrece with one 3g vita from japan with i guesss tmoble coverage or sumthing then to the usa atnt coverage
With this I will make a downgrade I promise!
no you won’t because you are too stupid to figure out how to do that.
solid give it a shot vita downgrading…
you stupid this doesn’t work we want to steal free games and you give us this ***
You sound like a real asset to.the community
Indeed. You seem quite un-educated and unhelpful in the matter. You should leave. Don’t feed the troll…
um thechniqly we jus trying to fugre out how to play solitare on the vita ..video games wise its a classic.
yea does thing dont realy work cuz the codes that the thing generating arent activated till there scaned by the registers so saying u can actuly get a real code to one of does card jus that they dont work till the paid for n sony gets the serial numer for the card u perchused to activae the number on the cards…
Tell us the downgrade Chinese make a tut.
Rubbish a Chinese with releasing a downgrade.
a challenge wandering if even the Australian want to give it a try n make a downgrader…or a linux booot or help to the sence a good thing …
Hi why can’t i use the opencma on fw 1.06? it keeps asking me to update. is there any way to update from 1.06 to 1.80 without opencma?
thanks