Ever since day one, PS3 consoles whose minimum firmware version was 3.60 were seen second-class citizens and couldn’t make use of all the hacks the PS3 scene had to offer. However, that has now changed because PS3HEN has been released which gives these consoles the ability to run homebrew and other CFW features!

What is PS3HEN?

PS3HEN, released a few hours ago by an anonymous developer, is a hack for nonCFW PlayStation 3 consoles (i.e late Slim models and SuperSlim models whose minimum FW is 3.60+); these are the consoles that are not compatible with the PS3Xploit NAND/NOR flasher which lets you install a CFW, such as Rebug, on your PS3. This hack is compatible with HFW 4.84.2, an exploitable firmware that’s installable on any PlayStation 3 console through the regular PS3 firmware installation mechanism.

Among the features that PS3HEN includes, we find:

• Support for homebrew and boot plugins so that you can install emulators, like RetroArch cores, and numerous utilities like MultiMan and ManaGunZ
• Support for PSXISO, BDISO and BD/DVD region patches
• Numerous Syscalls, a Debug PKG installer and PS3MAPI support among other more technical stuff
• A couple of CFW patches including support for installing retail PKGs, remote play with PCs, Rebug themed RCO and XML among other others

How do I install it?

Installation is pretty simple and doesn’t require any prior knowledge of PS3 hacking if you follow these few easy steps by PSX Place Member @Louay:

• First of all, install HFW 4.84.2 if you haven’t already
  

  You can now use popular tools like MultiMan on your PS3 console although some features might not work, for now at least

• Afterwards, use HAN installer to get Package Manager in the XMB Game column
• Copy the 2 BIN files (PS3HEN.bin and stackframe.bin) and PS3HENTAI.PKG from the PS3HEN.ZIP file (download link below) to the root of a FAT32-formatted pen drive
• Install the PS3HENTAI.PKG file on your PS3 console through XMB from your pen drive (yes, apparently using childish names is not a thing in the PSVita community only but it’s spread to the PS3 community as well)
• Run HEN Enabler through ps3xploit.com
  • Alternatively, you can use Jason Borowski’s (@esc0rtd3w) offline HEN loader
• HEN Enabler is now running on your PS3 and you can run homebrew and enjoy more freedom on your nonCFW PS3!
  • If you encounter error 80010017 when trying to run homebrew, re-run HEN Enabler as this means that it didn’t run the exploit properly
• It is important to note that some things must not be done with PS3HEN and these are:
  • Installing Enable FSM (Source)
  • Installing CCAPI (Control Console API)
  • Connecting to PSN for the time being as your chance of being banned might be higher since different spoofing techniques may need to be employed

Conclusion

To read more about PS3HEN and learn more about how you can free your nonCFW PlayStation 3 further, check out PSX-Place’s thread below which includes a lot of information about the hack. You should also check out @esc0rtd3w’s Twitter as he’s been releasing PS3HEN-related stuff along with an updated PS3HEN ZIP file (version 1.0.2 as of this article).

PSX-Place’s PS3HEN Thread (Source for this article and has download links for version 1.0.0): https://www.psx-place.com/threads/ps3hen-a-homebrew-enabler-more-for-superslim-all-noncfw-ps3-consoles.23817/

@esc0rtd3w’s Twitter (recent updates regarding PS3HEN): https://twitter.com/esc0rtd3w

PS3HEN’s Source Code: https://github.com/PS3Xploit/PS3HEN

If your PS3 has a minimum FW version of 3.56 or below, you shouldn’t use PS3HEN but instead, you should use PS3Xploit’s NAND/NOR flasher (linked above) to install a full CFW like Rebug!