[Edited] Hacked Vita Battery Issue

[southpaw117]

Hey

About a month ago I acquired a demo Vita from work and have been trying to get it to 3.60 with Henkaku and without this IDU mode to no avail. The unit is a PCH-1001 on 2.61 and is stamped with "NOT FOR SALE" on the back.

I think it may have something to do with the cable port, but I can't say for sure. Whenever I try to connect it to my PC, whether through the Content Manager, System Update, or Safe mode, it consistently tells me to connect a USB cable. My first thought was that maybe it was due to the cheap cables I was buying off of Amazon, so I kept buying different kinds. Eventually I got an official cable, but it still wouldn't do anything. The port does at least somewhat work as I am able to charge the unit without issue.

I've tried updating wirelessly by changing the DNS settings for the system update, but I'm stuck with the 5 minute limit so it turns off before I'm able to completely download the update (at least with my current internet speed problems). I've seen and read confirmed methods about exiting demo mode using the button combination and putting it on standby to disable the shutoff, but it doesn't work, although plugging in the Vita to a power source doesn't automatically boot it up either.

I bought a second Vita as a backup and have confirmed that all the cables I bought do indeed work. I have looked all over this site and the internet in general, thinking maybe it had to do with a specific version of QCMA I may need, this "PS3 activation" I've briefly glanced over, or just some particular settings within the Vita itself, but I have no idea what the problem could be and I'm really hoping it's something I'm overlooking as opposed to just unfortunately not having a working USB port.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Edit - Problem has been solved. New issue down below relating to the battery.

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[HarmfulMushroom]

This should solve it for you: viewtopic.php?f=65&t=38895

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[Cyber]

I've tried updating wirelessly by changing the DNS settings for the system update, but I'm stuck with the 5 minute limit so it turns off before I'm able to completely download the update (at least with my current internet speed problems). I've seen and read confirmed methods about exiting demo mode using the button combination and putting it on standby to disable the shutoff, but it doesn't work, although plugging in the Vita to a power source doesn't automatically boot it up either.

IDUs always turn on automatically when connected to a wall power and they never shut down while connected. It's their first and foremost purpose.
Try a different charger and if that helps, update over WiFi while still connected to AC power if you can't get out of Demo Mode. My IDU works as described with a regular phone USB charger and third party cable, so you probably can get by without buying the official charger (on top of the official cable).

I would strongly recommend NOT trying to update without solving that first, since IDU will autoshutdown during the update process even if it manages to finish downloading the update, very likely turning into a brick.

There's also an option of updating to 3.60 from a game cart, but you'll have to find a game with 3.60 update exactly, and even then I wouldn't risk updating with autoshutdown still active.

[Freakler]

I would strongly recommend NOT trying to update without solving that first, since IDU will autoshutdown during the update process even if it manages to finish downloading the update, very likely turning into a brick.

It can autoshutdown while downloading the update file yes, but not when in the installer save mode. So no you can't brick..

And he already said he tried a lot of different cables + the official one?! The port is probably dirty or broken..

Just follow this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSim-r3eMvo

[southpaw117]

Thanks for your replies!

I'm already familiar with the cable + button combination, but because plugging in a cable doesn't automatically boot it, disabling Demo Mode still keeps the 5-minute timer going and it shuts right down again.

Freakler's link had me really optimistic. I had set up a server and put the update file onto it, and the Vita successfully connects and sees the file, but as soon as I try to download it, error 404 is immediately thrown. I'm assuming this may simply be an issue with the connection as opposed to anything Vita-related, but I have no idea. Even if I do manage to solve all this wirelessly, that still leaves the question of putting stuff onto the Vita...

It's really odd and annoying that the Vita has no problem charging, even via USB, but it just won't connect to anything through the port. This is why I was wondering if maybe there was something I was missing about these kiosk units. I'm tempted to just buy a new motherboard, or even another Vita with a low firmware, but I've already spent over $300 when I originally intended to spend no more than the price of a single cable! (The second Vita I bought unfortunately had 3.65, but its condition, everything it came with, as well as the asking price made it too good to pass up)

[adover1965]

Here You Go This Should Help....https://youtu.be/cgyNf-5NU9Q

[southpaw117]

With a simple suggestion from Freakler, I managed to get it to work! It's now on 3.60 with HENkaku, and it put a smile on my face as soon as I booted into Adrenaline. Unfortunately, that smile soon faded as the Vita now no longer wants to charge.

I had it at full charge when I finally got it working and spent a couple hours installing stuff and toying around with it. Once the battery started getting low, I decided to plug it in. The orange light did not turn on, neither did the battery icon change. It's now completely dead and will not turn on. If I plug it in, the orange light stays on for about 30 seconds before turning right off (rarely switching to blue for a moment). At one point it started blinking constantly as it should for a dead battery and I thought the issue had passed, but it didn't amount to anything. Occasionally it will stay solid for a while before throwing in a couple of blinks before it will turn off. If I plug it in while it's in standby (at least when it still had power), the light will come up blue for a bit before blinking and turning off. I am using both the official cable and AC adapter.

I'm not sure if it's a battery issue or just more trouble with this port, even though it does recognize that it's being plugged in, but it's odd that it had no issue charging before all this. I removed the back cover to attempt removing the battery for a bit to see if that would fix it, but I then didn't want to risk snapping either cord as I don't have the appropriate tools to be truly gentle, although I may just give it another try regardless.

I finally get this Vita out of IDU mode after two months, and now I can't even use the unit at all.

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Edit - it now will consistently charge for about 30 seconds before the orange light goes off for every cable plug-in, and is now is capable of turning on, but it doesn't want to charge past around 13% (at least according to the battery readout in Adrenaline). I can get around 10 minutes of Wi-Fi usage before it automatically turns off (as I'm still trying to put more games onto the memory card), but if I put it into standby myself, regardless of the remaining charge it won't turn back on and starts blinking orange again as if the battery is then completely dead. I don't know if me removing and reattaching the cord when the light goes out will cause it to keep charging further than this odd limit.

I still haven't gotten around to trying to pull the battery, though from what I've read on other forums it apparently has no impact, but it's weird that just changing the firmware and such has ruined the port's use even more.