PS3 Firmware 4.90 is out! (and you really don’t want to update)
source @youfoundderwin
PlayStation have released PS3 Firmware 4.90 a few hours ago. Hackers are already warning the scene to not update, as the firmware upgrade seems to impact known hacks.
PS3 Firmware 4.90 – What’s new
PS3 4.89 was believed to be the “end of life” update for the PS3, when it was released last year. However it seems Sony had a few more patches up their sleeves, with 4.90 released just yesterday.
Of course, Sony’s official changelog is useless to understand what this update really brings:
Version 4.90
This system software update improves system performance.
So we have to turn to the hacking scene to know more, as always.
Zecoxao warns that this update changes things in lv2_kernel, meaning it could impact hacks, PS3HEN, and more. He, and other hackers on the PS3 scene, advise against updating your PS3 if it is hacked.
seems 4.90 is out and patches a bunch of bytes in lv2_kernel. do not update and if your console is on cfw, keep it!
— Control_eXecute (@notzecoxao) February 28, 2023
This of course doesn’t mean 4.90 is unbreakable, EvilNat has stated he’s already been working on 4.90 versions of Cobra and his EvilNat CFW.
Hacking your PS3 – Should you update to 4.90?
Hacking the PS3 has been a pretty complex endeavor since the “reference” website hosting the popular BGToolset, the tool required to Jailbreak PS3s, has been lost by the team who originally owned it. It’s nonetheless possible as mirrors of the site pop occasionally but these mirrors are allegedly made from an incomplete version of the original BGToolset code…
There seems to be a mirror here, and code on GitHub here. However the general consensus is to not use any of those as they are incomplete dumps of the tool. I have not verified either of those, and I recommend you head out to psx-place for any questions regarding PS3 hacks. JamesIsWack’s github does warn:
You must update to 4.87 or higher to use this toolset! It is not a “complete mirror” as i thought. Use with caution. Two reported cases of softbricks on 4.82 and 4.86.
STLCArdsWS, Admin at psx-place, similarly warns:
[There] are incomplete version of the bgtoolset that can work, but also can cause random hard-bricks of the console.
Don’t take my word for it, I haven’t owned a PS3 in more than a year now so I cannot verify what works or not. All that’s certain at the moment is that the toolset does not support 4.90 yet. It’s probably just a matter of days or weeks, but if you’re on a hacked PS3, you’d rather wait for a 4.90 CFW update than update to the latest official firmware (which will lock you out of the hack for now)
I’ll leave you with this tweet that made my day:
i installed the update, i got this message and the console bricked what do I do ?? pic.twitter.com/awZipCTEp8
— 📺 derwin 📺 (@youfoundderwin) February 28, 2023
But why? PS3 is such a relic now. Maybe it has something to do with the PS Store?
PS3 with the latest CFW is still the best console ever – PS4/5 can run just pirated games and even those offline only, no Multiman/Showtime/PStore unavailable, etc…
PS3 scene is almost dead. The only website to install CFW on PS3 is gone and hasn’t worked for months. I hate that you have install license files for PS3 games. USB 2 and FTP are so slow on PS3 to transfer files.
well it should be already dead but thanks to CFW/HEN with online/SEN it’s still more live than X360 and PS4 will die even faster without proper CFW
This is the exact reason why I have 2 PS3. One is using OFW, is always up to date and it has my main PSN account on it. The other is modded and worry free forever, mainly for games I was not able to buy or are hard to find.
I did not think that BGToolset will not be available online anymore or that its creators did not have a backup site. These are crazy days.
ps5 is dead 😀
Tldr. Should I update to 4.90?
Why would you even consider it?
EvilNat is a hero.
Please don’t promote stolen code. These websites are hosted by people who spread hate and harass developers. They also steal donations, tamper with the (incomplete) code and delete comments about bricks.
They are nothing but frauds.
I apologize, I had no idea. Which site in particular?
Since firmware 4.89 this *** incompetent company called Sony has created a huge problem of Remote Play with PSVITA that is impossible to play. A drug that, because it is the function i use the most. Please, let’s complain about you getting this fixed and at least go back to the way you were. The device has died and the coolest functions that are worth the interaction with the PSVITA are having serious problems
Well, it was tested by someone a few days ago & we can confirm that the update DOES NOT fix the cbomb issue whatsoever.