UPDATE: Since this how-to was first written things have changed. Sony has released firmware 2.01 which makes this downgrade impossible. A PSP bricker trojan was released because of this antivirus software will classify both the good and bad downgrade files as harmful. You should do more research into the current state of the downgrade before attempting. As far as we know our firmware links are still good, we are not hosting them so we can not vouch for their safety.
C.K. Sample, III, TUAW / WIN Blogger and author of the forthcoming book, PSP Hacks, got his hands on the version 2.0 downgrader and wrote up a thorough how- to complete with pics for us. He even takes the extra steps to upgrade and downgrade yet again, just to make sure such a thing is possible.
As you can see, I have 2.0 running with the browser on my PSP. 
Step 1: Download the downgrader from either here, here or here. Then make sure you get a copy of the original 1.5 firmware upgrader. I found my copy here.
Step 2: Connect your PSP to your computer via USB. On your memory stick, create a folder called UPDATE inside /PSP/GAME/ and place the EBOOT.PBP file from the 1.50 update inside this UPDATE folder.
Step 3: Unzip MPHDowngrader.zip. Drop overflow.tif into your /PSP/PHOTO/ folder. Put both h.bin and index.dat in the root of your Memory Stick.
Step 4: Disconnect your PSP from your computer and plug in the AC adapter.
Step 5: Navigate to Photo then Memory Stick via the PSP’s menu system and start scrolling down through your photos until you reach the overflow.tif picture.
You’ll know you’ve hit it when everything freezes and you get a black screen with a bunch of white text output.
If your PSP freezes without going to this black text screen, then hold the power button for about 10 seconds until the PSP shuts down, then hit the power button again to start it back up. Repeat this step until you get that black screen.
Step 6: Don’t panic. Hold the power button for about 10 seconds until the PSP powers off. Hit the power button again. Your PSP will start up, and if you navigate to your System Information, you’ll discover that your PSP thinks it is running version 1.0 of the firmware. It isn’t and you cannot run homebrew (yet).
Step 7: Navigate to Game–>Memory Stick, hit the X button, and navigate to the 1.5 updater. Make sure you have your PSP plugged in or the upgrade won’t work. Click the X button and update like you normally would. At the end of the upgrade you will receive an error saying that the upgrade failed and to contact Sony. Don’t panic. Ignore this and again force your PSP to power off and reboot.
Step 8: After the PSP reboots you will receive an error screen that is scary and confusing because it is in multiple languages. Don’t panic. Find the language you can understand and read the corresponding line. It notes that your preferences are fragged and that you need only hit the O button to restore some default-ish settings. Hit the O button. 
Step 9: The PSP will start back up and you will go through the initial setup like the day when you first bought your PSP. Do so and then go to the system info pane again, where you will see that you are rocking version 1.5. Run homebrew at will.
I ran through this entire procedure, then I downloaded the 2.0 update and installed that again, and then yet again went through the entire procedure again. It works like a charm. It’s a little time-consuming, but you can have the best of both worlds. Have fun!
hi, ihave a question.My psp had 1.5 version but in the pack in the box had the 2.0 upgrade Ihad to use this to play ssx on tour otherwise it would not play,do i need to downgrade again or will it be fine.I have the internet browser and on one of the psp’sshows online system info on memory stick cananyone enlighten me futher please.
Thanks any
hi,have problem i upgrade my psp to the 2.0 version in the box due to it not playing ssx on tour. could anyone help if i don’ need to downgradewhat should i do?????
need help i upgrade from 1.5 to 2.0 due to ssx on tour would not play do i nned to downgrade to the original version and is it easier due to the fact i had the original version
waw
Err, well I downloaded everything. When I try to extract the overflow.tif, it doesn’t work. And yes my anti virus is switched off. It says its extracting then finishes, but no file has been extracted…
Please help, I so badly wanna try out all this homebrew stuff..
Tried this on my uk psp (upgraded from 1.50 to 2.00 after purchase)and had troubles, but with a little playing got it to work. My hints would be: 1)The update folder you create for the boot file is case sensitive, use capitals when naming the folder. 2)After putting the 1.50 boot file on the memory stick, disconnect the psp and check that the 1.50 update is showing in the game option on the psp. (Mine showed “corrupt data” for a while. 3)might be coincidence but i had the same trouble of the psp freezing when trying to access the “overflow” in the photo file. When selecting the photo, i made sure i was pushing down on the controller as it was selected. This caused the blackout with the string of white text. Hope some of this helps.
what the heck does it mean when it says also copy in the root of your memory stick
help please. I sucessfully did the downgrade and am now playing emulators on my PsP.
I have a friend who just purchased a PsP v1.51 and we’re trying to figure out how to upgrade to 2.0 Now that sony has released a later upgrade where can I get 2.0?
Brilliant..
I came , i saw, i downgraded.
Ceramic White PSP 2.0 PSP 1.5
I have a PSP 1.51 can anyone please give me a direct link to the upgrader to 2.0? Once I have this I will then attempt to get back to 1.50. Thanks
I have a PSP 1.51 can anyone please give me a direct link to the upgrader to 2.0? Once I have this I will then attempt to get back to 1.50. Thanks
Hi i need some help,
I put my overflow.tif file in photo and when i go to click it my psp freezes then i have to turn it on and off again then i got to video and memory card click udate v1.50 and it sais no need to upgrade already v2.00 can someone help me Thanks
you are fuck
When I put overflow.tif into the photo slot it just reads it as corrupt data, how do I fix this.
Can someone please give me the direct link for a file that will let me upgrade to from 1.51 to 2.0 please (not the 2.01) Many thanks
OK, please help
i have version 2.00 and everything is extracted into the right spots and what not but what puzzles me is that in the MP_Root Folder (is that the right 1?) there are 2 other folders 100ANV01 and 100MNV01 i put the h and index in there and still freezes, than shutsodnw before i can select the image in Photosection..any help is greatly appreciated am i doing something wrong?
-Brendan
HELP, I FOLLOWED THE GUIDE, BUT WHEN I GO TO THE OHTO DIRECTORY IT GOES BLACK & SHUTS DOWN, WHAT NEXT?? PLEASE EMAIL CHALLY3@GMAIL.COM
SAME PROBLEM, have done anything it says in the above downgrader, but no photo shows up in the photo file and then it freezes and switches itself off and when i restart it, its still on version 2.0.
Hi
i have version 2.01 and i WANT to downgrade. can i use this method and if not will there ever be a way to. or shud i just upgrade to 2.50?
thanks BOb
Hi
i have version 2.01 and i WANT to downgrade. can i use this method and if not will there ever be a way to. or shud i just upgrade to 2.50?
thanks BOb
To 185 and everyone who passed the “BLACK SCREEN with White Numbers,” but couldn’t get to 1.5 update because the file is shown to be corrupted…
I got the same problem, and here is how I solved this problem:
– first, I used the PSP to format my memory stick
– Next, I removed the memory stick from PSP, and plug it back to my computer using a card reader (or you may just connect your PSP to your computer using a USB cable)
– Then, I created a folder called UPDATE under PSP/GAME/ and I moved the 1.50 EBOOT.PHP back into this folder (I didn’t worry about the h.bin and stuffs we’re suppose to copy to the roots, but it’ll be safer if you copy those files back to your root )
– After the file is being copied to the memory stick, I removed the Memory stick from the card reader and plug it back to PSP, then I plugged back my psp to the power adaptor.
-Now… go to the games —> memory stick…. the 1.50 updater is there!!!
-from here, I followed the rest of the procedure using the above instruction! And my psp is successfully downgraded to 1.50~
Hi Guys, i got the downgrader sorted with a little grief. My problem now is that the games i have are not recognised, they are saved in iso or rar format. Anybody knw what to do with these ?
Just thought I would post a message to say everything from the above worked and if you follow it to the letter then all will work for you.
Just a wee note the size of the files I used just to help you know you have the right ones were:
EBOOT_1.50.zip 13.2 MB (13,864,535 bytes)
MPHDowngrader.zip 4.09 KB (4,192 bytes)
Followed the instructions to the letter and used a newly formatted 1Gb stick with no UMD’s in the drive. Keep the folder names UPPERCASE and put the overflow.tif and for good measure make sure it is the only file in the PHOTO folder.
I did not try the removal of the battery as I don’t really want to try that until it’s been tried and tested and has more than a 50/50 success rate. My PSP is a UK spec 1003K and the downgrade went perfectly. I don’t usually do these things so there’s hope for us all if I could get it working !! Thanks very much for the article.
Friggin awesome! I still can’t believe Norton picks the .tif up as malicious code. No problems but unfortunately the web browser hack didnt work. Thanks for the great instructions!
Is it necessary to set frame_buffer.png as background before you can start downgrading??
Thanx
Is it necessary to set frame_buffer.png as background before you can start downgrading??
Thanx
WOw i had to read 250 comments and i wanted to post something but now i totally forgot thanks a lot, oh yeah i did it and it’s cool
well hi
can anybody help me.
i got everything right untill the last step.
after my update failed at 99% i shut it of and when i put it back on i got the 2.0 ver. again.
please help me. thanx
well hi
can anybody help me.
i got everything right untill the last step.
after my update failed at 99% i shut it of and when i put it back on i got the 2.0 ver. again.
please help me. thanx
if anyone has a psp that says version 2 but doesn’t have the webbrowser and the picture hack doesn’t work, heres how:
things you need:
2.0 update
wab version changer
mph downgrader
1.5 update
1.copy wab version changer folders to psp/game folder
2.run version changer on your psp and select 1.5
3.after reboot, copy 2.0 update to psp/game/UPDATE folder on your psp, make sure filename is eboot.pbp
4. go to game / memory card and run the 2.0 update
5.after update follow usual downgrade instructions
any help, i am on messenger: iwantafriend121@hotmail.com
hi there people i have brought a psp and it has 2.01 firmware on it i reallllllyyyy need to downgrade it is there any way that i can ??
where can i download the free game ?
Ok… in order to do this you need to start with 2.0 right? ok well i have 1.51 (why it came with it.. i dont know.. but it sux!).. so i downloaded the 2.0 eboot.pbp file and put it in a folder labeled update in the game folder. so i go to game and click on memory stick and click on the 2.0 update icon and the message “the game could not be started (80020148)” appears and then goes back to the main screen. can anyone help me with this? my aim name is imjustaguy227 …. im always on mymobile so its fine to msg me and my email is imiie@hotmail.com. thanx
Does it also work foe a german PSP?
it is classed as a virus just disable norton for 15 mins i had this problem norton kept deleting it
it wont do any damage it works perfect for new psps with 2.0 as standard cause got psp today and downgraded just then worked a treat good old doom and david if u read what people have said ul no that u have to put the files in the root directory of the memory card not the psp folder theres been enough comments on this that no1 could have a problem because every problem has been solved or people have got bad news if they have 2.1
I am up to step #7 but it keeps saying “Corrupted Data” when I’m trying to open the eboot.php file from Game > Memory Stick
Help please.
Hi,
ANSWER TO COMMON PROBLEM PEOPLE ARE HAVING (see #23).
If you are entering the images bit of the PSP and the thing is just having a fit and crashing but NO WHITE NUMBERS — the instructions say try, try, try again.
HOWEVER all this actually means is you have an EMPTY photos directory. Get some smally crappy jpg, RENAME it ‘aaa.jpg’, and move this into your images folder AS WELL AS the image it tells you too.
Hey presto! Worked for me straight away.
The above instructions presume (wrongly) that you have >1 photo to look at.
DISCLAIMER — all the usual — if your PSP sprouts wings and flies to heaven don’t blame me.
However there are about 10 comments above from people not seeing the mystical white letters. THIS IS HOW YOU SOLVE THAT ONE!!
ANSWER TO COMMON PROBLEM PEOPLE ARE HAVING (see #23).
If you are entering the images bit of the PSP and the thing is just having a fit and crashing but NO WHITE NUMBERS — the instructions say try, try, try again.
HOWEVER all this actually means is you have an EMPTY photos directory. Get some smally crappy jpg, RENAME it ‘aaa.jpg’, and move this into your images folder AS WELL AS the image it tells you too.
Hey presto! Worked for me straight away.
The above instructions presume (wrongly) that you have >1 photo to look at.
DISCLAIMER — all the usual — if your PSP sprouts wings and flies to heaven don’t blame me.
However there are about 10 comments above from people not seeing the mystical white letters. THIS IS HOW YOU SOLVE THAT ONE!!
i have tried putting the overflow.tif to my photo folder, but when i try to open the file, it says that its a currupted data, and cant open it. Can some one help me out with this?
thanks alot. if you could email me, that would be great
Tigran@paris.com
Ver. 2.1 wont let you downgrade so does that mean that ver. 2.5 wont let you eather? if it does plz give me the steps to safely downgrade 2.5 to 1.5. thanks.
can i get 1.5?
i have 2.5
help! says that i need to charge the battery before It can start the update, which is odd because the CABLE IS IN! Ive tried it wihtout the battery altogether, and i’ve still had no luck
the updater for 1.5 doesnt show up in my memory stick.. only a corrupt file… can anyone help me? my psp is stuck at 1.00
I hope this works…here we go…
SO whats so great about the 1.5 version anyway? Why is everybody downgrading – forgive my ignorance but i thought upgrades made things better… can someone explain the difference between versions 1.5 and 2.0?? Thanks
Ive installed the software but when i go into photo menu on my psp the overflow.tif comes up corrupted data, please help what am I doing wrong.
i am trying to downgrade my V.2 psp to V1.5 so i can play my homebrew but when transfering all the files i go to PHOTO folder and it shows nothing but if i browse via the pc it shows that it is there
any ideas plssssssssssssss
ok guys i have a just got a psp when i got it said 2.0 and now its says 2.01 has a game updated it and does this meen i cant downgrade it????
thanks
ok guys i have a just got a psp when i got it said 2.0 and now its says 2.01 has a game updated it and does this meen i cant downgrade it????
thanks
For all those having problems with PSP freezing and going to black screen without the white gibberish I have the solution! I was having same problem for 1 hour – driving me nuts. You will have put the H.bin and index.dat files in a folder called ROOT not in the root directory. On my PSP in the root directory I had two folders one called PSP and another called ROOT – do not put the two files in this root folder , simply copy them to this area that holds the PSP and ROOT folders! Hope this makes sense.