PS3 Sixaxis Controller Now Houses Exploit

September 26, 2010 by Mike Szczys 31 Comments

[Hasuky] posted a guide for turning a PlayStation 3 Sixaxis controller into a PSGroove exploit device (translated). Unfortunately you’ve got to crack open the controller and add some parts to get it working. The hack requires a PIC 18F2550 (a chip we’ve already seen used as a standalone PSGroove device), a crystal, and various resistors and capacitors to connect to the controller’s PCB. From there you connect the USB cable between the controller and the game console and boot using the exploit.

[Thanks Craig via DCEmu]

PS3 Jailbreak – Now In Apple Flavor!

September 25, 2010 by James Munns 23 Comments

Image courtesy of DanyL of psx-scene

The newest member of the PS3 jailbreaking tool crowd is the iPod family. More specifically, iPods running the open source media firmware Rockbox. Even better news, theoretically it should be possible to use this same method on any MP3 player running the Rockbox software. Right now the exploit package only works on select generations of the iPod Nano and iPod Classic line, but if the trend set by the PSX-scene forums continues, it would be worth checking back in the near future if your device is not already supported. Thanks to [shuffle2] for providing the hack, and [DanAdamKOF] for the heads up.

If Apple isn’t your device of choice, you can also check out some of your other jailbreaking options.

PSGroove On A PIC Microcontroller

September 15, 2010 by Mike Szczys 19 Comments

There’s now a method of using PIC microcontrollers to exploit the PlayStation 3. This is centered around a PIC 18F2550 which has been popular in past hacks because of its built-in USB serial port. This again makes use of the PSGroove open source exploit code and, like the TI calculator version, seeks to expand the selection of hardware the code runs on.

In addition to the chip and a PIC programmer you’ll need the CCS compiler as others cannot successfully compile this code. A licensed copy is necessary because the demo version of the CCS compiler doesn’t support this particular chip. Add to that the fact that because of the timing it may take several tries to achieve the exploit and you may find yourself disappointed by this development. But there’s always room for improvement and this is a proven first step on the new architecture.

[Thanks das_coach via PS3Hax via Elotrolado]

PlayStation 3 Exploit Using A TI84 Calculator

September 10, 2010 by Mike Szczys 27 Comments

[Brandon Wilson] came up with a way to exploit the Play Station using a TI84 calculator. This uses the same PSGroove open source code that we looked at last week. That package was running on the Teensy, which is currently sold out (we’d guess because people want to run the exploit). There’s a video demonstration of this new trick after the break. The calculator connects via a USB A to USB mini-B cable which comes with the calculator and is also used to charge the PS3 controllers. Once the connection is made, launch the software on the calculator, power cycle the PS3, and turn it on with the familiar power-eject button presses. The only problem with the system is that the calculator needs to be connected every time you boot.

Continue reading “PlayStation 3 Exploit Using A TI84 Calculator” →

Open Source Version Of The Play Station 3 Jailbreak

September 1, 2010 by Mike Szczys 51 Comments

Don’t steal. It’s a lesson that children are taught from the youngest age and a core principle in every society. The PSGroove sets out to follow this mantra in several ways. It is an open source implementation of the PSJailbreak hardware we covered a couple of weeks back. It’s difficult to find a definitive source of information on that hardware but many have speculated that the original device contains stolen code. Whether that’s true or not is moot as the PSGroove doesn’t include the backup manager program alleged to violate copyright.

The device is also aimed at running homebrew, and doesn’t natively allow one to play backups. It runs on a variety of AVR hardware, including the Teensy boards. If you have one of them, it’s just a matter of compiling the code and unlocking the potential of your PlayStation 3.

[Thanks Mark via PS3news]