PS3 won't update firmware

[Ruldra]

Hey guys, can anyone help me with this issue?

My PS3 froze during a firmware update and the HDD got corrupted. I did a full format and now I can play games again, but I'm still unable to update the firmware and I have no access to the PS Store and all my digital games. I assume the area where the firmware data is stored is still corrupted. Updating via USB stick doesn't work.

If I remove the HDD and do a full format via PC, would that solve my problem? Or is the firmware data stored somewhere else in the system and I can't fix it no matter what?

[ZacharyB]

Firmware being what it is (the "ware" stored in the motherboard, the firm, physical part of a computer) I'd imagine that that part of the Playstation 3, whatever chip it is, is permanently corrupted now.

Someone else should confirm this, but it's as if the instructions to update as stored in that chip have been corrupted by the frozen, incomplete update, and cannot be accessed.

[Mischief Maker]

This is why I stopped buying consoles after the PS2 era.

If a console doesn't provide a quick and easy alternative to the driver and updates horseshit of PC gaming then what's the point?

[ryu]

Firmware being what it is (the "ware" stored in the motherboard, the firm, physical part of a computer) I'd imagine that that part of the Playstation 3, whatever chip it is, is permanently corrupted now.

Someone else should confirm this, but it's as if the instructions to update as stored in that chip have been corrupted by the frozen, incomplete update, and cannot be accessed.

Isn't the firmware in modern consoles just a linux based OS?

My guess is send it in to Sony to reinstall the OS. If they can do that. In your country.

[HydrogLox]

Updating via USB stick doesn't work.

What have you tried to address this?

• Are USB flash drives being recognized from the XMB right now? Did you try all USB ports (in case there is a hardware failure in a port)?
• Did you try a different flash drive (on all ports)?
• Did you reformat the flash drive to FAT32 and put a freshly downloaded copy of the update on it and tried it on all ports?

[Ruldra]

What have you tried to address this?

• Are USB flash drives being recognized from the XMB right now? Did you try all USB ports (in case there is a hardware failure in a port)?
• Did you try a different flash drive (on all ports)?
• Did you reformat the flash drive to FAT32 and put a freshly downloaded copy of the update on it and tried it on all ports?

I didn't try it on all ports, but the console identifies the update in the USB stick just fine. It copies the update to the console and during installation I get error 8002F994. Also tried doing it in safe mode, the console copies the update, restarts, and then around 90% through updating I get error 8002F19A.

Flash drive is FAT32 and the update file I downloaded from the official site yesterday.

My guess is send it in to Sony to reinstall the OS. If they can do that. In your country.

Probably my only choice at this point...

[Inspektor]

Aren't the custom firmware people able to downgrade the firmware/install a custom firmware with a flasher?
I'm no expert on this but there is the e3 flasher which works without soldering. Quickly checked the prices and it goes for about 70$ where I live so....you're probably better off buying a new (used) console off ebay or send it to Sony I guess.

[HydrogLox]

I get error 8002F994.

Seems the PC format is worth a shot as some people claim it helped them, others seemed to require an entirely different drive though - it doesn't seem that either is a guaranteed fix.

I get error 8002F19A.

Again some people claim that a malfunctioning Wifi/Bluetooth board can cause an update failure - seems weird but I imagine that it is possible that a PS3 system update is trying install a bluetooth firmware update and the verification fails. If your bluetooth controllers are working fine this problem seems to be less likely but then again the hardware could have intermittent failures.

Probably my only choice at this point...

Might as well try the PC format first - that may tell you if there is a problem with the drive; your PS3 isn't bricked so I don't think the system firmware itself is corrupted. Of course formatting won't help if the system update stops due to some other hardware problem.

[Ruldra]

Well I'll be damned.

So I gave Sony tech support a call. Basically they can't help me because the console was bought in the US and they allegedly work with different parts over here. I'd need to take my console to the US for them to have a look.

The woman on the phone told me about updating via USB stick, but said that it must be 4GB at most. Bigger sticks could cause problems during data transfer. The one I was using is 8GB, so I got a hold of a 2GB pendrive and tried again.

And holy shit, it worked! Never imagined this could be an issue. After years of being offline I'm finally able to access online content again.

Bless that woman.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Good to learn that the PS3 console requires a 4GB usb drive or less than that to fully update it, Ruldra. It's great to be able to access the ol' Playstation Store through the PS3 if it needed be.

I basically use my PS3 as a general Blu-Ray/3D Blu-Ray player these days -- still keeps on ticking. As for 3D Blu-Ray movie titles, they're still being produced/released here & there these days (at least for the North American Blu-Ray market) -- was hoping that Valerian 3D Blu-Ray would be released but it's no cigar this time around (there's a Hong Kong variant 3D Blu-Ray of Valerian out but that won't play on a USA region NTSC PS3 console anyways due to Blu-Ray region lockout issue at hand).

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upcoming 3D Blu-ray release of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi in the spring of 2018 (that's assuming if Disney/Lucasfilm announces it later on -- they did so with the 3D Blu-Ray releases of SW: Ep. 7 & SW: Rogue One back in the day).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[HydrogLox]

but said that it must be 4GB at most. ... so I got a hold of a 2GB pendrive and tried again.

Good to hear that it wasn't a hardware issue.

Now given the size restriction I also suspect that the smaller drive was USB 2.0 (older USB 2.0 drives > 4GB are sometimes sluggish enough to cause reliability issues).

On older laptops of PS3 vintage I've had USB 3.x flash drives misbehave if they where connected during boot up. Exactly the same flash drive would work perfectly if it was connected once the machine was up and running. Not sure if it's the entirely the drive's fault or if there was something non-standard happening during the boot up with the (USB) protocol/power levels or a combination of both. So it wouldn't surprise me if USB 2.0 vs USB 3.x (compatibility notwithstanding) could also be an issue in some cases.

[ZacharyB]

Whoa, I am very happy to be wrong. Congratulations.

[Inspektor]

I'm glad it worked out like that, now my flasher advice (luckily) reads like overkill bullshit

[DoomsDave]

I know it's a bit late now but if you care about homebrew/softmods then don't update past 4.81. Sony just released 4.82.

edit: apparently 4.82 is ok too