Beware of Fake Downgraders

Seems a lot of people have been buzzing about some new "downgraders" which apparently allow 2.01+ users to downgrade back down to 1.5. Please remember that the only and I mean the only working downgrade is for v2.0 PSP's. Anyone claiming to have a downgrader for v2.01 or above is just trying to either rip you off or trying to brick your PSP. Occasionally an advert for a fake downgrader will appear in the google ads within different PSP webpages.

I should add that a legit test downgrader is currently under development by PSP coder Dark Alex, but in its current stage it will almost guarantee that your PSP is bricked so I suggest staying away from it for now.

Remember that some PSP sites are posting the 2.5/2.6 Downgrader but it has bricked a lot of PSPs so until you read it here do not try it, remember safety first

can't those new modchips downgrade or unbrick psps?
(btw hope it isnt against rules to mention modchip)

-if you are thinking of trying the one by dark alex it should NOT be done with model TA-082-

remember whats at risk here folks

Yeah m8, thnx for the info. I knew it that the D/grader was fake. Someone from www.psp-hacks.com has risked his psp by trying out the downgrader. And yes, as expected, he bricked his. So, I think the most of us is already warned about this.

why do idiots do this fake stuff

Im a beliver that sony has people out there posting this sort off stuff to prevent the movement.

Well with the Kernal exploit recently found, a "Test Downgrader" has been released. Not for the average user and mainly for testing and perfecting a potential future downgrader for the masses.

This new test downgrader has brought both good and bad results so it is true. Don't attempt to downgrade your 2.01+ psp just yet.

It was interesting to learn of a successful downgrade from 2.60 to 1.50. However I guess there were a few strange side effects.

But if all of this is true so soon after a "proof of concept" kernel exploit, this could bring good things to 2.01+ PSP owners who want to enjoy the full potential of PSP homebrew.

It is also important to note that some conspiracy theorist believe that some of the recent 'buzz' has been cleverly created by Sony as a diversion to turn people away from homebrew and slow down developers. This is unlikely, but it would be amusing if Sony did set up a counter-homebrew task force, lol. If they have, they are no doubt scouring these forums......

So lets all say to the enemies of homebrew, YOU WILL NEVER WIN!

ok first off how could u brick ur psp firmware 2.01+ with some fake downgraders if u can't even access flash0 yet since fanjita hasn't made an eloader that works with full kernal mode

so if u can't access flash0 wtf u can't downgrade/brick ur 2.01+ psp's, right plz correct me if im wrong thanx

yea its complety fake this was posted on the homepage of www.psp-hacks.com
one of our users risked his 2.60 PSP and...

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June 29, 2006
2.60 Downgrader Test Tested…
Posted by Josh

NEWS: 2.60 DOWNGRADER TEST TESTED

Listen up folks, I just official risked my version 2.60 PSP and I went ahead and ran the Downgrader Test that was made availiable today and lets just say I am not a happy camper. After reading the instructions very carefully like eight times, I got the needed 1.5 files from the web (forum) and I placed them in the correct locations on the memory stick. Once I checked everything at least three times for consistency, I ran and got my GTA UMD. I crossed my fingers and ran the Downgrader Test from the eloader. The mem stick started to flash wildly just like the instructions said it would and I waited for 2 minutes after the mem stick light went off and I rebooted my PSP by holding the power button. Just like the instructions said to do. Now I am sitting here with a bricked psp! Now of course I took that risk in my own hands but I wanted to prove or disprove it for everyone. To finally have some sort of ground to work from.

Now, if you people would be so kind as to donate ANYTHING, any amount of money for me to get a modchip so I can ressurect my PSP from the grave that would be greatly appreciated. I know I took the risk and it backfired, but I wanted to provide a service for my homebrew community and my personal knowledge. If you want me to continue to be a part of this wonderful homebrew scene, please find in you at least a dollar or so to spare for the MODCHIP fund. You can donate using the link below.

P.S. My girlfriend got me this for Christmas and she is going to be PISSED if I don’t fix it. Please Help!

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ya, i dont know how you could brick a 2.01+ at the moment (other than throwing it out a window :))

ps: why doesnt google images work on the psp browser? it used to work...

Yeah, I should add its possible a new downgrader may surface someday but at this moment MPH's 2.00-1.50 downgrader is the only that actually works. Again unless something has been posted by a credible site don't try it.

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Originally Posted by Joe88

yea its complety fake this was posted on the homepage of www.psp-hacks.com
one of our users risked his 2.60 PSP and...

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man i feel for that guy... my gf has got me everything i have for psp ( all my games and movies ) my xbox , my playstation my everything! from movies to clothes to accesories if she found out any of the items were lost, stolen, or broken she would ****ing flip da **** out... im going to donate... we should all.. he took that risk for everyone so we should show some appreciation.

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Originally Posted by Joe88

yea its complety fake this was posted on the homepage of www.psp-hacks.com
one of our users risked his 2.60 PSP and...

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That definitely sucks. He is a hero of PSP homebrew, lol. That is definitely taking one for the team! With more brave souls like him, more tests could be done, more learned, and in the end hopefully 100% homebrew will be capable for all PSP's.

he took that risk for everyone? oh please. a hero? c'mon...

and as for it being completely fake? if you know anything about dark alex's work in the psp homebrew community, you know that dark alex is not one to release fake anything. that's not dark alex's style. its called a TEST downgrader for a reason- meaning there's a chance for it to FAIL.

i have a lot of respect for this site and its affiliates (ie psmonkey) and the legit psp news they bring to the table... but some of these so-called editorial pieces that seem to put a spin on things or cast things in a certain light? hmmm... i don't know if i like what i see going on at this site anymore.

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Originally Posted by shunsai

i have a lot of respect for this site and its affiliates (ie psmonkey) and the legit psp news they bring to the table... but some of these so-called editorial pieces that seem to put a spin on things or cast things in a certain light? hmmm... i don't know if i like what i see going on at this site anymore.

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What are you getting at?

I didn't lie or try to "put a spin" on anything. I stated there is a test downgrader (which is true) and that it will most likely brick your PSP in its current state (which is true). I didn't include the file because its far to early in development.

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Originally Posted by shunsai

he took that risk for everyone? oh please. a hero? c'mon...

and as for it being completely fake? if you know anything about dark alex's work in the psp homebrew community, you know that dark alex is not one to release fake anything. that's not dark alex's style. its called a TEST downgrader for a reason- meaning there's a chance for it to FAIL.

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A few things, first off, I and a lot of other regulars here take a light-hearted and comical approach to posting our responses. This makes it a lot more fun here. What I said about this guy being a hero and such was meant to give others a laugh. If you think I'm going to put posters of this poor chap on my wall, you are mistaken.

Next, I am very familiar with Dark Alex's work. Its just that his work and the discussion around it is not really allowed on this forum. But don't get me wrong, Dark Alex's contributions are some of the greatest things for PSP homebrew. And the fact that he is working on a downgrader should make a LOT of people very excited.

Finally, you 'appear' to be new here shunsai, so how can you say that you don't like what's been going on here "anymore". Unless you've been scanning the posts covertly for some time :cool:

Congrats on your first post and welcome!

I heard that this fake downgrader looming across the internet has been made by a poser Fanjita... http://noobz.eu

I think thats pretty sick of somebody to sell fake downgraders, and pose as the name "Fanjita" just to attract attention.

I bet sometime very soon after the kernal access hack comes out... A real downgrader for 2.5/2.6 will be made. It would be preety pointless, as you will have all the same features, buts its still the downgrade that we have all been waiting for.

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Originally Posted by Voltron

A few things, first off, I and a lot of other regulars here take a light-hearted and comical approach to posting our responses. This makes it a lot more fun here. What I said about this guy being a hero and such was meant to give others a laugh. If you think I'm going to put posters of this poor chap on my wall, you are mistaken.

Next, I am very familiar with Dark Alex's work. Its just that his work and the discussion around it is not really allowed on this forum. But don't get me wrong, Dark Alex's contributions are some of the greatest things for PSP homebrew. And the fact that he is working on a downgrader should make a LOT of people very excited.

Finally, you 'appear' to be new here shunsai, so how can you say that you don't like what's been going on here "anymore". Unless you've been scanning the posts covertly for some time :cool:

Congrats on your first post and welcome!

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Hear hear! :p I think you summed this site up nicely! ;)

Whoever sells fake downgraders should have their hands sliced off with a spoon.. (preferably wooden) :mad:

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Originally Posted by mr_nick666

Hear hear! :p I think you summed this site up nicely! ;)

Whoever sells fake downgraders should have their hands sliced off with a spoon.. (preferably wooden) :mad:

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With one of those cheap plastic sporks from school lunches. :mad:

all we can pretty much do is cross our fingers, pray and hope for the best...i've been waiting for this moment for a long time...be it a downgrader or kernal access for all homebrews i'm all for it. i'll most likely go for the downgrader though...i'm getting sick of seeing the same old pics whenever GTA loads. Besides...where i'm from GTA is banned and let's just say the censorship here is pretty strict...be it those pics, videos or language...

stupid F**king idiots trying to sell fake downgraders. i want them all to die.

P.S. what is kernel mode? is it the ability to run the homebrew from the "GAME" menu on the psp's menu? :confused:

http://www.bellevuelinux.org/kernel_mode.html

yeh, don't let the appearances fool you. i'm sure there are hundreds of others out there like me who scan the posts covertly for months until they just can't sit still anymore. but thanx for the welcome. ;)

didn't mean to disrupt the light-hearted mood. :D

and kaiser, i didn't so much mean this article. there was another article the other day that kinda made me raise a questioning eyebrow... but it disappeared by my lunchtime. something about a subject matter that's ultra-taboo here, and then comments of hypocrisy relating that subject to Undiluted Platinum.

anyway, its not that serious. and i didn't mean to insult you kaiser, and apologize if i offended you. my comments to be honest were more in reaction to the defamation of character to someone i respect, and the seeming oversight of anyone to clarify. the same thing happened the other day on strmnnrmn's blog... they were mixing up PSMonkey with a certain other furry PS quadraped who has also become quite taboo to mention. the mixup bugged me, and it seemed to go overlooked for quite a while... but it was finally cleared up. :)

Ya guys....this site friggin' ROCKS! There is no way that someone can even remotely refer to this site as just amother psp site. You guys provide us with so much protection, you are practically giving us psp insurance for free! I just wanted to let everyone know that because thats not fake, is 100% real baby. Keep it up

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Originally Posted by razorak

all we can pretty much do is cross our fingers, pray and hope for the best...i've been waiting for this moment for a long time...be it a downgrader or kernal access for all homebrews i'm all for it. i'll most likely go for the downgrader though...i'm getting sick of seeing the same old pics whenever GTA loads. Besides...where i'm from GTA is banned and let's just say the censorship here is pretty strict...be it those pics, videos or language...

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Damn what country do u live in?

turkmanistan?

when a legit downgrader surfaces il try it everyone just has to cool out and wait no need to rush for all those with 2.01+ were gonna have e-loader with KERNAL MODE so thoughts of downgrading are pointless because you'l have all the advantages that a 1.5 user has on higher fireware the only set back in my eyes is that you need gta but thats no biggy im sure a legit downgrader will sureface soon as theres been a large increase in news and its all been good

Is there any possibility that any of these downgraders could actually work? I don't know much about this topic but it would be pretty sweet if it could be done cus right now im stuck with 2.71. There's hardly anything to do.

if there are fake downgraders then don't post them on the news?

not to be cocky, but it's quite a simple solution.

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Originally Posted by rock_light

can't those new modchips downgrade or unbrick psps?
(btw hope it isnt against rules to mention modchip)

-if you are thinking of trying the one by dark alex it should NOT be done with model TA-082-

remember whats at risk here folks

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At least there IS an unbricker out nowadays.

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Originally Posted by Addictedd

if there are fake downgraders then don't post them on the news?

not to be cocky, but it's quite a simple solution.

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they are posting it on the news to PROTECT you from it. its like when a parent tells his kid about drugz and why you shouldnt do them

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Originally Posted by shunsai

yeh, don't let the appearances fool you. i'm sure there are hundreds of others out there like me who scan the posts covertly for months until they just can't sit still anymore. but thanx for the welcome. ;)

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Yep i know how you feel... i am one of those people too. started watching the site around june 05 and just joined this year

So the first homebrew for 2.6 is a bricker? Thats really depressing.

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Originally Posted by gizmo356

why do idiots do this fake stuff

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im with you dood why wud anyone want to do this to people i guess they get their rocks off to screwing people over well any way people there is really no reason to downgrade now becuz of the great news of kernal mode on 2.6 so even if a downgrader is ever released for 2.6 ill more then likly never try it becuz i love my "working" 2.6 psp and id be one mad mofo if i bricked it soo people dont worry about downgrading, becuz in my mind theres really no need for it since the awsome news of kernal mode well unless you really want to be a 1.5 user and take that risk of bricking your psp :D :D

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Originally Posted by Addictedd

if there are fake downgraders then don't post them on the news?

not to be cocky, but it's quite a simple solution.

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sorry for the double post but anyway the reason they post them is so people know that they are fakes and or legit and not posting them is a problem id rather them be posted so that i know about it so please never stop posting news about fakes so that people that are new to homebrew know not to use these fake downgraders and this is why i love this site becuz you keep all of us informed about the latests and greatest[in the case of this topic not so great:p ] psp news :D :cool:

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Originally Posted by razorak

Besides...where i'm from GTA is banned and let's just say the censorship here is pretty strict...be it those pics, videos or language...

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Yeah man, where the hell are you from?

Yeah how can something on a 2.6 psp access flash0 on the current gta eboot loader work? the update for the eboot loader to access kernel has not been released yet

some simple info as some are asking how can it brick if it is unable to access kernel mode.

First off, it can access kernel mode as show by the example which reads kernel memory into a simple dump, thus, anyone with half a brain can make an EBOOT file that uses code to instead of read data from kernel access, *attempt* to write over the flash with the previous firmware 1.5 My *guess* is that this is the simple process they are using. Looking at many of the example source codes, creating such an EBOOT would not be hard given the kernel access code.

There is kernel access as proven by the POC released earlier to 2.01+ firmwares, the only change is that instead of just dumping the memory, someone implimented a force overwrite of the firmware, or simply wrote garbage to brick on purpose. My *guess* once again, is that they tried to do a force overwrite of the firmware, which will not work in most cases.

As it stands, it CAN brick your PSP, because it is accessing the kernel mode the same way the kernel dump is, instead of dumping however, it is accessing flash0/1 which is acceptable once you have kernel access.

As for information about the GTA:LCS launching the firmware application while it is unable to work within 2.01+, my guess is that either 1. GTA:LCS does work in 2.01+ because it is launching from GTA NOT firmware, and firmware version wouldnt matter, since no programs can run on the 2.01+ firmware, when trying to launch one of the usual EBOOTS, it would give an error because it is unable to run code. If the EBOOT for kernel mode dumb works in 2.01+ then GTA:LCS EBOOT Loader would be able to launch it like anything. OR 2. It is simply launched from the PSP Shell like any other 1.5/1.0 game =]

Any questions?

Well a new downgrader cam out...

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June 29, 2006
2.50/2.60 Downgrader Test v0.4 SOURCE
Posted by greg

Update: Dark_AleX has released v0.4 of his 2.50/2.60 downgrader source code. The download link below has been updated to reflect v0.4.

v0.4 Changes:

* Added Mkdir (This was a CRITICAL error. Thanks for pointing it out)

* Added some more security checks, and a check to see if the psp is connected to AC.

* Moved IoMkdir to a previous functions, since it existed the possibility that the first file wasn’t flashed correctly.

* Removed all display functions. According to my tests with the port of prxdecrypter, using the pspDebugScreen functions in kernel mode in 2.XX can freeze your psp randomly in any time.

* Removed the check for the AC adaptor: it wasn’t working properly. It will be added later again.

* A little add to change the “flash8″ in inputfilelist again to flash0

* Some other minor fixes

* Note: currently if the ioassign fails, there is a brick because the format was done prior to the assignment.

Renown homebrew author, Dark_AleX, released an experimental downgrader yesterday which we refrained from posting at PSP Hacks as it reportedly bricked many PSPs, as per Josh and his bad luck. Today Dark_AleX has released the Downgrader Test v0.2 source code - no binaries, no accidental bricking! This is strictly for the purpose of developers to analyze and advance on for the possibilty of a stable 2.50/2.60 downgrader. Until then, sit tight - don’t try and downgrade your PSP just yet.

Quoted from the readme.txt:

The downdater is mostly confirmed not to work. I update a slightly modified source code. It should be relatively more secure. I don’t provide the binaries.

I found two glitches in the code:

1) The restart function… Originally it was intended for a restart, but it did nothing, making possible that if some premature error before doing the real thing failed to continue the real downdate process. Now it will cause an on-purpose exception (this only will happen either at the begginiing before the unsecure code begins or at the end, when all is finished)

2) Now I’ve re-assigned the flash device after the logical format. Probably more secure.

Download Downgrader Test v0.4 Source Code
http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/592

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Well I dont know who is willing to try this...
But I have a 1.50 PSP so it really doesnt affect me but my other PSP is a 2.50

yo why do people have to do this crap they shouldnt post downgraders unless they tested it the people who make em should grow some balls seriously or take responsibility for it er sometin its kinda makin me mad really

well try it but i wouldnt because i would love too have 2 psps