PS3 [GUIDE] How to install Custom firmware on your PS3 in 2023

Thibobo

Thibobo

Member
Hello Guys, in this guide i will be covering how to install custom firmware on your compatible ps3 system in 2023, this is a noob friendly guide and my guide is to make it as foolproof as possible.

UPDATE: Mr.Mario also made a good youtube tutorial for this, if you prefer videotutorials you can watch his video:

UPDATE: The PS3 toolset is back online with support up to 4.90 ( https://www.ps3toolset.com ), i would recommend to use that instead.
Though this flash writer is open source and you can host it yourself at any time, it's a nice backup to have. While if the PS3 toolset goes offline you can't host it yourself as it's not open sourced.

Requirements:
  • Computer
  • Network connection
  • CFW compatible PS3
  • Empty FAT32 USB drive
  • A brain to read the guide

Step 1:
  • Check if your ps3 is compatible with custom firmware (Console must have a minimum version of 3.56 or below.)
    • Check THIS page on the PS3 Devwiki or use this graphic to determine if your console is suited and what type of flash memory the console uses.
    • [Optional] Check with minverchck PUP, this way you are 100% sure.
      • Check THIS thread if you want to use Minvercheck.
cfw-compat.jpg

​
Step 2:
​
  • Installing Hybrid Firmware 4.90 over your existing firmware.
(It doesn't matter if you already run OFW 4.90 or anything below just install it over the current firmware.) ​
  • Take a FAT32 Formatted USB drive and put the "PS3" folder in the root of the USB Drive.
1.png

​
  • Go to your Playstation 3 system and plug in your USB drive in the most outer right USB port.
  • Navigate to System update under settings & click X.
IMG-2228.jpg
  • Choose for Update via Storage Media
IMG-2229.jpg
  • Now follow through the installation steps and after installing the console will restart and you shouldn't notice anything obvious, other than the 4.82 webkit being restored within the 4.90 Firmware.
​
Step 3:

UPDATE: Coro hosted this webpage on github if you don't want to host it yourself locally.
https://ps3addict.github.io/
UPDATE: Evilnat also hosted the webpage on his github: https://evilnat.github.io/flashwriter/

Though it's recommended to host it locally, so consider hosting it yourself unless you don't have access to a computer.

  • Installing XAMPP to host the PS3Xploit Flash Writer (4.90 HFW) locally from your PC.
    • Get XAMPP HERE (In this tutorial i will only be covering the installation and hosting from a windows device.)

2.png

3.png
  • Once downloaded now run the .exe file by double clicking on it.
4.png

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  • Go through the installation process just click next.
5.png

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  • Once installed you should see something like this
6.png

​
  • Now go ahead and download the PS3Xploit Flash Writer (4.90 HFW)
  • Now click on Explorer within XAMPP and navigate to C:\xampp\htdocs
  • In this folder make a folder ps3xploit and copy all 3 files from the Flash writer in there
7.png

​
  • Now we are gonna determine the local ip adress from the PC we will be hosting this webpage from.
    • Open CMD or powershell and write " ipconfig " without the " ofcourse. This will list all network adapters, with their ip's.
    • In my case my local ipv4 adress is 192.168.0.128
8.png

​
  • Now in XAMPP under Apache click start ( woohoo you are now self hosting this web page )
9.png

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  • You can now check if everything worked by surfing to [your ip]/ps3xploit on your pc, in my case 192.168.0.128/ps3xploit , you will see the webpage of the flash writer.
10.png

​
Step 4:

  • Now we gonna patch the flash of the PS3 system
    • Go to your PS3 and plug your FAT32 formatted USB drive in the most right USB port.
    • Surf via the PS3 web browser to [your ip]/ps3xploit & you should see the web page
      (In some cases antivirus programs block traffic to your pc on port 80, make a rule to accept that traffic or temporarily deactive the firewall.)
IMG-2215.jpg

​

  • Choose for the type of memory NOR or NAND and click X, if you used the most outer right port of your ps3, then you don't have to change the USB Flash Dumping Device
  • Now on the next screen click "Run checks" this will check minimum firmware, if you are HFW, etc...
IMG-2221.jpg

​
  • If everything went right you should get the following screen
IMG-2223.jpg

​
  • Now click the Dump flash memory button and wait until you get the following screen
IMG-2225.jpg


​
  • Now unplug your USB drive and check if the flash dump is any good
    • You can use this tool for it. Drag your flash file from your usb in the PS3dumpchecker folder.
    • Drag the flash file over the .exe and it will start to check the dump
(this is only needed as a backup if an accidental brick occurs.)
​
  • If you have a console with nand flash you need to use this tool to check.
11.png

12.png

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  • Now plug the USB drive back in the same usb port on the ps3 and we can continue
    • I know it's in fact not needed to plug the usb drive back into the PS3 but i do it anyway for good luck.
  • Now go ahead and click the Patch flash memory button. You will get the following screen, just give it some time from my experience it can take from 3minutes up to 15minutes to finish.
    DO NOT UNPLUG OR TURN OF YOUR PS3 OR PC OR XAMPP or you'll end up bricking your console.
IMG-2226.jpg

​
  • Now wait until the patching operation is done and you'll be greeted with the following screen.
IMG-2227.jpg

​
  • Cool! Now we patched your flash memory and now we can install CFW, first reboot the console and we'll continue in the next step.

Step 5:
  • Installing Evilnat 4.90 CEX CFW over the 4.90 HFW.
    • Download the file HERE
  • Take a FAT32 Formatted USB drive and put the "PS3" folder in the root of the USB Drive.
13.png
  • Go to your Playstation 3 system and plug in your USB drive in the most outer right USB port.
  • Navigate to System update under settings & click X.

  • Choose for Update via Storage Media

  • You will now be greeted with a screen that will show 4.90 Evilnat CEX

IMG-2230.jpg

​
  • Now follow the installation (it's very simple just read and follow through)
  • The PS3 will reboot and you will be greeted with the nice Evilnat logo!
IMG-2216.jpg

​

All done! You now run the latest CFW as of this was posted.
I made this tutorial so everyone can enjoy CFW on their PS3.
This guide was mainly focused as a response on people annoying developers asking how to host the Flash writer...
https://twitter.com/xXEvilnatXx/status/1633316555705528321
 
Last edited:
I have installed HFW on my slim, but I cannot get any further. If I host the exploit myself (Simple Web Server on Mac) I just get a garbled screen of text a few seconds after the page says downloading patch.

When I try the github hosted site I cannot get acces, because the site says that I need HFW 4.90.1.

I have tried installing HFW twice now.
 
Never mind. I found the answer in another thread. It was because one of the files for Flash Writer is hidden and therefore does not show on Mac. Works great now :)
 
Great work @Thibobo !
You should probably just add a warning to never rush ahead and skip verifying the dump and/or proceeding with flashing if any dangers show up. If a brick occurs then without this file the console cannot be recovered, even with a hardware flasher, and since the flash is unique per console it means that it's not possible to just download it from the Internet.

Yusef Dandashi said:
Thanks you very much bro
But what difference between CFW PEX OR CEX ?
I saw many people on youtube install pex
Click to expand...
PEX allows you to switch between CEX and DEX kernel, as well as some extra debug features. Many people prefer it just because there aren't any features that CEX has and PEX doesn't.
 
NiQ said:
Great work @Thibobo !
You should probably just add a warning to never rush ahead and skip verifying the dump and/or proceeding with flashing if any dangers show up. If a brick occurs then without this file the console cannot be recovered, even with a hardware flasher, and since the flash is unique per console it means that it's not possible to just download it from the Internet.
Click to expand...


Thanks!

And yes you are partially right, for a NOR console it's great to have the 16Mb backup, if something goes wrong you can flash that back with a HW flasher. But for NAND consoles it's a bit more complicated, via software it's only possible to dump 239Mb of the 256Mb flash, it misses a hidden section which contains the lv0ldr bootloader.
Hence having only the 239Mb backup of the NAND dumped via this tool is as good as useless unless you have a full 256 Mb dump taken with a HW flasher or dumped via CFW with a tool like rebug toolbox, with that you could reconstruct the 239Mb dump to a full 256Mb one.
 
Thibobo said:
Thanks!

And yes you are partially right, for a NOR console it's great to have the 16Mb backup, if something goes wrong you can flash that back with a HW flasher. But for NAND consoles it's a bit more complicated, via software it's only possible to dump 239Mb of the 256Mb flash, it misses a hidden section which contains the lv0ldr bootloader.
Hence having only the 239Mb backup of the NAND dumped via this tool is as good as useless unless you have a full 256 Mb dump taken with a HW flasher or dumped via CFW with a tool like rebug toolbox, with that you could reconstruct the 239Mb dump to a full 256Mb one.
Click to expand...
I thought lv0ldr is immutable anyway...
 
Thibobo said:
Hence having only the 239Mb backup of the NAND dumped via this tool is as good as useless unless you have a full 256 Mb dump taken with a HW flasher or dumped via CFW with a tool like rebug toolbox,
Click to expand...
there was some discussion some days ago about this. i think someone said that the "full" software-based dumps just have the holes filled with zeros.

the areas we change will be correct in any good dump. everything else will be correct (because we didn't touch them) in the actual flash chip. when you attach a hw flasher to fix your ps3, you make a new full dump and fix its broken parts with your older dumps (hw or sw). at least that is how i understand it.
 
Thibobo said:
Hence having only the 239Mb backup of the NAND dumped via this tool is as good as useless
Click to expand...
It's not useless. The only area of flash that's patched by the writer is generic and not console specific. The NAND dumps done via software include this area of memory so if anything goes wrong you can use the dump to unbrick a PS3.

However, adding the flash dumper to the writer script was more like a suggestion of what users SHOULD be doing when patching flash. It's not necessary for the writer to function, but it is good practice. The problem is a lot of people who are using the writer know nothing about what they're doing, that's why I enforced the dumps.

We've had no brick reports as of now but in the small chance that does happen because of something like power failure, they'll at least have their dumps ready to go so they can easily unbrick with hardware flashers (though to be honest the amount of people who will actually do this is probably pretty small).
 
Hi all, congratulations for the great guide, I'm new and I don't want to make mistakes.
I bought a PS3 slim CECH-2504B where the HEN modification is installed, I used minverchck PUP to check if I could put the Custom firmware.
the message came out that I have the 3.50 so I can put it.
I wanted to know if I have to remove something first or can I proceed by overwriting everything?
Excuse my English but I'm Italian
 
salvamea1981 said:
Hi all, congratulations for the great guide, I'm new and I don't want to make mistakes.
I bought a PS3 slim CECH-2504B where the HEN modification is installed, I used minverchck PUP to check if I could put the Custom firmware.
the message came out that I have the 3.50 so I can put it.
I wanted to know if I have to remove something first or can I proceed by overwriting everything?
Excuse my English but I'm Italian
Click to expand...
no. hen will be removed when cfw pup file is installed.
 
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