A DualShock 3 PlayStation 3 controller.
Photo by Curtis Berry on Unsplash

PlayStation 3 Firmware 4.93 Released: What to Do Next

As expected, Sony has rolled out PlayStation 3 firmware 4.93. This can be quite troublesome for those of us playing LittleBigPlanet online this year! Let’s explore what you should know and what you should and shouldn’t do now that the new update is live.

Main Takeaways

  • Do not update your PlayStation 3 if you play on LittleBigPlanet custom servers!
  • The fastest option to get back online, at your own risk, is to spoof your firmware. Instructions below.
  • Updated custom firmware (CFW) and hybrid firmware (HFW) usually are available within a few weeks to a month.

For the past several years, Sony has rolled out yearly updates to the PlayStation 3. These updates add new Blu Ray keys to the console, enabling it to play the latest Blu Ray discs. We’ve covered these yearly updates since firmware update 4.90 released in 2023.

A screenshot of the PlayStation 3 update screen. Text reads the following update data was found version 4.93 location USB device ok enter cancel

Screenshot by jackcaver

Do Not Update!

Being able to play the latest Blu Rays is great, but it’s a pain for LittleBigPlanet fans on custom servers. Sony doesn’t allow you to connect to PlayStation Network unless your console is on the latest firmware. Connecting to PlayStation Network is required to play on Beacon. However, updating to the latest firmware means that you can’t play a copy of LittleBigPlanet that’s been patched to connect to custom servers.

You have two options:

  1. Spoof your firmware version with WebMAN Mod
  2. Wait for updated custom firmware and hybrid firmware to be released by the homebrew community

Which Method Should I Choose?

If you want to keep playing online on LittleBigPlanet custom servers right now, spoofing your firmware version is the way to go. We recommend updating your custom firmware or hybrid firmware once those new versions become available.

Spoof Your Firmware Version

This trick sets up your console to report a different firmware version than it really is. This bypasses Sony’s firmware requirements for PlayStation Network and allows you to connect to custom servers without updating. We have not seen any evidence that firmware spoofing on PlayStation 3 is unsafe. However, remember that everything you do with your console you do at your own risk.

To spoof your firmware version, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure you are using a version of CFW or HFW. See the PS3 patching tutorial for Beacon for some helpful videos on this topic.
  2. Make sure you have the latest version of WebMAN, a homebrew plugin for PS3. This is the software that makes the spoof possible. Simply install the latest pkg on your PS3 if you don’t already have it.
  3. Add a new file called ps3-updatelist.txt to the root of your dev_hdd0 directory on your PlayStation 3. You can use WebMAN’s FTP feature to achieve this with your operating system’s file explorer or with an FTP client like FileZilla. The contents of the file are shown below.
  4. Reboot. Enable HEN and connect to PSN!
Dest=83;CompatibleSystemSoftwareVersion=1.0000-;
Dest=83;ImageVersion=00000404;SystemSoftwareVersion=1.0000;CDN=http://0/PS3UPDAT.PUP;CDN_Timeout=1;

Dest=84;CompatibleSystemSoftwareVersion=1.0000-;
Dest=84;ImageVersion=00000404;SystemSoftwareVersion=1.0000;CDN=http://0/PS3UPDAT.PUP;CDN_Timeout=1;

You can also check out this video, which helped Beacon user crop420duster.

Guide by Starguard Captain (Beacon moderation lead) Yukix64.

Accessing Your PS3 Via FTP

Never done this before? Here’s some steps.

  1. Drag and drop the file with the right file name (ps3-updatelist.txt) to the root directory of dev_hdd0 on your PS3.
  2. Find your PlayStation 3’s local IP address. If you have WebMAN installed, press Start and Select together to display it. It will look something like ‘192.168.1.1’ or something similar.
  3. Use the local IP address to connect to the PS3 from a computer using an FTP client. You can use Windows Explorer to do this by typing “ftp://192.168.1.1” or whatever the IP is. Make sure HEN is running, otherwise WebMAN won’t run the FTP server.
  4. Create a .txt file on your computer that has the above code.

Update to 4.93 Custom or Hybrid Firmware

This has historically been a preferred method for many players for a couple of reasons:

  1. You get the latest CFW/HFW features.
  2. You will have the updated Blu Ray keys with this method, meaning you can run the latest Blu Ray movies on your PS3.

Once CFW and HFW are available, we’ll report on their release and provide instructions to update.

What Changed?

We are still learning exactly what changed in PlayStation 3 update 4.93. Homebrew developer LuanTeles posted their analysis of the new firmware on PSX-Place. This includes a number of changes, such as:

  • New Blu Ray encryption keys
  • An update to the PlayStation 3’s authentication method
  • Four new SSL certificates
  • Other minor changes to OS plugins

Stay Updated

We’re keeping a close eye on the situation. Connect with us on Discord to be the first to hear when new CFW and HFW release for PlayStation 3! You can also get technical help from the community and discover all the great things LBP Union has to offer!

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