When the makers of PS Jailbreak launched their PS Downgrade USB key just a few weeks ago it was advertised to work on PS3 firmware version 3.42 “and beyond”. While the downgrade key did actually work on firmware version 3.50, Sony has just rolled out firmware version 3.55 and it’s being reported that the downgrade functionality is now disabled.
Eric Lempel, VP of Network Operations for Sony, posted about the update Monday on the PlayStation Blog. “A new PS3 system software update, v3.55, will be released soon. This is a minor update that adds a security patch,” Lempel wrote.
When those utilizing downgrade tools ran the firmware update on their consoles, they soon realized that it wasn’t a minor change for them.
“Looks like they’ve patched it… You’re still able to put the PS3 in Factory/Service mode; however, step 5 to 10 (referring to the tutorial here) is a no go. The system continues to boot into Factory/Service mode, even with the modified 3.41 PUP and the first Lv2diag.self file loaded alone on a USB drive. Fortunately the second Lv2diag.self works and returns the PS3 to retail mode. So in other words: you cannot [currently] downgrade from PS3 firmware 3.55,” said Greg from PS3-Hacks.com.
Some forum users on PSX-Scene.com back up Greg’s findings, and note that proxys are working again for the time being, but will likely be disabled again in another week once Sony has confirmed that the rollout is complete and there are no major bugs.
So, for now, those who want to run homebrew applications or backups are once again stuck with no PSN access if they choose not to install the firmware. Also, Sony will likely repeat their past move of requiring this latest firmware release in order to play future game releases. It looks like it’s back to the drawing board again for PSJailbreak and the PS3 hacker community.
