"The following Knowledge Center article may help resolve your problem"

Well it may be accurate once Sony figures out the problem and a solution, since most likely they will updated their knowledge center article with the most up to date information.

Since Sony has already admisted that their most recent system software update has caused the issue, I would sure hope that they will go and fix what it had broke, and replace the PS3 if needed.

(And this is assuming that the OP did not illegally mod the system in a way that cause the break, and in that case I would not blame Sony.)

When my Blu-Ray drive went out, mind you with Sony being "aware" of the issue, they still required me to pay $180 for the repair. If it wasn't for the fact I had the 60gb version, I would have bought a new one. Sony's customer service is sub par to say the least. I hope they replace his system free of charge and that they don't put him through hell.

My employer (a certain anti-virus company) has a knowledge base with numerous articles of this nature. However, all of ours also recommend opening a case and getting it escalated so we’ll know how pressing the issue really is. Even our outsourced support personnel know this, which tells me something about Sony’s quality of support.

Online updates can be a right sod. My Garmin nuvi 200W was bricked by one. However, and I can't praise Garmin highly enough for this, when I rang them they apologised and asked me to post it to them. Two days later a new 205W appeared in the post.

Garmin 1, Sony 0.

What does he mean exactly by "bricked"? No lights whatsoever on the unit? Booting up with an error? No A/V outputs?

Sony is usually good about such things, but they will drag their feet on it.

My PS3 updated just fine. What I don't like is the interface changed to something that feels spammy. Instead of logging into your user account and being put onto the 'start game' option, you're put onto the Playstation Network Preview or some such thing. There you've got options to view the latest movies offered, see game demos, etc.

No. It's not horrible. But damn, why do I need to be advertised to on a machine I paid good money for?

@Taliskan:

Typically, the system either won't load at all, give you a different color light when you power on, or will give you a strange Japanese error.

When the 2.1 firmware (I think... it was something like that) came out a year ago, it bricked ours. Well. "bricked" is an overstatement as it would play downloaded games/PS2 games/regular DVDs... everything except blu-ray. Which, of course, includes PS3 games. After getting a copy of our receipt, they sent us a coffin to mail it back to them in.

I can't say how it would have been resolved, because before we could mail it out our house was broken into and it was stolen (along with the RRoD'd Xbox that we were dealing with at the same time - take that, thieves!). Sony was willing to do something about it, but did require it to be within warranty.

@quail: You can turn that off so that it starts up on the screen where it shows you what disc is in there.

All they did on the update is add more PlayStation Store icons, add the ability for downloading more expensive (although higher quality) themes, premium themes, and a What's New section and ticker (which isn't optional like the Information Board was) so it can show you what else you can pay for.

They also removed the start-up chime! And when you start up the system, it doesn't say Sony Computer Entertainment when you start up. I'm a nerd, so it upsets me lol.

At least there are no ads on the XMB......yet. And if they do, hopefully it won't be for long. [consumerist.com]

@wenhaver: Sounds like a real windfall, if you've got insurance to cover it. I expect they'd pay you the value of working consoles, which you can then use to buy new ones. If only they still made PS3s the way they used to...

As much as I enjoy my PS3 (and my xbox360) I loathe those firmware updates. I don't think I've -ever- brought home a game and been able to play it right away. It's always a 30 minute download and install of updates. I just don't seem to have that issue with the xbox (just tons of other issues there).

@Nidoking: We did, and it did cover the cost of new consoles. We weren't able to get another 80GB with the PS2 back-compat/SD card reader, which sucked. It was our own fault, however, as we didn't replace it right away thanks to getting smacking around by the recession.

I will say, however, that it was really nice to just be able to log into our PSN account and re-download all the games we had already paid for with no fuss.

@shockwaver: Thank you! I recently got a PS3 and I seem to spend most of the time downloading and installing all sort of updates instead of playing games.

I even bought a game off PSN yesterday and THAT had to get updated before it ran. Didn't I just download it? Why didn't you let me download the latest version as opposed to an older one that then needs updating?

Crazy and infuriating. I did some googling and I felt like I was all alone in the world until you posted. I love you shockwaver.

My PS3 has been just fine after the update (but I don't agree with all the aesthetic changes). However, one of my friends says he has problems having his TV realize that his PS3 is connected to HDMI. Sometimes, it's fine, and other times, it acts strangely and all the colors are messed up. It could be his TV or his cable, but he's never had this problem before and it started as soon as he downloaded the firmware. Anyone else have this problem?

@davere: My sentiments, exactly. I downloaded Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, started the game, and was immediately prompted to download an update that was larger than the original file. Does the word "patch" mean nothing to Sony?

@coan_net: there are no illegal mod in the market for the ps3. ive looked into it. (for research...yeah thats it)

@skitzogreg: Oh, they're going to charge him.

I'm currently trying to get my 60 gig's blu-ray drive repaired a SECOND time. My drive broke just 2 months after the 3 month extended warranty ended, and it's been a nightmare trying to get the fee reduced. Highest person at the repair number couldn't do anything other than offer a free game, Sony never responded to a letter I sent to their corporate HQ, and now I'm in the middle of a claim I filed with my Credit Card company.

Seriously, I went with Sony not only for the blu-ray drive, but because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of a red ring. At least Microsoft repairs the systems for free with a 3 year extended warranty.

@coan_net: There is no way to "illegally" mod a PS3. You can mod the PS3 in a way which voids the warranty, but there is nothing "illegal" about modding your own property, or someone else's property with their consent.

@quail: "No. It's not horrible. But damn, why do I need to be advertised to on a machine I paid good money for?"

And that nice, shiny TV you bought and paid for, and that cable bill you pay every month, surely you shouldn't see any ads on either of those things since you paid for them, right?

All joking aside, it's a revenue stream that's brand new, and they don't know what they're doing. In an age where we can TiVo the ads away, companies are desperately trying to get more money.

This story is missing some details...

1. Define "bridked" - does the console not power on at all? Does it power on, but not display A/V?

2. Did anything go wrong during the firmware update? Power outages, and ISP crashes can cause problems when you're installing new firmware to any device, not just a game console.

If the install process went smoothly (no issues, or user interference during the install), and the console really is bricked (not just a "hold in the power button 'til you get the default settings screen" situation)then yea, Sony should absolutely take care of the guy. Get us all the facts Phil, and let's see what's what.

@Taliskan: Saying someone is "good about such things" but will "drag their feet on it" is a bit of an oxymoron...

@skztr: You might want to look up the DMCA sometime, unless you live outside the US.

@skztr: Moding it to play hacked/copied games might be construed as an illegal mod.

@Chris J. Stone:

It most likely ISN'T the cable. With HDMI, you'll either get 100% of the signal, or none of it at all.

@FooSchnickens: hehe, what I mean is... will they fix it? Probably. Are they going to do it overnight? No, you are looking at least a couple of weeks.

To me that's still good service, albeit not the fastest - at least it will get done. So the phrases two can go together.

@skitzogreg: Do you know if there is a way to roll-back the firmware update? I know you can do this on older Sony televisions, but I haven't heard about such for PS3.

@Chris J. Stone: YES! It's driving me crazy. Sometimes it boots up and won't work at all (no signal). Sometimes, when I fiddle with it for a while (flip the receiver inputs, flip the TV inputs) an image will just appear. It sometimes takes me 5-10 minutes to get a signal and it's super annoying when I just want to pop in a Blu-ray and watch a movie.

Thanks for the comment above, that they removed the start up chime! That will help me in troubleshooting, as I was positive the receiver should at least be giving me the start up sound.

@JB4GDI:

Sony Playstations having issues with Optical Media?

Say it ain't so!

Sony makes garbage optics (Although they kind-of fixed that after the V13 PS2, V11/12 used the same mechanism but self-destructed when the drive got confused). They also only make replacement parts available for a very short while (Less than three years after the PS2 was released Sony quit making the model of laser used in them, if you were unlucky, you could have bought a new console off the shelf that came with a laser that was out of production already!).

It always gives me a (sad) laugh when people buy the latest Playstation for something other than games (PS1: Audio CDs, PS2: DVDs, PS3: BluRay). The optical mechanism in all drives has a limited life, but Sony, in particular, makes some of the poorest.

Let the console spend its usable life being a game console, not your DVD/BluRay player!

@MBPedia: I should have been more specific, but I should have specified that I meant the game chime. You still hear the orchestra tuning up when the system starts up. Just in case you were confused.

Thanks for the help, I'll relay this information to him.

@Chris J. Stone: @Chris J. Stone: How do you turn it off? It's absolutely horrible.

@What The Geek:
Yep, if there's a chance that the firmware installed correctly to the flash memory, the problem may be easily solvable.

My PS3 kicked it on a Firmware upgrade a while back. After the install, it just wouldn't do anything (wavy lines came on, but it stalled there). I called Sony, they said it would cost 150 to send in and get fixed. I asked why I was being told to pay to get my console fixed when they REQUIRED the update for me to be able to use the system. They relented, sent me a coffin.

But I heard a rumor that they often will just send you a replacement, not the system you sent in. As I had bought a launch console, I didn't want to run the risk of getting one of the newer consoles without backwards compatibility. I did some research online and found that I could fix the problem myself by installing a new hard drive. So I went out to Frys, bought a 120 gig hard drive (an upgrade I'd been wanting to do anyway), installed it, and it worked fine. I put the old hard drive in a external enclosure to use as a travel drive and have problems with it from time to time. It seems the hard drive was the problem after all.

This latest upgrade went fine for me. And for who does it take 30 minutes for a firmware upgrade? It has never taken me more than a few minutes, five tops.

@shepd

You'd be surprised at the number of people who think that because it has the capability, that surely means it's part of the purpose.

I still have an old PS2 (got about 1 year after release) that not only works but still plays games just fine, though the DVD drive is -now- starting to make some noise. I only broke down and bought a slim because I worried that if I actually waited until the old PS2 died, I might be out of luck.

I've maybe watched DVDs on it twice, both times when my $30 DVD player crapped out mid-film. The secret to console system longevity is to use it for the intended purpose, as a console.

@sleze69: Only with the PS3, there's no way to actually do that, which renders the whole topic moot.

I think he's talking about say, doing a case mod, which while being something that will absolutely void your warranty, is far from being illegal.

the lastest firmware (3.0) also broke my ps3, here's what happened.

I was playing a game (off bluray) I finished, went back to XMB and did install.

the install download finished and began to install.

It reboots and then starts installing, during the install it fails and brings up an error code 8002F14E.

rebooting the ps3 brings you back to the re-install screen, it always fails around the same point.

I downloaded new firmware on a USB key, but it doesn't even check the USB key (I know because I have one that blinks when it's accessed).

I can't access the hidden "safe boot" menu, it just goes right back to reinstalling.

Sony might claim co-incidence, but I was playing a game right before this happened and it was fine. Seems to me even if somethings wrong that it shouldn't just fail like this and break your ps3 (perhaps a warning before installing, or having a backup).

@milqtost: It's in System Settings. Found this image online. [www.ps3news.com]

@shockwaver: I never really mind the downloads. Maybe it's because I'm easily distracted and can find things to do during that time, but it never bothers me as much as it seems to bother everyone else.

@Taliskan: You can't roll back to an older firmware version. In fact that's specifically addressed before you download an update. It gives you the illusion of having a choice in the matter when you really don't. Not if you want to play online, at any rate. It's either update or leave your console offline.

My console survived the update just fine, but I'd be pretty pissed if it had bricked it. I'd expect Sony to rectify that problem, given that it was the update rather than user-error that killed the system. That would be more indicative of a company that is "good about such things".

This isn't the first time an update has killed PS3 consoles. Does anyone remember how Sony handled that? I can't remember whether they charged folks to fix their screw-up, or if they did the right thing and fixed it for free.

I dont see how firmware updates are a nuisance, they only release them every few months.

And i see it as a benefit, im getting additional features and changes to the PS3 that i payed for.

They usually download and install for me no more then 15 minutes, but im on a 8 Mbps connection.

I dont know what connection speed the user was on and if he was on a Wifi connection.

@bassbeast: Cable is a little different, being that television has always been ad-driven. It's part of the price you pay for that particular form of entertainment. This is out of the blue, and is downright intrusive.

And yes there is a way to turn it off, but it doesn't seem to have stayed off for me. It shows up every time I turn the console on. I can turn it off for that session, but it's there again the next time out.

@What The Geek: Well, considering this isn't the first time that a PS3 update has bricked consoles, I'm willing to bet that there were no external influences that could have effected the install.

@Cyberxion101: I usually jsut read past that screen, but thanks for the information! :)

As for the troublesome 2.40, once Sony admitted it was a widespread issue they did repairs for free. For folks who had 2.41 and 2.42 issues it was hit or miss. Usually customers who griped got a free repair. This will likely be the same case.

@Chris J. Stone:

Another thing they did, which is actually really helpful, is make it so the battery charge indicator doesn't obscure the clock when you press the PS button during a game

I had the exact same problem. Downloaded the update, rebooted and now my 60 GB PS3 is bricked. Now I have a Beatles Rock Band set with no functioning PS3. Please, Sony, fix this issue so I don't have to bail for a Micro$oft 360 :*(

@Cyberxion101: Is it the fact the system uses Blu-Ray media that makes it unhackable or something else?

@Kyuso: But Sony bills their systems as a multimedia device, even going so far as calling it a computer entertainment system. I have a launch PS2 that still works and I used it to play games and movies up until I got a launch PS3 that I use for everything, photo album, music player, video player and game console. These are the devices intended purposes. Want a game only console, get a Wii.

None of my firmware updates have given me any trouble, although I usually wait a few days to see how it goes for everyone.

I haven't done this, but for future reference, you can make a small linux partition on the hdd, boot to that and temp flash the firmware back to whatever version you like - assuming you had it stored somewhere and didn't do it over the air, which most people do. But I'm sure there's a website out there that catalogs them.

I think he's mixing up Knowledge Base articles. The only "known issues" with the latest firmware is it causing some games to freeze, specifically Uncharted.

The fact that the person's PS3 just happened to die after the update was applied is probably coincidental. Every time an update comes out a extremely vocal minority complain that the update killed their PS3. The poster never mentioned what his/her problem was exactly, but I can tell you that firmware updates can't break the hardware.

Firmware can make the hardware unusable, but since everyone has the same hardware and firmware, if there was actually a compatibility problem with the firmware and hardware it would affect everyone, not just a handful of people.

@golddog: Actually you can do that now too dep. on what you mean by bricked...Google "PS3 USB boot loader".

If you can't get to the xmb when you power it up, you could pull the hdd and do it on a PC...just make sure you format/and partition it appropriately. This of course assumes that said bricking doesn't mean the hdd failed.

Firmware update issues should be handled and repaired outside of standard warranty limits. If a firmware update bricks a machine, it should be the responsibility of the company to reflash the machine free of charge whether it is still covered under the initial manufacturer's warranty or not. In a way there should be a warranty to the firmware upgrade each time they come out or give the user the choice of updating or not while allowing full access to all features whether updated or not.

If a company forces you to update, and the update goes wrong, they should back up their forced update with actions.

Greetings. I am the original tipster who sent this in and I will attempt to clear up the information.

My PS3 in question is a first gen 60gb model. I have been very happy with it up until now. On 9/9/9 my PS3 was working just fine. Upgrading to Firmware 3.00 was a condition of playing the Beatles Rockband game. The firmware seemed to install just fine. No ISP issues, power outages, etc.

While the PS3 is not a "paperweight", "borked" is a better term than "bricked".It no longer plays optical disks which is what I use the thing for 98% of the time so it's a big deal. I can boot to the XMB so I am hopeful that when Sony releases a new firmware patch I'll be able to get the issue resolved.

Here's a rough timeline:
I loaded the game and was informed I needed to upgrade firmware to play. I quit the game and ran through the normal steps to upgrade firmware. I managed to play a couple of songs in Rockband before my first in-game freeze. I rebooted and played a few more songs before the second in-game freeze. After the second in-game freeze the PS3 would no longer load optical media. It recognizes that there is a disk in the drive but trying to play anything results in the system hanging on a black screen.

Sony customer support are the ones who pointed me to the knowledgebase article and the playstation blog where they acknowledge "isolated incidents". Yes, I mentioned that this was in regards to Rockband and not Uncharted. I am not mixing up knowledgebase articles.

My overall experience with the PS3 has been overwhelmingly positive. It's worked like a champ since I got it during the initial product roll out. I recognize that this is a "first world problem" but I'm pretty upset that one cornerstone of my home theater (DVD/BluRay/Games) has been broken by this firmware upgrade. I also had the rug pulled out from under a planned afternoon of fun, playing Beatles Rockband with my significant other. Being Beatles fans we had a certain level of excitement and anticipation built up and shot down.