Welcome to the PSP repair section of the website. My name is Lynn Brown and I'm a
professional video game repair tech based in Oklahoma City.  I've long offered a stock
standard repair service to both local and long distance customers, and taken great pride in
creating a small but successful business based entirely on making people happy. Adults and
children alike have always enjoyed playing various games and at some point in time every
single one of them has looked on in horror as their absolute favorite toy either gets smashed
to smithereens or just dies a slow but natural death. This is where I get to come in, and if
not save the day, hopefully help to put things right again with a minimum amount of fuss
and/or damage to the all-important wallet area.

The run-away favorite for customers near and far has been the do-it-yourself repair kits
I've put together that make it safe, simple, and sometimes even fun, to take care of your
own common repairs without any extra help at all. They're specifically designed for the
"electronically challenged" which pretty much guarantees a successful repair for anyone
that can read and knows how to operate a screwdriver. I'm just getting started with the PSP
repair kits though and currently only have one for replacing an analog stick assembly but
more will be forthcoming as time permits.
Meanwhile I have to stick with doing the majority of PSP repairs the old fashioned way and
handle the job myself.  The good thing about PSP's is that unlike an 11 pound Xbox they do
travel very well in the mail. Sony made a sturdy, compact product, designed specifically for
portability, and therefore it's pretty much 'shake-proof'. I offer all the standard PSP repair
services and a few that are a little more specialized.

To the left you'll see the links to the main PSP repair pages and below I have a picture of a
PSP and a little bit of info on all the major components. Most likely you'll find the relevant
information for your particular repair needs but if not just send me an email with a
description of the problem and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Also, if nothing else, please read the "UPDATING" info at the bottom of this page. It's very
easy for a person to accidentally kill a PSP completely by improper updating and I cannot
stress enough how important it is for people with younger children to learn how to handle
this process themselves. For those with older children, just letting them know what can
happen can save everyone a lot of heartache and money down the track.

You're welcome to use the submission forms, call, or email if you have any questions. My
UMD DRIVE - The plastic door on the back of the PSP can break
off or the internal metal door can become bent out of shape and
not close properly. The UMD's themselves may also try to pop
back out. The internal laser and disc motor can break or wear
out causing disc read error or no response to a UMD being
inserted. Check that your UMD's are in good shape also, the
clear plastic should not be loose and should sit perfectly flush to
the outer white plastic ring.
POWER SWITCH PCB -
The switch itself can break
off causing no power and
a loose feeling in the
external slider switch.
Internal connection can
break causing no power
and the pressure sensitive
action buttons can
become worn and stop
responding. If the power
light comes on and goes
off by itself see
"UPDATING" below.
BUTTON BAR CABLE - Non-functioning buttons can be
caused by damage from a fall, excessive pressure, a
faulty POWER SWITCH PCB, or an ill-fitting faceplate.
***** UPDATING *****
Way back on page 122 of my stock standard PSP owners manual, in little tiny letters, it says:-

"Notice
During an update:
- Do not remove the UMD.
- Do not turn off the system.
- Do not disconnect the AC adaptor.
If an update is canceled before completion, the system software may be damaged, requiring
servicing to repair or exchange."

______________________________________________________________________________

Please please please be careful doing updates. Follow the instructions EXACTLY. The battery needs to be fully
charged, the AC adaptor needs to be plugged in, and don't press ANY buttons unless it tells you to. If there is ANY
disruption it will almost certainly "brick" your PSP.  What happens during an update is basically that the
firmware, or brains, of the PSP are deleted and copied over with newer version firmware. If there's an update
interruption there's no brains and therefore the PSP is about as valuable and fun as a brick. I can fix this problem
in most PSP's by reflashing the firmware with the original factory operating system. This service is $49 which
includes return postage and everything.

Updates can be done via computer download, wireless connection, or directly from a newer version UMD game.
Please disregard the wireless method as that's the shakiest connection of all. UMD updates are fine as long as the
PSP is operating properly but if there's any kind of disc reading problem this method should definitely be avoided
as any read error will also result in a "brick". Be sure  the UMD itself is in perfect condition, clean and  
scratch-free. Computer download is my own preferred method but you'll still want to carefully follow the
instructions word for word. Just as a warning, don't update during a storm or on a windy day if your electricity
tends to flicker.

For those of you with younger kids please learn how to do updates yourself. Even if you don't know the back of
the PSP from the front the instructions are clear and relatively easy to follow. Sony comes out with a new
firmware version every few months and as they do, the games they put out will only work with the latest version.
New games will not play until after you do the update and that's where 90% of bricked PSP's come from. Young
kids tend to get impatient and don't understand the update process. To them the PSP isn't working right and all
these messages are coming up on the screen that they don't normally see. With just a single click it can literally
be 'game over' for your PSP so whenever you get new games it's a good time to confiscate the PSP for a few
minutes and check to see if an update is required. To update from the UMD just load the game (or get your kid to
load it for you :-) and see if it says you need to update before starting the game. If so, click no to the "update
now" prompt, remove the game, fully charge the battery, plug the PSP back into the charger, turn it on, then load
the game again and follow the on-screen instructions and do the update. Alternatively, you can go to the Sony
website and download from there:- www.us.playstation.com/psp

For those of you with older kids please make sure they fully understand the process. You might also want to take
the opportunity to point out that downgrading the PSP, what all the hackers talk about on the Internet, also
causes a lot of bricks. Even if they do it right there's all sorts of specially made downgraders out there that some
rotten people put out to purposefully brick your PSP just because they can. Downgrading is done to play
"homebrew" or pirated games and is very popular amongst teenagers. The nature of this industry attracts all
sorts of people and some of them appear to find it funny tricking others into ruining their PSP's so that's definitely
something they need to be aware of.

If it's too late and your PSP is already bricked the standard symptoms are that the green power light will come on
for 15 seconds or so and then go off by itself. In addition there won't be any start up music and the screen will
stay black, no signs of life other than the green light or orange light if you have it plugged into the charger. As
mentioned above though it's almost always fixable and paying the $49 is a whole lot better than having to pop for
a new PSP.  If this looks like what you need I'll be happy to take care of it for you and as always diagnosis is
completely free. If it turns out that something else is causing the problem I'll give you a proper quote by email
once I locate the damage and you can decide from there whether to continue with the repair or not. To initiate a
repair request just click here  and fill out the submission form accordingly. Thanks, Lynn
R-TRIGGER/MAIN CABLE
Connects the motherboard
to the POWER SWITCH
PCB. Pressure sensitive
R-trigger pad can become
worn and stop responding
or show "always on".
Cable can be damaged in
and/or eccentric button
reactions throughout the
PSP.
off, internals can break causing
a grinding feel to the stick, or the game
character will be stuck travelling in one
direction only. An ill-fitting faceplate can
cause eccentric behavior also.
LCD SCREEN and BACKLIGHT
A broken LCD screen will
look like it has spiderweb
cracks or blacked out areas
on the screen. A broken
backlight will show an all
black screen even though the
start up lights and sounds
are normal.
L-TRIGGER/DIRECTIONAL PAD CABLE -
causing no reaction or show "always on".
An ill-fitting faceplate can also cause the
directional buttons to activate the ANALOG
STICK actions and/or cause eccentric
response from the directional buttons
themselves.