While Sony provides a good warranty period on the PSP, broken LCD screens aren't
covered at all which leaves a lot of people out in the cold when the precious device
goes crashing to the floor. Lots of other things can go wrong too, and even the best
warranty in the world will run out sooner or later. The good news here though is
that you don't have to rely on Sony to fix your PSP and in many cases you don't
need any help at all. Remember though that if anybody other than Sony repairs it,
forever and for good.

On the up side, if your PSP looks like one of these in the photographs you can have
it fixed up good as new for the grand sum of $89 rather than forking out $200 odd
the various parts that tend to break, as well as links to learn more about them.
Where applicable, these pages also offer some information on things you can do
yourself to fix it and you may end up not needing to send it anywhere all.

On the navigation bar across the top of the page you'll see the links to the main PSP
repair pages, FAQ's, how to send one in for repair, and so on. If you can't find what
you need you can send me an email at LBrown@psprepairservice.com and I'll try to
Thanks, Lynn Brown
R-trigger / main cable
Connects the motherboard to the
power switch PCB. Can get crushed if
the PSP is dropped or just squeezed
too hard. Can cause problems with
power. Click here for the general
repair page.
L-trigger / directional pad cable
All on one pressure-sensitive cable
that often wears out over time either
causing an always-on effect or no
response. A bad main cable can cause
this too. Click here for further info.
UMD drive
All sorts of things can cause a disc
reading problem. The outer black and
the laser mechanism can get jammed
up too. Click here for info.
LCD screen
This one's pretty self
explanatory. The
when the screen's
rarely anything else
damaged. The LCD
screen page has the
relevant info.
Power switch PCB
The internal switch
that turns the PSP
on breaks off
sometimes. Also
susceptible to water
damage if the PSP is
played with wet
hands. Several
things can cause a
powering on
problem though so
please click here to
see if a new switch
is really what you
need.
Button bar cable
Another pressure sensitive cable but a little
tougher than the other ones. The "HOME"
button wears out a lot and the whole thing can
be damaged in a good fall. Several things can
cause problems with these buttons though so
click here please for further info.
Analog stick
Unfortunately these can wear out
pretty easily and the stick itself
can break off without too much
trouble either. There's more info
on the analog stick page and
there's a kit available if you'd like
to fix it yourself.
Copyright 2002
All content is the property of Xbox Repair Service, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
"Xbox" is the registered trademark of Microsoft Inc and "PSP" belongs to Sony
This site is not affiliated with Microsoft or Sony in any way. The information contained herein is not condoned or
supported by Microsoft or Sony. It is purely the result of private enterprise, personal
research, and personal experience.
Please use common sense when working with electronics. I am not responsible for loss of data or any damages to
yourself or your gaming console though the risk is minimal. Consoles mailed in for repair and remaining unpaid will
be considered abandoned property after 30 days.
Products and kits offered are guaranteed to fix only the problems described for that item.
Refunds must be claimed for any reason within ten days of product ship date.
Parts swapping is closely monitored, only the actual item shipped will be accepted for refund.
Welcome to my website. My name is Lynn Brown and
I'm a professional game repair tech based in Oklahoma
City. To the right I have some lovely shots of what a
broken LCD screen looks like in a Sony PSP. While this
is by far the most common part to break on a PSP lots
of other things can go wrong too, and this site is here to
help you get it back on the road again as quickly and
painlessly as possible.  I pretty much handle all the
repairs myself but some of them are quite simple and
there's no reason in the world your average Joe can't
do the same job given the right tools and most
importantly the right instructions. There's no need for
any electronic experience whatsoever, just the ability
to operate a screwdriver, and if you can follow a recipe
you'll have no trouble at all following the step-by-step
instructions provided with the do-it-yourself kits
available for Sony's PSP system.
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