Finalizing Setup

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Required Reading

We will now setup applications and plugins such as the following:

  • Vita Homebrew Browser (downloads and installs other homebrew applications)
  • UpdateBlocker (completely prevents system updates from being accidentally installed)
  • NoNpDrm (allows for encrypted games and applications to be used)
  • reF00D (allows for transparently decrypting games and applications of any firmware version)
  • DownloadEnabler (allows any file type to be downloaded with the browser)
  • shellbat (displays exact battery percentage in the status bar)
  • pngshot (improves the built-in screenshot utility)

In order to install the necessary .vpk (content package) files on your device, we use the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to copy the files to your device’s memory card.

What You Need

Instructions

Section I - Prep Work

  1. Launch the VitaShell application
  2. Press (Start) to open the VitaShell settings
  3. Press (Cross) on “SELECT button” to change the mode to “FTP”
    • Alternatively, you can leave this setting on “USB” and transfer all files via a USB cable for the remainder of this guide
    • Note that the USB transfer mode will start you in the ux0 partition
    • Additionally, some files will be hidden in USB mode on Windows; you must enable “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” and disable “Hide protected operating system files” in the File Explorer options in order to see all files
  4. Press (Circle) to close the VitaShell settings
  5. Press (Select) to enable FTP access on your device
  6. Open your FTP client on your computer
  7. Enter the IP Address and Port displayed on your device
  8. Using your FTP client, navigate to ux0: -> data/
    • The ux0: partition corresponds to the memory card of your device (on the PS Vita 1000, this partition will always be the external memory card; on the PS Vita 2000 and PS TV, this partition will either be the external memory card if one is inserted, or the built-in memory card otherwise)
    • The ur0: partition corresponds to the internal system memory which is always present on all devices (on the PS Vita 2000 and PS TV, this is not the same as the built-in memory card!)
  9. Transfer VitaHBBrowser.vpk to the data folder
  10. Transfer UpdateBlocker.vpk to the data folder
  11. Using your FTP client, navigate to ux0:
  12. Delete the tai folder if it exists
  13. Navigate to ur0: -> tai/
  14. Transfer config.txt to the tai folder
    • Overwrite (replace) the existing config.txt file
  15. Transfer nonpdrm.skprx to the tai folder
  16. Transfer reF00D.skprx to the tai folder
  17. Transfer keys.bin to the tai folder
  18. Transfer download_enabler.suprx to the tai folder
  19. Transfer shellbat.suprx to the tai folder
  20. Transfer pngshot.suprx to the tai folder
  21. Press (Circle) on your device to close the FTP connection

Section II - Installing VPKs

  1. On your device, navigate to ux0: -> data/
  2. Press (Square) on each of the .vpk files to mark them
  3. Press (Triangle) to open the menu, then select “More” -> “Install all” to install the marked files
  4. Press (Cross) to confirm the install
  5. Press (Cross) to continue the install each time you are prompted about extended permissions
  6. Press (Triangle) to open the menu, then select “Delete” to delete the marked files
  7. Press (Cross) to confirm the deletion
  8. Close the VitaShell application

Section III - Blocking Updates

  1. Launch the UpdateBlocker application
  2. Press (Square) to block update downloads
  3. Wait for the process to complete and return to the menu
  4. Press (Cross) to block system updates
  5. Your device will reboot when the process completes
    • If your device does not have Ensō, you will need to manually launch and exit h-encore to enable homebrew
    • To confirm that everything is working, you should now see a battery percentage in the status bar

Section IV - PSN Access

  1. Launch the Settings application
  2. Navigate to HENkaku Settings
  3. Check “Enable PSN spoofing”
  4. Check “Enable Version Spoofing”
  5. Navigate to “Spoofed Version”
  6. Enter “3.70” into the box
    • Should a new firmware version be released in the future, you must change the spoofed version to match in order to access PSN
  7. Close the Settings application

Section V - Cleanup

  1. Launch the Content Manager application
  2. Select “Manage Content on Memory Card”
  3. Select “PS Vita”
  4. Delete the following applications if they exist (note that, depending on your install method, some or all of these applications may be missing):
    • “ensō”
    • “modoru 戻る”
    • “molecularShell”
  5. Users on firmware version 3.60 should additionally delete the following application if it exists:
    • “h-encore”
  6. Close the Content Manager application

You can now easily install new homebrew applications just by using Vita Homebrew Browser. Alternatively, you can also browse for new homebrew applications on VitaDB.

It is not recommended to make modifications to your Custom Firmware installation by installing homebrew applications intended for advanced users (such as “Enso EX”). Doing so without fully understanding the system can lead to a BRICK!

For information on replacing your Sony memory card with alternative storage (such as a microSD card or USB drive), check out the StorageMgr page.

For information on installing CFW to the built-in PSP emulator, check out the Adrenaline page.