PlayStation 4 (PS4) 1.76 Hacking – A Beginners Guide To PS4 Hacks and Homebrew

Discussion in 'Playstation 4 Guides' started by InsaneNutter, Jul 10, 2016.

  1. InsaneNutter

    InsaneNutter Resident Nutter Staff Member

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    Current Status Of PlayStation 4 (PS4) Hacking:

    The PS4 has been hacked very early in to the consoles life cycle, thanks to webkit vulnerabilities and FreeBSD exploits. The PS4’s web browser is powered by webkit and the PS4 operating system is based on FreeBSD.

    Currently you need a PS4 on firmware 1.76, which was released on the 2nd September 2014, you can update to 1.76, however you can’t downgrade to it. As this firmware was released almost two years ago, chances are the majority of people out there have upgraded well past firmware 1.76. If you have then you can't currently take advantage of the hacks in these tutorials.

    However, for those who haven’t I will teach you how to get started with PS4 hacking and show you a few neat things you can do.


    Upgrading to 1.76:

    First if you haven’t already upgraded to 1.76 you can do so offline by downloading the PlayStation 4 System Recovery 1.76 and upgrading from a USB memory stick.

    If your PS4 is on a firmware version lower than 1.76 then follow this guide here to upgrade: PS4 Offline Update Using Safe Mode [Update to 1.76]


    Blocking Updates / the PlayStation Network (PSN):

    Before connecting your PS4 to your home network I would advise blocking the PSN servers, this will stop the PS4 from downloading the latest system update from the PSN which it will do automatically.

    The good news is that the PS4 will not automatically install updates unless you have set it to do so when sleeping in the system settings. Even if the PS4 has downloaded an update, once PSN access is blocked it will not nag you about installing an update.

    This step is not essential, however highly recommended, mainly to stop you or someone else accidentally updating the PS4: How To PS4 Block Updates / Block Access To the PSN


    Let the hacking begin, loading the PS4 Playground:

    On the PS4 you can’t use the web browser without been signed in to the PSN, however you can’t sign in to the PSN without updating your PS4. The good new is when you go to Settings > User Manual this is actually a webpage loaded with the PS4 web browser, giving us a way to load web pages on the PS4 and then exploit the PS4 without been signed in to the PSN.

    This is where it can get a bit tricky, the easiest way to accomplish this is with a DNS Host Override on your Home Router. However if your home router is not capable of doing this, you can use a DNS server hosted by a 3rd party.

    All this and the setup is explained in my PS4 Playground - Easily Hack / Exploit The PS4 From Settings > User Guide tutorial.


    I’m Ready For Some Action, What Can I Do With My PS4?



    Enable the PS4 Debug Settings:

    So if you have got this fair you should have prepared your PS4 / Home network to allow your PS4 to easily load the PS4 Playground. Now we can get to the interesting stuff. The first thing I would do from here is learn how to enable the PS4 Debug Settings, which I have created a tutorial for: Enable the PS4 Debug Setting on PS4 Firmware 1.76

    Enable Blu-Ray Playback On The PS4, Without The PSN:

    Now you have learned how to enable the PS4 Debug Settings, you can enable Blu-ray Playback on your PS4 without connecting to the PSN: How To Enable Blu-Ray Playback On The PS4 Without The PSN


    Install PKG's On The PS4:

    Now you have Debug Menu access on your PS4 you can also install PKG files from a USB Memory stick, as it stands at the moment it's not possible to install unsigned PKG files, only signed ones such as the PT Silent Hills PS4 Demo. However once unsigned PKG files can be installed this could open up some great possibilities, so i'd still say its a handy thing to learn.

    Learn how to Install PS4 PKG Files On Firmware 1.76


    Install Linux On the PS4:

    Finally the most interesting thing you can currently do on the PS4 is load a full Linux distribution from a USB hard drive. The Linux distro used in this guide is PS4 Linux 0.1.1 by D-ecks. This is essentially Fedora 23 Linux with kernel patches from Fail0verflow and 3d acceleration / Steam support from OsirisX. The end result is you have great compatibility with existing x86-64 applications.

    If you have done everything else in this getting started guide then getting Linux up and running is very easy to do, have a go yourself with my Install Linux on PS4 Firmware 1.76 Tutorial

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    Mxcastle and o.shueib like this.

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