Playstation 3 Turns Into Useless Brick After Firmware Update 2.01

by Derek Matias on November 30, 2007 at 3:10 am

Want your own BrickStation 3? Upgrade to 2.01 and hold your breath…

Starting last week, PS3 owners started reporting that their next gen console would not read their Blu-Ray discs. Some users reported that their PS3 would not even read DVDs. All reports started to come in after gamers made the upgrade to 2.01.

“I inserted Blu Ray Disc into PS3 for first time and movie appeared under video tab. It started to play and i started skipping previews and then all of a sudden screen went blank. I went back to PS3 home screen and tried ejected and inserting Blu Ray movie back into PS3 and the icon fails to appear under the video tab. I then tried DVD and that did not appear either. PS3 Games still work. Please help!”

Today when I myself tried to update my PS3 to 2.01, I was left with a half bricked PS3. What I mean by this is that I can longer use any media that resembles a severely flattened donut on my PS3. This includes cds, dvds, games, and blu-ray disks. Some of you may be familiar with the message of “Disc Unreadable/ Unrecognized”, however this does not even show up when a disc is inserted.

Tomorrow I am heading over to Best Buy to swap it out, and perhaps you should you should too if you have the best buy warranty. However, while this solution will get you back up and running quickly, you may experience the same issues again as soon as you run the firmware update.

In the past if a problem had occurred after a firmware update, Sony has researched the problem and put out a fix relatively quickly. Therefore, if you are having this problem and relate it to the 2.01 firmware update, I suggest you either ring or email Sony, or bombard their Official Playstation Blog with comments until they take notice.

This problem is only affecting a minority of Playstation 3 owners, but since it is happening to me I felt it was necessary to inform you all.

Here is a video of the problem:

Source: boardsus.playstation.com

Share This:

Tags: Firmware-Update-2.01

Related Posts:

Comments »

oli
on November 30, 2007 5:11 am

yay go swap your ps3!!!! microsoft wins all we are all lame blah blah blah what type of article is this? where did you get your higher education regarding journalism? sigh* life is hard this generation.
GPF
on November 30, 2007 5:15 am

Errrmmm… right.

Are you this story is true and not made-up?

How many reports have you had?

Why do people contact you with “Please Help!” when Sony might be the ideal starting place for a nonfunctional console?

Far too vague to be credible.
theturk
on November 30, 2007 5:43 am

This is not news, it’s “The sky is falling” because a few of the five million+ people who own PS3 are having problems.
Big Deal!
I agree with oli and gpf on this one
Root Ginger
on November 30, 2007 5:47 am

What a load of rubbish. I have 2.01 with no problems. Nothing on the official Playstation forums either.

This is nothing more than you trying to get more traffic to your site by making up stories.
Vick Nolte
on November 30, 2007 6:18 am

Its just a dissinformation campaign to thrown some dirt on Sony and its PERFECT console, all the xbox fanboys should be thinking on saving for a PS3
Vick Nolte
on November 30, 2007 6:29 am

Sony wont let us down they are japanese and japanese do things right, not like us americans and XBOX its american, by the way I drive a Toyota and I have a PS2 in my car, I play my psp everywhere, and Nintendo Its Japanese, I recognize that USA started developing the videogames, but the japanese perfect everything they copy and they dont loose easily, just ask Nintendo, they give us the Virtual Boy, The N64, The Cube, and they are number 1 right know, guess who will be the leader in 2 years from Know………..PS3 THATS CORRECT!!!!!!!!!
Roger Clementou
on November 30, 2007 6:41 am

HEY MAN PLEASE HELP ME!! I THINK MY XBOX 360 JUST GOT ANOTHER RED RING, WHAT IF WE SWAP CONSOLES AND I TOLD YOU HOW MGS4 4 WAS, WHILE YOU KEEP PAYING FOR THE XBOX LIVE SERVICE THAT I LOVE SO MUCH, BY THE WAY I AM GOING TO NEED YOUR PSP TO WATCH MOVIES FROM YOUR PS3 DATA BECAUSE MY BELOVED 360 DOESNT WANT TO CONNECTT WITH YOUR LITTLE GADGET, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND ILL WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON, BECAUSE I REALY NEED SOMEBODY TO HELP ME BUAAA BUAAA BUAAAA, WHY???? WHY???? MY POOR LITTLE 360 :(
Roger Clementou
on November 30, 2007 6:53 am

BY THE WAY I HAVE A HOUSE BUILTED OF PS3 CONSOLES AND LOOKS NICE!!!!

AND REGARDING THE HELP YOU NEED JUST TRY TO PUT THE DISCS WITH THE LABEL OR THE LETTER TO THE OTHER SIDE, I MEAN YOU SEEING THE LETTER AT THE TOP OF THE DISC, JUST LIKE IN YOUR CD PLAYER MAN, ITS NOT THAT DIFFICULT, IN CASE THAT YOU DONT HAVE SUCCES WE CAN SWAP CONSOLES ANYTIME, IM THINKING INTO BUILD ANOTHER ROOM STARTING WITH YOUR PS3 BRO!!!!!!!,
smoothdude
on November 30, 2007 7:24 am

I am guessing that this is a false claim then?
Todd Wegman
on November 30, 2007 8:11 am

I had to send my new 40 gig. PS3 in for replacement due to it no longer able to read or recognize disks. I called support on Thanksgiving- had the box on Tuesday shipped it to Sony (Texas) on Wednesday- they received the box on Thursday (1 day shipping-nice). I expect a console early next week… not bad.
Marc
on November 30, 2007 8:36 am

Looks like the Sony Fanboy Club is up in arms(doesn’t take much)…because we ALL know the PS3 has NEVER and will NEVER see a failure.
Aron
on November 30, 2007 9:40 am

Aww, looks like the plethora of rhetorical non-sense just keeps flowing.

A brick >? you mean that piece of sh!it that M$ makes ?

Fanboys make me smile, oh that’s right, yuu have a PS-3 *ROLLS EYES*
Todd Wegman
on November 30, 2007 10:00 am

The fact is that I own an xbox 360 (since Nov. 22 2005), the wii Since March 07 and PS3 Nov.2, 2007). I had tons of problems with my xbox 360 since launch, having to go through several systems- (I am currently without a 360 since Aug. 2007 because someone messed up my work request- I had a tremendous ordeal dealing with Microsoft to get my case resolved). I had no problems with the Wii and when the PS3 dropped to $399 I bought one. I really enjoy the PS3 especially watching Bluray on my new Sony KDS60A3000 HDTV, but on Tuesday Nov. 20th my PS3 stopped reading my disks- everything else works fine- all my demos and games that I downloaded (Stardust, everyday shooter, calling all cars, and Tekken 5) work fine. I was very impressed with Sony’s customer support… I should have a new PS3 next week. I had to send everything back- all cables and the controller and was told that I will be getting a new unit- unlike Microsoft’s crappy refurbished units.
I have been gaming since the days of the Atari 2600- I am not a “fanboy” of any kind- it doesn’t make sense to me- I am still happy with buying a PS3 and have nothing bad to say about Sony… Microsoft on the other hand I am upset with because I have been without a console for 3 months- my case should be resolved soon… I have no reason to make things up…
lolyeahok
on November 30, 2007 10:48 am

Every time I see this childs face doing an “article” it cracks me up. Also every time its Matias’ face, there is going to be PS3 bashing, so prep for it people.

Who gave this kid a job?! lol, go away.
Chad Lakkis
on November 30, 2007 11:53 am

lolyeaok,

I am the one who gave him the job, and I did so because he is qualified. I am sorry that you apparently find yourself staring at his face more often than you read his articles.

That sounds like a completely different issue you may want to go see someone about, because if you read his articles you would know that Derek is unbiased and reports information in a professional manner.

If you don’t like what he has to say, don’t read what he has to write, but please, by all means continue to stare at his face. Good luck with that.

Chad-
HC
on November 30, 2007 11:59 am

Could you please point us to these “reports” or is this something you just made up because you found a video on YouTube?
theturk
on November 30, 2007 1:06 pm

the update probably has not installed properly.
plonk your finger on the on/off button and reset the machine. It seems to work for most people.
Remember the vast majority of PS3 owners have had no problems.
unlike X360 owners
Jordan
on November 30, 2007 1:25 pm

Your PS3 is not reading your disc because without a doubt, you have the Bluray disc upside down, numbnut
steve
on November 30, 2007 1:30 pm

I actually had this happen with FIFA 08. Everything else worked accept that game. Went to Walmart and got a new one and was all set.

One thing I do get is my screen turns to snow and switches back sometimes while playing games, anyone get this? I think it may be a connection problem but it pisses me off.
HC
on November 30, 2007 1:35 pm

@steve
What do you mean switching back? I don’t think it sounds like a connection problem. Maybe your TV? Try using your PS3 with a different TV.

Wow, just took a look at the poster’s pic. Man you look like a young kid. Welcome to the intertubes and never logon without your flame retardant suit :-)
steve
on November 30, 2007 1:44 pm

my tv is brand new 42 HD Vizio 1080 i. its weird cause i will be playing a game and all of the sudden snow, then it will go right back to the game adn it will be perfect.

started happenign with ratchet and clank and medal of honor. wasnt sure if maybe the tv just had trouble pickign up the signal or something. but i didnt think that would be the case.

i know vizio is not the most high end but still it is brand new.
HC
on November 30, 2007 1:56 pm

Hmmm, weird. You might have already tried this but if not, try resetting your display settings on the PS3. Also, make sure you don’t have component cables still attached to the PS3 and the TV. An easy way to do this is to plug in your HDMI cable and press and hold the PS3 power button on the front for about 5 seconds or till it beeps twice. When it restarts, it should take you to the display settings menu. Just choose automatic or play around with the setting s a bit.
Also, a good place to post this would be ps3forums.com Its a nice forum with helpful people. I am sure someone there can help you.

Of course, also try out your PS3 on another TV. If the problem persists, call up Sony and ask for another one.
GPF
on November 30, 2007 5:18 pm

Earlier, Chad Lakkis said to lolyeaok,

“I am sorry that you apparently find yourself staring at his face more often than you read his articles. That sounds like a completely different issue you may want to go see someone about”

Chad - I find what you are inferring to be insulting and offensive.

Please read your own “Commenting Rules” before posting - or risk having to ban yourself!

It would have been far more constructive for you to point out earlier articles by Derek Matias that support the PS3 (after my earlier post, this is what I did), and to also recognise and acknowledge that the title of this article is pure and simple scaremongering and not journalistically sound - rather than indulging in a petty personal attack on one poster who tried to make a joke about the looks of one of your staff.
Derek Matias
on November 30, 2007 5:37 pm

Well to start, I am glad you all love my face, but to the point. I am sorry if this sounds fake or PS3 bashing/ fanboyism. The fact is that my PS3 does not read any disc that I put in, and yes the label is facing upwards. For those of you that think this whole story is made up look at the source under the youtube video, it brings you to the playstation.com forums where multiple people have had the same issue as me. For those of you that think I am bashing Sony this is incorrect. I have owned my PS3 since the day it came out and love it, I have owned my PSP since the day it came out and love it, the same goes for the PS1 and PS2. I wrote this article because my PS3 stopped working after an update and at least 1 other person had the same experience. In terms of my articles, I have written 9 articles, 6 of which are directly related to Sony and 5 of them are in no way bashing sony, my Heavenly Sword article was negative towards a short demo.

This article should be read as a potential warning that there MAY be an issue with 2.01, if you have 2.00 then don’t bother updating just yet.
Riah
on November 30, 2007 10:28 pm

I do rightly beleive that GPF should be writing articles in the stead of this Derek Metias character. There is a huge Bias here, and this is a prime example of why the writer of an article typically leaves the naming of it to an editor. In print at least. If the article was titled ‘FirmWare Update 2.01 hazardous to system’ or even a simple ‘FirmWare Update 2.01 causing problems for PS3 owners’ would do better. Instead, He seemed to be so pleased with his one-liner and his photoshopping of a brick layout onto a ps3 that he went over board. Hopefully you’ll learn from this that in anyform of journalism you have to be very careful what you write because your going to get called on it.
Chad Lakkis
on November 30, 2007 10:43 pm

GPF,

Thanks for your comment. I am well aware of the commenting rules — I posted them.

I would comment further, however I am banning myself for the remainder of the day.

Chad-
jiankaruro
on December 2, 2007 9:47 am

is really true am having the same disc reading problems, i bougth call of duty 4 and just play like an hour and something then it freezee up i try to started again and it does the same f#@$@% thing it just keep loading the game just like in the video, i just hope it is a firmware issue cuz it can be fix with an update since i dont got sony warranty.
HC
on December 2, 2007 3:19 pm

Well you automatically get a 1 yr warranty when you buy the console. So, unless your 1 yr is up, you are fine. Also if you brought it with a credit card, check with your company to see if they double manufacturer’s warranty. Quite a few cards do this.
Brent Hunsinger
on December 2, 2007 11:36 pm

My PS# did the exact same thing tonight I was wathcing a DVD ejected the disc and put in Call of Duty 4 for the first time and it popped up then error message occured. I then ejected the disc and tried again and nothing it just did not read any DVD, PS3 Game, nothing. And now PS3 customer service says I have to pay $149 to fix their firmware problem. WOW
Christian Ruocco
on December 3, 2007 2:39 am

This is no hoax. It’s happened to me too! Right after 2.01 upgrade. Whats strange is that it seems to get worse over time. First, only certain PS3 titles wouldn’t play. Then all wouldn’t play then Blu-Ray movies didn’t play and now DVDs won’t even play. You just get the whirlpool (of death) icon in the top right corner and nothing happens.

I’m wondering whether I shold just hang tight for the next upgrade and hope Sony acknowledges and fixes the problem, or just try swap it out.

Any comments?
HC
on December 3, 2007 2:54 am

I would say swap it out if you can. Why hold on to a defective machine. But I wonder if this has something to do with a particular game itself. Because, this does not seem to be widespread. If it was indeed the firmware, this would be happening to everyone.
Christian Ruocco
on December 3, 2007 3:40 am

HC. I would agree with you except that everyone having the problem has the problem after 2.01. Its statistically unlikely that a whole bunch of people accidentally pour coffee into their PS3s at the same time right after the latest firmware upgrade (excuse the metaphor). Perhaps its a flaw in the Blu-Ray drive hardware or controller. Perhaps there are several versions of the hardware out there, and one version has a manufacturing defect that is exposed by different controller code in the lastest firmware release. I think thats pretty plausable. Simultaneous coffee spillage is not. Even though its a small subset of the total user base. :)

The point is, if I’m correct about the firmware then waiting for the next release may be the correct course of action. Trying to swap things out in this country (South Africa) is likely to be an absolute ballache.

Sadly, I’m not going to be so eager to do a firmware upgrade from now on. My faith in Sony has been ever-so-slightly diminished :(
andy b
on December 3, 2007 3:05 pm

Mine too. I played COD4 and then it just would not read discs. I called sony uk and they are replacing my ps3 tomorrow, Over all i am impressed by sony’s quick turn round, but a bit worried about my replacement. What happens when it does it again ?????
HC
on December 3, 2007 3:15 pm

@christian

I did not say anything about coffee spillage. I was just trying to help you out. And you kind of reinforced my point in that it could have something to do with some other part of the software or hardware, but not to do with the update itself. Maybe some game overwrote some system setting when its trying to set some resolution or something. Could be anything.
Ralf
on December 3, 2007 4:29 pm

Hi!

Same thing happened to me. I can confirm exactly the same symptoms. Damn had my 60 GB version for less than 3 months and I just returned it to the store, tried a complete system restore but nothing worked. BD-Drive does not recognise ANY media anymore, no CD, DVD, BD, Games, PS2Games nothing.

I am not sure if it was the update, but it seems to me more than a coinicdent.

Regards,
Ralf
ONE MORE VICTIM
on December 7, 2007 6:05 pm

I have the same problem its not reading any Disc(PS3,PS2,CD,DVD.ect.)But like a moron I through my box away so I cant return it…plus the location is in NC and im in CA…so in other words I’m #*$#@!
ONE MORE VICTIM
on December 7, 2007 6:12 pm

I forgot to mention my incident started while I was playing madden, it stopped reading the disc.at first Ps3 games didnt work….and then it spread like a virus It cant read anything……
No Hoax
on December 8, 2007 5:10 pm

As soon as the upgrade to 2.01 was complete my system completely stopped reading disc. All of them CD, DVD, PS2, PS3, Blu-ray, they all stopped working. It didn’t even start reading the disc like most of you mentioned. All I get is the loading icon in the upper right corner, buy it just keeps twirling. and twirling Unfortunately I don’t have my receipt or any proof of purchase, so Sony won’t do anything to fix THEIR problem unless I pay $149! I’d be very careful before you update your system if you haven’t already.
Monarky
on December 8, 2007 6:44 pm

Re:No Hoax
Well at least you didn’t end up with a brick like the RRoD on M$’s Billion Dollar Lemon Console! (that ought a get a rise out of you all. Now show your true colors! ..eh? LOLz)

Also depending on how long you’ve had it, plus with these patch updating circumstances, it’s not uncommon for Sony to do the right thing (or any company even M$). But you have to at least make an attempt if this is legitimate to contact them. If you were smart, and you were the first person to register the machine (if you did, hopefully), then having the receipt in hand is not really that big of a deal. They got you on record and as long as it’s within reasonable time of the manufacture date, you should be good to go!

I’ve already heard of people buying theirs on ebay with the receipt getting repair service, because the first thing they did when they opened the box was get online and register it. If you didn’t, that’s your fault!

Also have any of you tried (in system settings) resetting the machine (Restore PS3 Systems)? Then you’ll need to re-patch the system. If this patch updating or whatever is not just some fluke to a few machines (it’s happening to many), Sony will have to respond just as Microsoft did with their patch update bricking problems. Sony would have to do the same thing!

Here’s the reason why!!! Sony PS3 is the first consumer electronics device to incorporate “Black Box” technologies that when it’s returned the hardware can tell them what went wrong. Not unlike taking a newer car in for maintenance and repair or some vehicles now w/BlackBox accident analysis (or airlines for that matter).

So until I read a comment/post that has taken the time and put forth the effort of truly contacting Sony on these problems, I say most of you are either FoS or not being completely honest!

Remember the Dustbin PS3 sent back looking like a clump of mud? Sony can’t be held responsible for your mis-treatment of your PS3 or ordinary wear n tear! …That’s just part of Life!

*** For the dude with NO BOX! …Sony sends you a box to return it in, so you have no excuse! ;)
Derek Matias
on December 8, 2007 11:39 pm

@ Monarky
Yes i did try to restore PS3 systems. When doing so you get two options a quick restore or a full restore. I did both and neither of them worked. Shortly after writing this article I exchanged my PS# for the 80GB and updated it to 2.01 and it worked fine.
JeremyC
on December 13, 2007 12:15 am

This problem just happened to me this evening. It’s definitely a firmware issue. I performed a full backup, then did a quick format of the system. Upon doing so, it recognized games just fine. Upon performing a restore, the disc recognition stopped again. Fortunately, I found a trick that seems to have solved the problem. Within the “System Settings” menu, turn “Disc Auto-Start” OFF. This just means that the game won’t fire up automatically upon putting it in. You’ll have to simply navigate to it in the “Game” menu and press X. Hopefully this can get us by until a fix come from Sony. Hope this helps.
Christian Ruocco
on December 13, 2007 2:33 am

@ JeremyC

Hmm.. intriguing. Although I’ve got my Disk Auto-Start OFF anyway. Still the same problem. Perhaps your backup+format+restore attack plus the Disk Auto-Start OFF knocked something back into place! Will try it tonight. God I’m desperate!

@ HC

Dude. I know you’re just trying to help. Much appreciated.
JeremyC
on December 13, 2007 9:51 am

In reference to my post above… it didn’t quite work like I had hoped. I must have just gotten lucky a couple of times after turning the Auto-Start OFF. However, the disc reader came to a griding halt soon after a couple UT3 bouts. I guess I’m going to have to get the thing replaced. I’ll be curious to see if performing a restoration from my backup onto the new unit will brick that one as well.

I apologize for giving false hope. I’ll stay in touch if I hear of anything, Christian.
Christian Ruocco
on December 14, 2007 5:05 am

@ JeremyC

Yes. To my lasting regret it seems you were just lucky. Nevermind though. Sh*t happens. I am hoping Sony will deploy a fix for this. Seems reasonable. Seems to be enough complaints about the same problem. Has anyone heard any word from Sony on this matter? I tried emailling them. No joy!
Latchland
on December 17, 2007 6:59 am

How about all of you who have an XBOX 360 ping off an play it. Stop wasting PS3 owners time with your childish nonsense. I have had my PS3 for 2 days and after spending hours updating it, I AM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM! And i am just an ordinary user. I thought the updates would fix most problems. Not cause them. Not very impressed.
Christian Ruocco
on December 20, 2007 4:40 pm

Hi Guys,

Has anyone installed 2.10 to see if it fixes these problems? Busy downloading now.. Slow connection.
Christian Ruocco
on December 21, 2007 3:16 am

OK. I’ve installed 2.10. Does NOT fix the blu-ray drive problem. *sigh* Back to the shop!! How many more times are we going to have to do this is what worries me. And not a word from Sony. Disappointing..
HC
on December 21, 2007 10:46 am

@Christian

Its been about 20 days since your PS3 broke down. Why don’t you call Sony to replace it instead of posting messages here.
luca Ammendola
on December 23, 2007 5:17 am

MANY THANKS DEREK FOR POSTING THIS ISSUE, I have the same issue since yesterday evening when i downloaded the new firmware ugrade 2.01. it simply stopped to read any media. I am living in Belgium but I bought it by Bart smits in the netherlands and tehre are no telephone number on Playstation website to call. any suggestion? what should I do?

many thanks to all of you

bye
Sean
on December 23, 2007 4:05 pm

Just thought I’d comment on this - have found it to be very interesting reading. Found this after a quick google as I have just experience a similar issue. Updated to 2.01 and can no longer read any disc - dvd, cd blu-ray movie or game, and just before christmas as well! Going to give gamestation a call to get a replacement in the morning assuming I can get through their hours long queues.
Bryce Ageno
on December 23, 2007 10:20 pm

I am having the same problem, but it wasn’t after the upgrade, I just bought it 3 days ago and now it can’t read any disks.
Bryce Ageno
on December 23, 2007 10:36 pm

Anyone know if there is any update on fixing this issue?
DJ
on December 23, 2007 10:54 pm

Tip for returning console. After Christmas most stores allow a “gift return”. If you’ve had your PS3 longer than 30 days, you have to mail it off. Or… get a gift return and have a brand new one the same day… you wouldn’t even need a box in most cases.

After the 2.01 update my system slowly stopped playing disks, all kinds. 2.10 did Not fix the problem.

Everyone needs to write or call Sony so a mishap like this does not occure again anytime soon.

Happy Holidays to All
Ricky
on December 25, 2007 8:36 am

Hey,

Got PS3 this morning, lasted about two or three games of Fifa 08 and a DVD and now it doesnt even boot or recognise disc or show on the desktop for DVDs, Blu Rays or games.

The same thing happened to my PSP a while back also.

Will be swapping it tomorrow. My 12 year old brothers Xmas hasnt been too happy as its for him.
John Smithers
on December 26, 2007 3:22 am

Is it possible to revert back to a previous version of the firmware?
Alper
on December 26, 2007 6:08 pm

I have the same problem wıth my 5 weeks old 60 GB PS3. The disc reader is not responding.All remaining works fine. I have noticed that the problematic consoles are 2-3 months old ones mostly. It looks like a general production defect on a specific production batch.
Stephen Matthews
on December 26, 2007 11:28 pm

After updating my PS3 to 2.10 the optical disk drive stopped working. It reads nothing. The rest of my PS3 works fine.

I bought it off eBay so wonder whether it is possible the last guy hacked it?

It’s been out less than a year in the UK so I am hopeful of a free replacement ( like my 360 which has been replaced once )

I bet it is something to do with it updating the bluray firmware.
Derek Matias
on December 26, 2007 11:43 pm

@John Smithers
Unfortunately not. The reason behind this is the same as on the PSP, so that it is harder for moders to revert to a firmware that has holes in it.
Will
on December 27, 2007 12:44 pm

I’m also one of the unfortunate people who had this happen to me
And what sucks even more is that I only just opened the box the day before it happened! It was a Christmas present!
Thats not all, it was imported!! So it has no warranty?
Still not bad you say? It was 80GB!!! EXPENSIVE!!!
Darn it Sony, please fix the issue! I’ve already lost all my save files what more will you take from me! (then again I guess I wasn’t too far in the games…but still!)
Btw, this is not a joke nor am I trying to me funny, I am extremely annoyed and I can’t believe Sony have actually allowed this to happen.

I’m no computer expert, but the only thing I can think of might be a regional issue, but I doubt it considering my update was from the correct region and yet it still happened to me…
Fermin
on December 27, 2007 1:24 pm

the whole thing is true… actually very specific.. it only happens to the 60gigs ps3, and ONLY when u update from 1.9 to 2.0 and then 2.01. . my best friend has this problem.. too bad he bought the ps3 in amazon and he lives in panama city, panama (me too xD) now he doesnt know what to do..
im not flaming the ps3 at all.. i still believe is the best shit ever… i dont have enough money to buy one tough..
Evan
on December 27, 2007 9:13 pm

This happened to me as well. when you put in a disc, nothing happens, the blue light stays on the whole time.
I bought my PS3 on december 24th and it stopped working today(27th). I will not be updating to the new firmware when i swap it tomarrow.
HC
on December 28, 2007 2:06 am

@fermin
I have a 60GB PS3 and I have been fine.
Stephen Matthews
on December 28, 2007 11:21 am

Sony are sending me a replacement unit. I hope it’s the UK crippled version and not the subsequently more crippled version. I hope it is new at the same time.

[HINT]
Sony support asked me whether I had done the reset/format ( when I told them I had done the quick format they told me to do the 3.5 hour full reset/format ) This does not work either, so just tell support you have done the full 3.5 hour reset/format the first time and you won’t have to wait on the phone on hold for eons a second time.
paul
on December 29, 2007 12:44 pm

I have this problem, too. Well, just the BD playback anyways. any news on a fix or anything? I miss watching BD’s!!! BTW, I have a launch 20 gig.
Joel
on December 30, 2007 1:06 am

I got a 40 GB PS3 for Christmas and sure enough four days later I have the same problem. This happened before I updated the firmware so I don’t know what the problem is. Needless to say it will be exchanged tomorrow.
Sjorn
on December 31, 2007 2:33 pm

Got 40GB for christmas, updated to 2.01 immediately, played fine until the 28th. Started getting this problem that same day. Amazon is swapping it for me.

Wondering if this this mostly isolated to the 40GB console?
Drkay
on January 1, 2008 12:28 pm

I’m still pretty sure it is a regional thing. Have any of you imported your PS3 early as to egt it quicker? (as in you have a Japanese version?)
Because as of 2.01, the ‘System Update’ automatically updates depending on the ‘Country’ selected fot your PS3 Network (*I THINK*)
But still, this is ****ed up and how were we suppose to know?
Mine was a 80GB when it got bricked…
sg_bullets
on January 2, 2008 5:32 pm

I encountered the same issues like everyone. I have the 40 gig + 2.10 update. I was playing cod4 and suddenly during an online match audio became distorted. After the match, it doesn’t kick me to the lobby, instead black screen and the noise of the blu-ray drive trying to read the disk. I’ve had my ps for 45 days, and just recently this problem occurred.

I have the feeling the firmware is causing an error in the blu-ray drive functioning correctly and i sony is sending me a box to ship to them in texas for a replacement.

I really feel that the replacement will have the same issues, it is definitely not an game or system specific error, but an firmware problem.

It looks like error 80010514 is sony’s version of the red ring of death. What is worse is that there is so many sites reporting this, and yet when to speak to the SCEA about this issue they have no idea about it.

Pretty bad timing for all the new ps3 owners from Christmas.
jay
on January 2, 2008 8:54 pm

same problem as sg_bullets just posted.
Even the situation was the same, online COD4, audio distortion, then the console just doesn’t read any disk I feed into it, including the Orange box, VF5.
sg_bullets would you please keep me updated with your situation?
MeSoHorny
on January 3, 2008 2:55 am

I just love the perverted title of this thread. It’s such a magnet for every last Xbox 3fixme fan to at least have a smidgen or at the very least, hope that something is grossly wrong with any and all PS3s. Therefore they can conjecture, lie, exaggerate it into being a problem with every PS3!

But the truth is that if you are unlucky enough to have this problem, that someone is probably messing with a VooDoo Doll sticking pins in it seeking vindictive revenge. In another words, there just isn’t but a few isolated cases and it still keeps the Sony PS3’s failure rate well below 2% (compared to over 30% for RROD King Console)!!!

The Wiimpy? Well it doesn’t have enough power to get out of it’s own way, let alone even have a RROD. …and if it can survive the typical 3yr “FAD” life cycle demonstrated with
Furby’s and Beanie Babies. It’ll at least be Collectible (WoW, only two more years to go)!!!

I feel sorry for those that seem to have the mis-fortune of this happening. But you won’t catch me crying or cajoling with known Sony PS3 haters to make this story any bigger than a mosquito bite on the History of the PS3! But still some Losers (some of them here who don’t really own a PS3) attempting to discredit the console that over it’s 2 to 3 times lifespan of other consoles (over 10 years), will not only PS3-Peat, but will outplay every new console well after the Wiimpy and Xbox 3fixme are in their grave!!! May your POS consoles “Rest in Pieces”!!! hehe
Stephen Matthews
on January 3, 2008 11:28 am

SONY sent me a replacement - although I am unsure whether to update it to 2.1 again.
It will probably be fine though.

Also ( I do have a 360 as well and have replaced that once - Microsoft sent me a box to put it into and kept it for 2 weeks before sending me a different unit with my faceplate back, Sony did an on site immediate swap about 3 days after calling )
sg_bullets
on January 4, 2008 2:00 am

jay:

update on my situation so far is that i am still waiting for my box for replacement/repair. I’ve been reading up on the us.playstation.com forums and it seems that it is happening to alot of other owners.

Worst part is that it looks like due to the high rise of repair requests the length of time to receive the unit back is being pushed long, some as long as 3 weeks.

I think this entire fiasco is stemming from the firmware update from 2.0 to 2.01 to 2.1. So, hopefully when i get my new/refurb’d ps3 that a direct update to 2.1 will solve all problems and avoid any problems.
jay
on January 4, 2008 3:11 am

Thank you sg_bullets.

I might get lucky.
I bought my 40gig unit on Gamestop.com on 12/1.
Although Gamestop has a more-than-30-days no-return policy, even for defective item, customer service told me because of Christmas holidays, this 30-days period is extended if you bought your stuff after November.

So today I went to a Gamestop store and had my unit replaced with a new one, no hassle.

I just need it for ten more days before my semester begins. If the problem happened again during the semester, I don’t mind if it takes longer for Sony to repair it.
But I still hope Sony could be responsible to carry out a fix for this problem since many people affected.

Good luck everyone!
sg_bullets
on January 4, 2008 7:52 pm

Still no box from Sony. I just want to play cod4, but i’ve been hearing that cod4 online play is a total disaster lately. So, I’m not as bummed.

ps3’s dying is one thing. cod4 online gameplay, that’s a whole other disaster. Damn you Infinity Ward, get some better servers. Hopefully i get my ps3 back before Battlefield and SOCOM is released!!!
Ro
on January 25, 2008 8:04 am

i got my ps3 for christmas and it stopped readin anything i put into it 2 days ago. i dont know what update version im on but symptoms are the same as described below. complete pain in the bollox its giving me.

has everyone else brought it back to sony or the shop where they bought it?
kinmder
on January 28, 2008 8:06 pm

yea i got the same stuff brought it back to the store and got a brand new one.
noor mitri
on February 1, 2008 9:27 pm

I have the problem and the playstation support team is not giving me any solutions. I bought my system while i was abroad thinking its rgion free so what the hell. but now my warrantee is only working in japan and north american sony won’t do fuck all for me. so this article is 100%. i had the problem right after i updated the system.
Brian
on February 22, 2008 10:28 pm

Well, ladies and gents I dont care about sony or microsoft. I only care that I can play what ever media I buy on the consoles. I own a psp a ps1 a ps2 a ps3, I also own a xbox and a Wii( only 1 Caped) so like I said no follower of any company. As long as the product is good then Im happy. The comment about the Japs doing it right, well they lost the war so go figure. My point is My Ps3 will no longer play DVD Blu Ray or games or any disc of any type I paid money for it to do. ALLLL my friends that have a 360 has had to return or get it repaired, (first release) but again I dont care about brands.To all the sony drones Ill say this dont you remember when it was released all the stores or close to it stopped demoing it because they froze. OHH sony dont wory your Zealets will march to any broken tune you sing. I am currently in the process of sending them mine and getting a new one. If it turns out satisfactory then good but we will see. If you check the web cetian models have a 40% failure rate. So when you want to belittle some one for sharing a problem they had try seeing if its real first instead of crying about some one being unfair to a multi million dollar CORPORATION WHO DONT CARE ABOUT YOU ESPESIALY AMERICANS. Sorry fro mis spelled word my Masters was in basket weaving so I could join the airfoce as an Officer.
Paul
on February 23, 2008 11:34 am

Brian- you are an idiot.
Jankons
on February 29, 2008 6:37 pm

Well when I get Ps3 I guess Im not updating
Short stint
on March 17, 2008 3:30 am

Hi,
I’ve recently purchased a 60GB console from online auction. It is an imported one and I am using it in New Zealan (PAL). It was working fine until I decided to update from 1.6 or something to 2.10 when I found out that you were supposed to update the firmware. I throughly enjoyed playing for 2 days… Then the same problem happened to me after successfully reading discs a couple of times. Now a little circle keeps going round and nothing happens. The cosole is not covered by warranty. I’ve just emailed the PS3 New Zealand support hoping that they can come to the rescue. I’ve taken my console to “Sony Service Agent” but turned out to be a costly mistake. money went out, produced no results (was a friendly service though). I wonder if anybody’s found a work-around for this? By the way, I even tried 2.17 that’s just come out. still the same problem…
Usaryan
on March 17, 2008 7:16 am

Yep, mines dead too, after installing 2.17 I played about an hour of Eye of Judgment before the game crashed and after rebooting the PS3 won’t read discs of any kind. I am well annoyed because my PS3 is from the UK and I am working in S. Korea for the next year or so and Sony say they will not replace it until I am back in the UK. Nice one Sony,If it was bought in Korea you’de replace it so why not just take it back and give me a Korean PS3, thank for your great customer service.
Mark
on March 23, 2008 6:29 pm

Xbox magnet. I seriously doubt most of these comments. Perhaps they are pissed their console is so rubbish….,
FoldupJosh
on March 25, 2008 9:38 am

its not hard, work out if you have 40gb 60gb or whatever else there is! if you have the 40gb dont download 2.01 simple i dont know why just dont do it or you’ll be moaning like these lot! dont know solution either i guess just wait its not that important an update. if you have the 40gb trade up i dont know the ins and outs but a lot of what ive read 40gb ps3’s tend to be the problem! hense the reason most of you got it free with a phone or summat! cheapskate!
mark
on March 31, 2008 12:06 am

Xbox has better games, where is your bioshock? Crackdown?
Gears of War? NHL 08 is really choppy on the PS3 as well, I have both, and I could care less about the blu ray at the moment, I agree it sucks that the 360s break alot, but I feel it is a better system in terms of games, and that is what i buy a video game console for, not watching movies. Another plus for the PS3 is the free online, that is rather sweet i must say, but I had the PS3 since Xmas and now i have this Hard Disk problem, apparently i have to remove the HD and format it, losing all of my saves, I Know i should have backed it all up, but i was under the impression that these things were of amazing quality and have no problems. Wish it had better games, resistance was a letdown for me, uncharted was too short, I need some God of War.
Whiskey=Good
on March 31, 2008 3:02 pm

Have you played Unreal 3? Outside of the fact it’s made by Epic (gears of war), the fact you can upload maps FREE makes it the death of all FPS. COD4? it’s got the map shipment. Halo? Warlock and lockout. Does the 360 have it? No. And when they do, there will be no user created content. UT3 is better than the three games you mentioned (opinion).
david
on April 2, 2008 4:40 pm

yup, your right same thing happened to me. i doubt its the update, its probably an internal error. i didnt keep the receipt so my ps3 is a brick now and im out 500bucks
Anon
on May 21, 2008 10:20 pm

Yeah I have the same problem too it’s not a f***ing scam like the first two idiots suggested. However I have discovered that it is an internal problem, and by tweaking the reading lens just a tad it fixes it. Sadly it’s either that or having a brick.
Hasan
on May 25, 2008 11:07 am

I’ve had my 60GB console for 8 months now.
Last week… I bought GTAIV which requested that I update my system from 1.43 that was working perfectly to 2.01.
I complied.

In the first few days everything seemed normal.
after that … my console went crazy:

1. PS button no longer starts the console.
2. Almost all games that I have freeze on startup. And sometimes -if I made it- during a game, the game starts acting crazy (esp GTA).. the adapter malfunctions and the game freezes.
3. When I restart the machine right after it froze … I often get an error message telling me that something went wrong, and the disc content cannot be loaded.

Can someone tell me what the hell is going on? Did I manage to ruin my machine somehow? or is that all the 2.01 firmware work?
LC
on May 25, 2008 3:25 pm

oooh Sounds like you have a raging case of the Gremlins,should have followed the directions the old man wrote down in the book that came with your system. Only thing you can do now is hide in your microwave.
aaron
on June 16, 2008 5:20 pm

dude it happened to me too. not cool. AT ALL especially since it broke on me after i just started playing Metal Gear Solid 4. WTF!!
aaron
on June 16, 2008 5:23 pm

and it does happen to alot of people.
http://www.fixya.com/support/t381209-ps3_not_reading_disk
kujo
on June 27, 2008 4:32 pm

Well it just happened 2 my friend……well its ur fault really,think about it, it clearly says don’t mess with it while its updating….things just dont break on its own know…..u did something wrong.
Easerside
on September 2, 2008 2:08 pm

wow !!
its very reasonable point of view.
Nice post.
realy gj

thx :-)
ps3
on September 9, 2008 5:51 am

It happened to mine after the 2.41 update in aug 08 exactly the same as yours, wouldn’t play dvd’s or games, but would play games that were on my hard drive, then they sent me a ps3 with a supersonic fan that was always on and you couldn’t hear anything else in the room, now on my third and everything is fine, super quiet even after 8 hours. It’s not a scam, it happens, and i didn’t do anything while it was updating, and it happened straight after the update, but all this considered i still wouldn’t swap it for a red ring piece of crap xbox 360
Joe
on December 20, 2008 9:40 am

mine did the same thing.
paul
on December 29, 2008 3:42 am

am no 360 fan i got a ps3 and mines does the same thing, i still got couple of weeks left while i can still replace my ps3 so i might be lucky and get a new one.
Joel
on January 2, 2009 5:19 pm

My second PS3 just died, same thing as before. The funny thing is I hardly ever use it and it just died. My launch 360 was replaced once, I’m on my third PS3 in a year.
gabe
on February 6, 2009 8:30 pm

BD error. Nothing reads, Only the main menu loads. Piece of SH%T.
Ian Jones
on March 24, 2009 6:11 pm

This recently happened to me in France, and the store is saying they want 200 Euros for the repair! Apparently, regardless of what the issue is with a malfunctioning PS3, they charge a flat-fee for the repair. The machine was 3 months out of guarantee.

I like Sony products, but this has made me a very, very upset customer.
Jake
on June 22, 2009 5:30 am

Just so you know the actual number of defects from this up date as of june 16th 2009 is 345,674 that is quit a bit. As for your smart ass remarks to people with this problem sooner or later you will have problems and need helpt too. But if you really want to be a dick we can meet up and Ill give your doctor some problems to fix on your fagot ass face!

RSS feed for comments on this post.