Vita Guides

How to check if a DevKit's Firmware is Internal/External

The first and most noticeabel indication would be a very long activation period as internal firmware kits often come with a QAF Token.
If the firmware is missing App_Home and the test AppStores it is most likely a CEX_FOR_TOOL build which is internal.
If the kit is deactivated however you'd need to activate it and try to run a game cartridge. If there is an error it is most likely internal as the decryption keys are different between Internal and External.

To 100% confirm the kit needs to be dumped and the modules checked though. On emmc dumps you can hex-search for 83 FF AD 6D 24 F3 39 64 A0 61 78 8D A0 68 3B 19 which is the start of a metadata block only present in Internal Firmwares.

How to check if a DevKit has been activated before & when

via Neighborhood

Download this custom psp2ctrl.exe (might require .net 4.5.2)
Running psp2ctrl.exe get-setting kernel:/bootparam will return something like 45 03 C7 63 01 13 04 00 45 03 C7 63 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 80 00 00 00 01 00 00 04 00 18 00 00 38 <binary>:System.Byte[] where "45 03 C7 63" is the CP Date (here 17/01/2023) If its 00 00 00 00 the kit has never been activated!

via Homebrew

PSVident

via act.dat

Open tm0:activate/act.dat with a HexEditor.
At 0x8 is the (int) counter of activations.
At 0xC the start date in Unix format and at 0x10 the end date in Unix format.

How to check if there is a QAF token installed

In any case dumping NVS is the savest way to tell for sure if and which kind of token is installed!

CEX (Retails)

Dumping NVS or using Apps to check and display the token name. (eg: PSVident or QAFUtility [PCSI90043])

DEX (TestKits)

When the Kit is activated for a very long time there most likely is an active QA Token installed.

TOOL (DevKits)

When the Kit is activated for a very long time there most likely is an active QA Token installed. For DevKits you can often tell from the Console Output alone as it will have additional debug output. It is however possible that there is an inactive token still installed while the firmware was reverted to external for example. In that case only dumping NVS can tell.

What kind of QAF Tokens are there and what do they do

Name	Flags	Notes
QAF_QATEAM_E	01 00 00 00 00 00 0D 04 64 00 00 00 04 00 00 03	for "QualityAssurance Team" units (early)
QAF_QATEAM_MINI_E	01 00 00 00 00 00 0D 04 64 00 00 00 04 00 00 03	for "QualityAssurance Team" units
QAF_QATEAM_FULL_E	11 00 00 00 00 00 0F 04 64 00 00 00 04 00 00 03	for "QualityAssurance Team" units
QAF_SYS_DEV_I	33 00 00 00 00 00 07 05 73 01 00 01 06 03 03 01	for DevKits used for "System Development"
QAF_MGVIDEO_DEV_I	33 00 00 00 00 00 07 05 73 01 00 11 06 02 03 01	for DevKits used for "MagicGate Video Development"
QAF_MGVIDEO_ADV_I	33 00 00 00 00 00 07 05 73 01 00 11 06 03 03 01	for DevKits used for "MagicGate Video Development"

The "_E" / or "_I" suffix indicates the Firmware the token is for. (External / Internal)

How to fake re-activate a DevKit

The CP Battery cannot be empty!

via Software

Download this custom psp2ctrl.exe (might require .net 4.5.2)
psp2ctrl.exe get-setting kernel:/bootparam will return something 45 03 C7 63 01 13 04 00 45 03 C7 63 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 80 00 00 00 01 00 00 04 00 18 00 00 38 <binary>:System.Byte[] where "45 03 C7 63" is the CP Unix timestamp that you need to replace. Use / calculate one that is earlier than the CP timestamp! Then write back via psp2ctrl.exe set-setting binary kernel:/bootparam "XX XX XX XX XX XX .."

via Hardware

Remove the Battery for a couple seconds and set the earliest possible date in setup. (You can re-de-activate via setting time via Internet)

How to re-activate a TestKit

via reAct.vpk
(You can re-de-activate via button combo to reset timer: POWER + PSButton + START + SELECT)

How to craft an Activation Token

Download and use devkit_activation.rar
Example: python devkit_activate.py -k a48d1a81ef37438ec96cba900521f678 -s 1688069949 -e 1788069949 -i 1 > vita_activation.afv
(Will be working for < 1.80 only since tokens aren't signed) (if a token is already present with a higher activation count it'll fail to activate and it won't overwrite)

How to dump a DevKit

emmc.img + nvs / snvs

with activation via Neighborhood

1) rename "devdump_xxxxxx.skprx" to "bootstrap.skprx" and put into local file serving directory (host0)
2) enable devmode (via for example psp2ctrl set-setting integer bootparam:/development_mode 1)
3) run "ngs_exploit_XXX.self"

NGS Exploit files: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/7h2n6rqu5rqks/NGS
Devdumpers: https://github.com/SKGleba/VitaTools/tree/main/devdumper/build

without activation

use Henkaku / Henlo load devdumper skprx via plugin loader for example

How to dump a MemoryCard

If it is a "Sample" MemoryCard they will only work for Firmwares earlier than 1.692!

via (activated/hacked) DevKit + Neighborhood

boot devkit
insert memory card (BUT DONT restart to use it! press NO on dialog)
place in FSROOT: devdump_toolram_mc_to_host0.skprx -> bootstrap.skprx
run ngs exploit self

via Vita

SD2Vita required + StorageMgr

How to unpack a MemoryCard raw dump

Download mkfs.exe Use mkfs.exe extract mc.img out to unpack ux0-1 partition and then OSFMount to mount the partition file on Windows.

How to fix a Devkit stuck in PSTV + release mode

psp2ctrl set-setting integer bootparam:/platform_emulation_dolce 0
psp2ctrl set-setting integer bootparam:/release_check_mode_console 0
psp2ctrl set-setting integer bootparam:/development_mode 1

How to downgrade a PDEL below 1.692

Install a Henkaku/Henlo hackable firmware and then use modoru v1.0 (since it provides its own spkg keys when decryption fails)

How to replace a CP Battery

They all use a CR2032

PDEL / new DEM

Open the shell and remove all screws from the CP board. The battery is located on its front.

DEM-3000G/H

Teardown Guide

How to unpack an emmc/nand dump

Download psp2scefstool.7z Use psp2scefstool -x emmc.img out to unpack and then OSFMount to mount the partition files on Windows.

How to check emmc/ud0 partition for leftover PUP

Hex search for "SCEUF" and check if all segments are still there.

How to extract a Firmware PUP

Download pup_fiction.7z
Drop PUP on exe

How to extract A Firmware PUP watermark

Extract the SCEWM segment from PUP
Use openssl enc -d -aes-128-cbc -K BFD5EA9F91AE9AF23565E534C4823B72 -iv CE16937E97A3349F143C8FB6AA219528 -in wm.bin -out wm.out to decrypt

How to decrypt vs0:vsh/etc/index.dat

Install openssl
openssl aes-256-cbc -in index.dat -K 272AE4378CB06BF3F658F51C77ACA2769BE87FB19BBF3D4D6B1B0ED226E39CC6 -iv 37FA4ED2B6618B59B34F770FBB92947B -d > index.dat.dec -nopad
openssl aes-256-cbc -in index.dat -K 06CC2E8FD40805A736F17CF2C13D58A6C8CF107E9E4A66AE25D39CA21C2531CC -iv 37FA4ED2B6618B59B34F770FBB92947B -d > index.dat.dec -nopad for < 1.692

How to convert External PDEL to Internal

nah