PSP Exposed: Taking Apart the PlayStation Portable
Date: Mar 29, 2005
The PSP has redefined handheld gaming. Inside this rather small device you can find a movie player, game system, music player, and even a JPG image viewer. In addition to this, the PSP also supports a cut-down version of web browsing, and I suspect more will come in the following months. However, if you are like me you might want to know what is on the inside! For example, can you make the PSP screen bend up so you can lay it on your desk and still view movies? Or what about an external Wi-fi antenna to get that extra signal strength? Questions like these can only be answered by opening up the cover of the PSP and poking around on the inside.
Now, please note that this can result in many bad things. One small slip and your PSP will be a $200 paper weight. And if you are thinking, "well I'll just take it back," think again. There is really no easy way to get inside without voiding the warranty. In other words, this is a one way trip...there is no turning back. If your PSP suddenly develops problems in a couple weeks, you can forget about getting help from Sony!
The following is a step-by-step guide on how to take your PSP apart. I documented the entire process and was able to remove all the major components, from top to bottom. With this little guide in hand, you too should be able to disassemble and reassemble the PSP in about one hour. In all honesty, once you know how to get around some tricky parts, the rest is easy. Again, we offer no guarantee that your PSP will not be fragged by attempting this.
The Gear
Before attempting to take apart any electronic device, make sure you have the right gear and location. You don't want to lose screws or other parts to kids, dogs, or a sudden blast of air. For the PSP you really only need one small flat head screwdriver that you can use for prying, and a Philips head screwdriver to remove the screws. A pen/paper might also be useful for remembering where the screws go. If you are a professional, then you might want to ground yourself using a static strap to prevent any sudden static discharges from killing your PSP.
Removing the cover
The first step to taking apart any device is to locate the screws keeping the outer shell on the device. In the case of the PSP, you will have to remove three screws. The first two are easy to find and are on the back right side of the PSP near the Duo stick slot (black). The third screw is on the bottom side of the PSP right in the center of the system. The final two screws are actually hidden away in the battery cavity.
You will be able to see one black screw and one silver screw once the battery is removed. You can remove both of them, but it is the black screw that is responsible for keeping the case together. The silver screw is there to keep the LCD holder in place.
The final screw is actually under the PSP Void warranty sticker that is at the lower side of the battery cavity. Don't touch that warranty sticker unless you are sure you want to go inside. It is not easy to get one of these off without causing the sticker to show evidence of tampering. With the sticker removed, you will once again see a black and silver screw. Remove the black one at this time, and keep in mind the silver screw for later. Once the black screw is removed, you should be able to lift the top of the PSP case off the device and view the internals (see Figure 1 for illustration).
Removing the LCD
With the cover off, the next step appeared to be to remove the LCD display. After poking around for a few seconds, I noticed the there was a button bar across the bottom of the LCD that would have to be removed. This pops off easily by lifting the silver catch on the left side of the display. You can then carefully remove the bar by lifting the tan catch on the connector and pulling out the circuit strip.
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Figure 1: PSP with top cover off.
Removing the screen is a bit more challenging. I wasn't sure at first where to start, but eventually trusted my gut instinct and went with the brute force method. My target was the left lower corner of the LCD tray. You insert a very narrow screwdriver in between the screen and the metal piece holding the analog joystick board (LCD Catch 1 in Figure 1). Then pry the screen up slowly and the metal wedge should pop out of the catch in the lower left part of the display tray. Next do the same on the top left side of the display (LCD Catch 2 in Figure 1). This should allow you to wiggle the screen up and out. Just be careful not to pull to fast or hard because the display is connected to a circuit board underneath with two circuit strips (Figure 1). Now that the screen is released from its holder, I wonder if my screen can become adjustable, as illustrated in Figure 2.
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Figure 2: LCD angled up for better viewing on flat surface.
With the LCD out of the tray, we need to remove it from the PSP. This is accomplished by removing the circuit strips from the main board of the PSP. To do this, first lift the black part of the connector on each strip. The long connector lifts from the bottom, and the short connector lifts from the top (Figure 3 for details). Before removing these connectors, make sure you take out the battery. You don't want any current flowing through the PSP causing you problems!
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Figure 3: Removing the LCD
Next, you need to remove the metal tray that held the LCD, which is tricky because it is linked to the UMD release on the top of the PSP. So, carefully make sure that you have removed all visible screws that hold the tray down (note where each screw is to be placed when you rebuild the PSP, and also make sure you remove the two screws from the battery cavity (these might have been removed by you earlier). These will be silver screws, not the previously removed black screws. Once all the screws are removed, open the UMD door and then lift the display tray off the PSP. Figure 3 shows you the general location of the screws.
The Wi-Fi Antenna
Earlier I had noticed what I thought was an antenna on the right side of the PSP under the PlayStation controller circuit board. To verify this, I slowly pried the circuit board over the upper catch and lifted it up off the PSP. This piece could be fully removed if you wanted to take out the Right trigger button, but I just wanted it out of the way. To achieve this, I simply lifted the circuit strip connector and flipped the controller circuit board over the top of the PSP. This gave me a clear shot of the antenna and its connecting wire, as detailed below (Figure 4). With this now laid bare, it would be fairly easy to add my own external antenna. However, if the WNIC had a connector on it that I could plug into, the embedded antenna could be complete stripped! Hmm...
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Figure 4: Wi-Fi antenna and connecting wire.
The Main Circuit Board
Next I targeted the main circuit board from the PSP. This proved to be difficult. First I had to remove one screw previously hidden by the LCD tray. Then I had to remove the left side PSP controller, which was snuggly inserted between the circuit board and the case of the PSP. Removing this once again involved lifting a circuit strip connector, but by now you should be familiar with how this process works. Next I had to disconnect a circuit strip located near the bottom of the PSP that connects the UMD drive to the main board. Once this piece was disconnected, I slowly worked the circuit board up off the PSP. As I learned, the board was connected to the rest of the PSP via a male/female connector. This connector is located almost directly under the LCD connectors on the circuit board. As a result, you can leverage the circuit board up by using the upper left of the PSP to push the board out of the male/female plug. Figure 5 shows you what the PSP should look like at this point. You can optionally remove the small connectors at the bottom of the PSP that connect up to the speakers. However, for my purposes, I left these connected and simply flipped the main board over once it was removed.
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Figure 5: PSP with Circuit board off
Getting to the Wi-Fi Card
I was still not at the Wi-Fi card! Beneath the main circuit board is a grounding/protector plate. This is easy to remove, and only requires the removal of three more screws, as indicated with red X's in Figure 5. Once these screws are out, you first have to take out the plastic black piece, which then allows the silver shield to be removed. I could finally see the Wi-fi card, which simply lifted out the PSP. As I had hoped, the antenna was indeed connected to the card via a socket connector. In addition, I also noted that my WNICs hardware address was stamped onto the cards surface. Finally, I also should note that the Duo stick slot is also integrated into the same circuit board as the WNIC.
Figure 6 shows the PSP complete disassembled in all its glory!
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Figure 6: The full PSP in all its glory
Summary
With this thing taken apart, I can now start looking for ways to modify it for various functions. My ideas are to increase the Wi-fi strength with an external antenna and perhaps alter the shell a bit to allow me to raise the screen for on-the-desk viewing. Other enhancements could be to add a bigger screen, or maybe even some sort of input device. I have heard rumors of a keyboard or InfraRed controller. Regardless, please keep in mind that none of this is sanctioned by Sony. While taking apart the device is not technically reverse-engineering, Sony explicitly outlaws any modifications to their PSP. If you don't believe me, check out page 15 of the manual where they state, "No authorization for the analysis or modification of the system, or the analysis and use of circuit configurations, is provided."
We hope this provided some useful insight as to how the PSP was put together. I know I had fun taking it apart!