PS1, PS2, PSP and PS Vita repair

The earlier PlayStations and Sony handhelds, and the memory cards that hold their saves.

What goes wrong

These consoles are now between fifteen and thirty years old. Lasers wear out, capacitors age and handheld batteries swell. Parts are still available for the common faults, and for many people the console matters less than the saves on its memory cards.

If a handheld's back cover is bulging or the battery looks swollen, do not charge it, and tell us before sending it.

Repairs

Disc not reading

Laser and drive mechanism repair on PS1 and PS2.

No power

Power supply and board faults.

PSP and Vita screens

Cracked or failed displays and touch panels.

Batteries and charging

Replacement batteries and charging port repair on PSP and Vita.

Buttons and sticks

Worn analogue sticks and unresponsive buttons.

Your saves and data

PS1 and PS2 saves live on memory cards, not in the console. A card that shows as unformatted or corrupt can often be read at a lower level and the saves copied to another card or to a file.

PSP saves are on a Memory Stick, which is recovered like any memory card. PS Vita cards are proprietary and encrypted to the account, so recovery depends on the console and account being available. Tell us what you have and we will say what is realistic.

Sending a console

Take out any disc or game card, and remove memory cards you want to keep at home.
Send the console itself and its power lead. Controllers are only needed if they are part of the fault.
Box it with at least 5cm of padding on every side. The original box alone is not enough protection.
Add a note with your name, phone number and what the console does. Include your sign-in PIN if one is set.

We collect by insured courier from anywhere in the UK, or you can bring it to the workshop in London SE1. Every repair starts with a free assessment and a fixed price, and carries a 3-month warranty. See console repair prices and how the courier service works.

Common questions

My PS2 memory card says it is not formatted. Are the saves gone?

Not necessarily. Do not format it. Send the card, and we will see what can be read.

Can you still get parts for a PS1 or PS2?

For the common faults, yes. For rarer ones we tell you before you send it.

Get a price from a technician

Tell us the make, the model and what has gone wrong. A technician replies with a price and the quickest way to get your laptop to us – normally the same working day.

020 7237 6805

Creative IT workshop
Unit 1, 80 Willow Walk, London SE1 5SY
Monday to Saturday, 9am–6pm