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PlayStation Vita owners have been waiting with bated breath for Vita scene hacker TheFloW to release his latest exploit: h-encore. This marks the second ever major exploit for the Vita, following the 3.60 Henkaku hack. For the first time, OFW 3.65, 3.67, and 3.68 can be modified to run backups, run homebrew, and more. Adrenaline, which lets users exploit the PSP side of the Vita, has also been updated as of two days ago, to support the latest firmwares.

To use h-encore, you're going to need a PS Vita on firmware 3.65 or above, be linked (though not activated) to a PSN account, and if you're using a OLED Vita, you'll also need a memory card.

Enso can also be installed, but only for those who are on 3.65--there's no current support for Enso on higher firmware. TheFloW's instructions note that this installation is far more complex than previous Henkaku releases, and will require more work to ensure that it works correctly.

Note that the following guide is for advanced users and a bit more complicated than the previous hack that only required you to visit a website. If you don't understand the guide below or how to use these tools, you should neither file an issue here nor annoy me on twitter, but rather seek help on /r/vitahacks (check for duplicated questions first!) or wait for an easy installer.

1. Download and install qcma, psvimgtools and pkg2zip (check the releases section).
   
   
2. Download the vulnerable DRM-free demo of bitter smile (yes, that's the user entry point).
   
   
3. Download h-encore and extract it on your computer.
   
   
4. Extract the demo using:
   
   pkg2zip -x PATH_OF_PKG
   
   This will output the files to app/PCSG90096.
   
   
5. Copy the contents of the output app/PCSG90096 to the folder h-encore/app/ux0_temp_game_PCSG90096_app_PCSG90096(such that the files eboot.bin and VITA_PATH.TXT are within the same folder).
   
   
6. Copy the license file app/PCSG90096/sce_sys/package/temp.bin to the folder
   h-encore/license/ux0_temp_game_PCSG90096_license_app_PCSG90096 and rename the just pasted file temp.bin to 6488b73b912a753a492e2714e9b38bc7.rif. Again, this file should be in the same folder as VITA_PATH.TXT.
   
   
7. Start qcma and within the qcma settings set the option Use this version for updates to FW 0.00 (Always up-to-date).
   
   
8. Launch Content Manager on your PS Vita and connect it to your computer, where you then need to select PC -> PS Vita System, and after that you select Applications. If you see an error message about System Software, you should simply reboot your device to solve it. This should create a folder at PS Vita/APP/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on your computer (see qcma settings where this folder is), where the folder xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx represents the AID (account ID) that you need to insert here. If the AID is valid, it will yield a key that you can now use to encrypt the demo.
   
   
9. Change directory to the h-encore folder in terminal and use the key to encrypt all folders that are listed below using:
   
   psvimg-create -n X -K YOUR_KEY X PCSG90096/X
   
   Where X is (yes, repeat it 4 times or write a script for that):
   • app
   • appmeta
   • license
   • savedata
   The folder h-encore/PCSG90096 should then contain sce_sys and all 4 folders from above, and within these folders you should find files called X.psvimg and X.psvmd, where X has the same name as the folder. Backup this folder, since if everything has been done correctly, you don't need to redo all the steps to install it onto another device with the same PSN account.
   
   
10. Copy the folder h-encore/PCSG90096 to PS Vita/APP/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/PCSG90096 and refresh the database under qcma settings.
    
    
11. The h-encore bubble with a size of around 243 MB should now appear in the Content Manager and that's what you finally need to transfer to your PS Vita.
    
    
12. Launch h-encore to exploit your device (if a message about trophies appears, simply click yes). The screen should first flash white, then purple, and finally open a menu called h-encore bootstrap menu where you can download VitaShell and install HENkaku.
    
    
13. Enjoy. Note that you have to relaunch the exploit everytime you reboot or shutdown your device. Of course if you only put your device into standby mode, you don't need to relaunch.

GitHub
TheFloW's Twitter
For those on 3.60

 

[Madridi]

That is awesome, but I used auto h-encore and with everything already on my Vita, I don't want to have to do it all again manually, in order to shed those files to save space... unless of course, I can do it after it is already installed?

You can, through vitashell

 

[AndrewH]

You can, through vitashell

Hmmm, must admit, I am pretty ignorant when it comes to this stuff, as I only just did it today. I will look and see if I can figure it out. I just hope I don't ruin a good thing, as everything is working perfectly right now!

Thanks for the confirming tip though!

 

[nodnyl10]

Soooooo we can play 3.67 FW games with these or not?

 

[KentaZX]

So I tried mounting a usb stick to my psTV and it worked.

Now I'm trying to see if I can transfer my purchased downloads from my OLED PsVita (using QCMA to transfer them to my computer) to the mounted usb storage on my hacked PSTV. Is this possible?

 

[ManitoCC]

Hi there, i sucessfully installed 3.65 h-hencore in my phat vita and its working fine, now all i need is a sd2vita to fully enjoy my vita again.

After the installation process i´ve got a question, can we delete the h-encore bubble/266mb file, enso bubble from the live area?
Or its needed to be always on vita memory?

And how about the folders that were created in my pc, the "PSV Packages", "PSV Updates" "PS Vita" that are on my documents folder, can we delete them?

Thanks

 

[kllr007]

It worked. Now I have OLED model up and running.
I ordered SD2Vita is there any simple steps to get it working without any data loss ?

 

[VashTS]

i think i get it now -

for those of us on Henkaku Enso 3.65 already just stay put.

if you are on 3.61-3.63, go to 3.65

if you are on 3.67, just go to 3.68 and use h-encore.

correct me if im wrong

 

[Alex4nder001]

Wait, didn't The Flow say in a certain tweet that he was running Enso on a 3.68 or 3.17 Vita? Can't find the source

 

[8BitWonder]

Wait, didn't The Flow say in a certain tweet that he was running Enso on a 3.68 or 3.17 Vita? Can't find the source

No, he made it apparent that Enso would not come to higher firms (unless a new bootloader vuln is found)
https://twitter.com/theflow0/status/973325273746890752?s=21

 

[Alex4nder001]

What happens if you do this on a 3.60 Vita? What if you do it on a 3.60 Vita with Enso installed? Will it Brick?

 

[Wasiu]

Can someone please send me the link to download auto h-encore

 

[Alex4nder001]

Can someone please send me the link to download auto h-encore

https://vita.hacks.guide/installing-h-encore-(windows-auto)

 

[cvskid]

Hi there, i sucessfully installed 3.65 h-hencore in my phat vita and its working fine, now all i need is a sd2vita to fully enjoy my vita again.

After the installation process i´ve got a question, can we delete the h-encore bubble/266mb file, enso bubble from the live area?
Or its needed to be always on vita memory?

And how about the folders that were created in my pc, the "PSV Packages", "PSV Updates" "PS Vita" that are on my documents folder, can we delete them?

Thanks

Despite you being on 3.65 and being able to run enso, i would not delete the h-encore or enso bubbles from the live area. Also Those folders are needed on your pc for qcma so don't delete those either.

 

[BhenBen_85]

Hi sorry to ask again, I am already on 3.65 Enso do I need to update to H-Encore? and how can I Uninstall the 3.65 Enso so I can Install only the OFW 3.65? or If I uninstall 3.65 Enso will it revert automatically to OFW 3.65 or do I need to Install it again? Thanks

 

[cvskid]

Hi sorry to ask again, I am already on 3.65 Enso do I need to update to H-Encore? and how can I Uninstall the 3.65 Enso so I can Install only the OFW 3.65? or If I uninstall 3.65 Enso will it revert automatically to OFW 3.65 or do I need to Install it again? Thanks

You are just fine where you are at. If i recall correctly this new method is for people who were between firmwares 3.61 to 3.65 and it sounds like you upgraded from 3.60 enso to 3.65 enso.

 

[Blasingame]

Is there an installer for Mac users?

 

[Wasiu]

Can someone tell me how to get through this
I’m trying to install the auto h-encore but get stuck in stage browse then select the ps vita directory on your computer and press ok pls how can I get this done

 

[AmyGrrl]

I'm so torn on what to do. Both my Vita and PSTV are on Henkaku Enso 3.65. I kind of want to upgrade to 3.68 OFW then install this new hack so that I can have full access to the system again. Run newer games from the store without having to patch them and stuff. Can use cleaner dumps. Then on the other hand I don't want to loose access to Enso. Too bad there isn't a way to upgrade and keep Enso. I think I will wait a week or two before I do anything to my systems. Since is this a new release. I want to wait for all the kinks to get worked out before messing around.

 

[cvskid]

I'm so torn on what to do. Both my Vita and PSTV are on Henkaku Enso 3.65. I kind of want to upgrade to 3.68 OFW then install this new hack so that I can have full access to the system again. Run newer games from the store without having to patch them and stuff. Can use cleaner dumps. Then on the other hand I don't want to loose access to Enso. Too bad there isn't a way to upgrade and keep Enso. I think I will wait a week or two before I do anything to my systems. Since is this a new release. I want to wait for all the kinks to get worked out before messing around.

Losing access to enso is not too big of a deal when upgrading to 3.68. it only takes a couple of seconds to get into henkaku unlike back in the day when people had to use the offline installer with the email app which would always crash a couple of times before getting into henkaku. Also on ps vita you can just put the system in sleep mode so you will always have henkaku on without having to re-enter it. Don't know if pstv has a sleep mode so i can't comment on that.

If anything i'd say the main issue would be if you fully turn off the ps vita and turn it back on again, you have to setup any custom themes you had on it previously.

 

[Purple_Heart]

nope.. if you reboot the vita and setup custom theme before..it will be standard again...reinstall henkaku exit the app swipe to next page.... your theme is active again