Surprise! I picked up a PSPgo finally back on Black Friday. I'll be getting around to posting my thoughts on the device soon enough, but I wanted to write up a quick post regarding a hack that I just stumbled upon. This hack addresses my biggest complaint about the PSPgo which is it's inability to charge via USB without being in USB mode.


For those of you who don't understand the issue here, let me break it down real simple. The PSPgo (and PSP2000/PSP3000) can ONLY charge via USB when the system is put in USB mode. This creates 2 issues. First, you are unable to use your PSP for anything while it is charging and second if your PSPs battery is dead you cannot charge it at all without the AC adapter.

As a gadget freak this is one of the biggest blunders Sony has made with the PSP. You can buy special cables for the other PSP systems to sidestep this issue, but due to the proprietary port on the PSPgo you are shit out of luck. At least that was what I thought.

A thread on the PSP Hacks forum details how to hack a USB extension cable to do you bidding in regards to your PSPGo. Sure, in the end you'll wind up with two cables to charge your PSPGo as opposed to one, but it's certainly better than lugging the AC adapter around with you every where you go.

Not to mention, by hacking the USB extension cable as opposed to the proprietary PSPGo cable you still have the ability to disconnect the two and use your PSPGo when needed to transfer data. Just make sure you DO NOT use the USB extension cable for anything after you hack it.


While the full writeup can be found on the PSP Hacks forum, I created this little graphic to help assist. I have never made a cable mockup before, so I apologize for how crude it is - but it shows what your USB extension cable should look like when you are finished.

The red and black wires remain intact, but the green & white wires need to be cut and isolated. On the male side of the cable you want them separated & isolated, while on the female side you want to create a short-loop by connecting the wires together and then isolating them.


Super thanks to Joshou for posting the write-up on how to pull this off as it really has alleviated my biggest frustration with the PSPgo. Hopefully Sony doesn't make this some stupid mistake with the PSP2.

I don't take any responsibility or credit for this hack, I just wanted to pass it along to those who may benefit from it. As always, it's 100% at YOUR OWN RISK. Enjoy & happy charging!