Friday, January 22, 2010

PS3 Error 80010201

So I get home tonight, turn on the PS3 and the first thing I see is error 80010201 and I can't use the controller. Its hard connected but nothing happens, it just blinks on and off. So I turned the system off and then back on again.

This time I still get the error but my controller works fine. What I am noticing is that it takes longer for my PS3 to load up. This is also followed by not connecting to the Internet. Its not the Internet chord, I tried 2 with different systems and it works on one and not the other. So the chords are fine, its not the Internet connection it works for the computer.

Point being it doesn't even recognize that it is connected and gives me that error. I've restarted many times and each time it goes back and fourth between the controller not working to working and every time not connection to the Internet. It doesn't recognize any Internet at all, has if the PS3 plug where I plug in the Internet chord is broken.

I searched the Internet to see what this problem is and what to do to fix it and of course I am met with,"nothing you can do, get a new one, send it away," and then repeating all the mundane steps that I already done a dozen times over.

I did find 2 helpful things, one a video of a kid who is having the same error on you tube but with no solution.



The other thing is a thread about a guy saying to take apart my PS3 and make sure that these two connections are secure. This method seems to have worked for the guy asking while everyone elses answers never got a response.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/ps3-hardware/1147086-ps3-error-code-80010201-a.html



Other than not connecting to the Internet and the every second time I turn it on it doesn't recognize the controllers, it plays fine. So what do I do??! The warranty is long gone, its one of the first 60Gig and I already tampered with it by putting in a new 255 Gig Hardrive. Do I risk taking it apart and hoping that this is the problem?

I mean this is the ONLY answer I could find that gave a solution and the person asking got it to work. It's funny cause today one of the gaming podcast I listen too, one of the hosts PS3 died today, which got me thinking, "Gee, I'm pretty lucky so far, I hope mine doesn't die"
Well its not dead, but its not working properly either. I'll keep a post of how all this turns out. Also if anyone has any answers, please let me know. You think Sony would know what these errors mean, but nope. I guess computers make up random numbers on their own.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suppose since your warrenty is already gone, Sony will do NOTHING for you, so I would risk taking it apart... You already can't play, so what different will it make?



--Other hand--
My friend having the same problem mentioned "secret restore mode" maybe that will help.. If you don't need your controller.. x:

xx Keesa♥

Unknown said...

Hi there i can Verify that this worked for me. I took it the parts shown off the board and back on again to secure the cables.

You have to make sure that the underside of the wifi/bluetooth ribbon is secure, mine wasnt, TWICE.

Because of this the bluetooth, wifi and ethernet were dead.

THANK YOU so much for having those pics up otherwise i would have been so lost.

D.J. said...

not sure if you've fixed your PS3 since this post, but I just began to receive this error about a week ago. random disconnects started to happen and I couldn't get online unless I restarted the system. I have a 60GB launch system too, so the warranty is well gone. I took it apart and used those 2 pics as a guide. I found them on another forum though. hopefully this will fix my problem. but that error number is still the same if it doesn't fix the problem: 80010201

Unknown said...

Hey DJ

First of all DONT PANIC, lol

Yea as a matter of fact I DID fix my ps3 on the second attempt.

Uhm jeez i dont have any pics on my laptop right now but I will follow up with you later on.

Basically the unit that controls the ethernet, u should carefully remove it and look under it. There is a ribbon that connects to the main motherboard. Mine was left disconnected when I put the thing back together.

What also ended up happening was that my bluetooth had died.

Seems that this very same card and bluetooth are connected. U might have noticed a thin black wire that runs along the side powersupply to the back of the ps3 connected to a small receiver of sorts.

First make sure u firmly but very carefully press this down on the main ethernet card. Next make sure the ribbon that connects it to the main motherboard is connected to both the ethernet adapter and the motherboard.

After simply doing this...before i closed the whole thing up, and not even having the bluray drive mounted back in i tried to power it up and see if the bluetooth, wifi and ethernet would work at all.

And yes it did on the second try the next day :P

Tell me what happens and i can provide you with pictures and detailed steps i took.

again DONT PANIC...im here to help :) theres spare parts available all over the web..at the end of the day if we absolutely CANT get it to work.

Blake said...

I'm glad this loose wifi cable solution worked.

Unfortunately for me, it was a no go. The cables were all secure, I took them out and replaced them twice and it was still a no go.

BUT, what Nabeel is describing is a sure fire way to test and see if infact this is the problem.

I hope for you that it is, otherwise it means that your PS3 is screwed. Unless you want to replace the motherboard, that's the next big to test. Potentially costly has well.

DJ, if this works, the error number will not return. Best of luck, I miss my old PS3.

D.J. said...

Thanks again for the input. I did take it apart and removed/secured all cables that were supposed to be secured in order to get everything going. My bluetooth never had a problem, nor is it a problem today. It's just the ethernet port/wireless card (as they're connected to the same board). And even after taking it apart and putting it back together, the same thing happens. I can go online, but as soon as I start playing MW2, say for about 10 mins, sometimes 15, maybe if I'm lucky for an hour or so, it just boots me off, freezes for like 10 secs, and then about a minute later I get signed out of PSN. Testing the network connection immediately spits out a Failed to obtain IP address, accompanied with error code 80010201.

Two things I should note: first, at night, there's seems to be less of a problem. I can be online playing for hours with no disconnects. During the day, it's a whole other story. Second, this has only started to happen since the latest firmware came out (3.21 I think, where they removed the 'Other OS' option) so I'm also waiting for another firmware update, maybe the problem is software related.

I have one more solution to try out. I've read online that there's some sort of 'safe mode' that the PS3 has that enables you to rebuild the system database and/or restore firmwares (tutorials can be found on Youtube). I haven't done this yet cause I wanna back up my data and I don't have my external HDD with me, but when I get it back, I will try it out and comment whether this solution worked or not.

Thanks again for your input.

D.J. said...

Just wanted to rectify, the disconnects now happen any time, not just during the day. I thought I found a pattern but it turns out I didn't. Tried to play tonight and couldn't be on for longer than 20 mins.

Blake said...

That truly sucks. It seems the problem that you are having is different than what I was experienced.

I was unable to connect to the internet at all and if I used my controller to turn on the system it would freeze.

The error code meaning, when looked for a definition on the sony website says,"Its a temporary problem with the server and try and reboot your system to fix it"

But alas, what ever this problem is, it seems to be the death trawls of online play for this particular problem.

D.J. said...

I truly have no clue either. I will report back once I've tried my last solution. Otherwise, goodbye fat PS3, hello slim :(

Blake said...

@DJ - There is a anonymous guy on another PAcroid thread who says he fixed his problem and has written out what he did to fix.

I asked that he send his document so I could post it to help others like ourselves. Its too late for me, I already got my slim.

But my son has the PS3 Fat, so maybe I could go back and still fix it so he can have access to online games aswell.

We shall see what happens.

D.J. said...

@Blake

I really appreciate the help. Hopefully I can get it fixed instead of getting a new one. Yesterday's firmware update didn't fix the problem either, so I'm down to my last resort with the safe mode reboot.

Let me know if you get any info from that other person. I check this blog regularly for new responses.

Unknown said...

@DJ I really hope there is a solution to your particular issue.

Just recently i started getting disconnects in gaming sessions, thank god it was only because i didnt switch from wifi back to ethernet. :S

Close call for this one...

@Blake i'd love to see this document too and keep it for future reference should anything come up!

D.J. said...

Well I went ahead and did the formatting and restored the PS3 to factory settings. I've been playing for a couple of hours without any problems. My backup restored fine.

I don't know if the system restore and clean-up solved the problem because before doing everything I did, I managed to play once with no problems. I seriously don't know what went wrong (or if it has been fixed at all).

I'll report back when I do more testing. So far so good.

Blake said...

Yeah, when I restored the PS3 back to its factory settings, the problem was still there.

It was a hardware problem for me. I wish it was a simple thing, it rarely is.

D.J. said...

Well I'm happy to say all is working well now. No problems whatsoever so far. I honestly can't say that reformatting/resetting everything was the solution, because I don't know if that fixed it, but I'm sure it did help.

Thanks for the help. Also, the guide on this blog with the pictures works very well and it is quite easy/simple to take the PS3 apart and look for disconnected cables. Good solution when you're out of warranty and don't want to send it in to repair before troubleshooting it.

Blake said...

That's good news!! AT least someone is getting their working!!

xoxexi said...

hi i got this problem and same error also + usb doesn't work at all >.<!~

perhaps there are more cables disconnects inside, i hope....

i will try and tell the result here soon.....

hiks

Blake said...

IF you do a search through my blog you can find other post regarding this topic along with other peoples solutions. Its pretty help full, a guy even documented a new way of fixing his PS3.

But to find these, just do a search for error 80010201 in the search bar and it should list all the post regarding this topic along with all the comments and suggestions on how to fix this.

Hope you find a solution outta em.

Anonymous said...

I WILL SAY! THIS DOES WORK. Look online @ a video to open your PS3. And Do what the following pictures above say to do.

Turn the Thing a little and press it.
I turned it about 45degrees and back a little.

And as for the other, It was already connected.. I had ALL DOUBTS going for me. BUT IT HAS WORKED, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH..

- My Issues -
--------Ethernet Not Connected" Message. PS3 Controller not Syncing without the usb cable.

THANKS AGAIN!!!

Blake said...

Congrats on getting it working!! one of the few at least.

Anonymous said...

i tried wht u did nabeel but i doesnt do any good. i got the same problem as you, with the errror message etc, but mine arised after i updated but while i was updating, it downloaded fine, but when it came to the installation it froze.. at that point i turned my ps3, turned it back on to see the same error code "80010201" i took it apart and i think i done it right but i pushed in the ribbon abit. plz plz plz can any help guide me. my email is: lase@hotmail.co.uk .i wud be forever gratefull with ur help. thanks.

Unknown said...

Try what DJ did first. If all your cables seem to be fine and this only happened when you downloaded an update, you MIGHT need to do a system reset/restore.

Unfortunately this means you will lose all your save files, downloaded content and such on your ps3.

D.J. said...

@Nabeel

not necessarily. you can always do a backup, which is what I did. of course you'll need a big enough external HDD formatted in FAT32 to do it, but you lose nothing. anything you might lose can be re-downloaded for free from your downloads section in the PSN store.

both taking it apart and doing a hard restore are real easy. it just takes time and patience.

glad to see these fixes are working for most of you.

Anonymous said...

My friend's PS3 got the same error 80010201. Updating/reformatting/reinserting cables did not work, I found a replacement Wifi Board on ebay (UWB 001)when I installed it, same error showed up. I got another replacement and the error did not appear but PS3 behaved same as before, controllers took a very long time to connect, Wired/Wireless did not work. I rebooted the PS3, same thing, tried to reformat and the error came back. Now I am really lost, 3 different boards and 3 different antennas, none fixed the issue. My friend says it might be the ribbon cable that connects the wifi board to the main motherboard but I cannot find a replacement ribbon cable online. All the wifi boards I got came out of an 80gb PS3 model CECHK01. I also read somewhere online that taking out the BIOS battery might fix the issue but I do not know where the battery is. Any help???

Unknown said...

Uhh...i dont know if that'll help.

Mine recently "died" again (it was an overheating issue)

I did see the battery, you will have to go deeper than just removing the wifi card. You see the metal base? The ps3 motherboard is upside down below that, thats where u'll see the battery.

Im just telling you where the battery is, i havent tried it since mine started working again i didnt have to bother experimenting further.

I did end up applying Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste to the GPU and CPU in case anyone is wondering :)

Anonymous said...

Yea, I know, I doubt removing the battery will fix the issue but at this point I am willing to try anything.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
i´m having the same problem.I Just bought a new Wifi-Board Cable and it´s still the same Problem ! What can i do ?

Anonymous said...

you bought a new ribbon cable for the wifi card? where did you buy it? I couldn't find it anywhere. Did you replace the board itself too? or just the cable.

Anonymous said...

On Ebay just search WiFi Board Cable.Ivé just replace the ribbon Cable not the WiFi Board itself !

Anonymous said...

It might be the board than, what model ps3 do you have? I tried
3 different boards and none fixed the issue so I am probably going to get this ribbon cable.

Blake said...

You guys are the first ones to try the mother boards. Good to see that someone tried it, I was told that it wouldn't matter, so I didn't even try.

Good luck with the Wifi ribbon.

Anonymous said...

Yep, I am pretty determined to find the solution to this problem, even if it ends up costing some money. Thanks for the blog, this is probably the only place where I can find information on this problem.

Blake said...

Yeah, its surprising the amount or lack of info out there regarding this specific error. I guess becuase its not that common that its not getting addressed.

I have moved on to a new PS3 slim and gave my 60 Gig to my son. It works just fine with the slight freeze now and then. Still doesn't connect to the internet, but maybe the wifi cables will help you and yours.

Good luck, again if you do a search in the top bar you can find other entries regarding the follow up of this problem with some helpful tips.

Unknown said...

Just letting you guys know, on an unrelated note. My ps3 has yellow light of death 7 times since i last opened it without the need to fix it, simply letting it cool worked. And now its finally dead.

I will be reflowing it soon, and let u know if anything happens.

Anonymous said...

I do have the same problem!!
I send it to Sony repair station and it cost me...250USD for the motherboard replacing!!

Unknown said...

What kind of PS3 did you have? Was it the 60GB and they replaced it with the same exact motherboard?

Did they tell you if its the same exact motherboard and not the motherboard for the 80GB PS3 which could only play certain PS2 games?

Anonymous said...

i got lucky. the ribbon wasn't connected all the way.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this blog it has fixed my problem perfectly.
I had taken apart my ps3 to reapply the thermal paste and had not reattached the ribbon cable properly. I just opened the clip and pushed it in that little bit further, redid the clip, put it back together and now everything is perfect.
Thanks again.

Blake said...

ah, one of the lucky ones...I wish mine did that when I tried it. Infact, I'm surprised mine didn't just blow up in my face,lol.

Congrats on fixing your system!

Anonymous said...

Hi there. I just wanted to say that i had the YLOD and ive fixed it due to the help of ps3lightsfix.com and you, the creator of this post.
I repaired the motherboard then turned the system on. It came on but was unable to connect to the psn. I kept getting the above mentioned error code. I googled and found this post. I then saw the pics you had up of another guy with the same problem. I opened the system and bingo! the plug was not in corrctly for the internet. My human error when putting the ps3 back together. I was seriously about to throw the ps out the window.
Cheers for that. Im sure this ps3 will last a long long time now that the motherboard has been repaired.

Anonymous said...

Mine just started doing the same exact thing as yours. I took it apart last night, but I didnt fix anything! still turns on, but can't connect to internet! My 80G looks different than the 60G on the youtube video of ppl taking them apart! Anyone know which piece in the 80G is the network cable?? cuz the antenna wire is alot shorter and underneath the power supply (not in front above the uSB ports) like the older models. so I didn't know what to check for network cable when I got under there, I justpushed and turned lightly on antenna cable like the youtube video said. Any advice is appreciated

Blake said...

Sorry, can't give any more advice besides whats already on the blog. Been dealing with this particular problem for quite some time.

Just do a search through my blog with the error code and it will show you other postings related to the problem.

Some people got it to work, others like me, didn't.

I wish you the best of luck.

Anonymous said...

hey. i have the same issue error 80010201 i cant fix it any help? thnx. i removed ps3 cover i have fat ps3 then putting ribbon pirfectly and the black thin wierd and still didnt work help pleeeese!!!!!

Blake said...

sorry..have to give same advice that is written right above your comment. Best of luck..its awful and usually means a new PS3.

Anonymous said...

This is for that error code the ribbon. Had some white stuff on it so it couldnt reed needs to be wipe off alcohol wipe re insert ribbon an no connection error should show

Anonymous said...

Another Possible Solution: My son's phat 80G model was showing the same symptoms. Thanks to Nebeel and an anonymous comment for giving me the idea.

To solve the problem, I completely removed the silver ribbon cable that goes between the wireless/network card and the motherboard. I lightly rubbed the silver contacts on the cable with a pencil eraser until they shined. After wiping the eraser bits off with a cloth, I used a Q-Tip with rubbing alcohol for a final cleaning.

When putting the cable back in, make sure it is seated completely in the connector and tight. NOTE: The black pressure bar for the motherboard connector is different. You pull up to release the cable and press down towards motherboard to set it.

Also, take care when replacing the wireless antenna cable. Make sure it is seated properly.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I'm not very into tech talk and so I need to told in plain English how to fix this please. Symptoms include: DC'ing from online gaming, not being able to sign back in, sometimes a little green light near usb ports, not having Ethernet cord acknowledged, and wifi scan stating cannot find access point. Please, any help is much appreciated.
Thank you

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