PS3 Problem (8001050F) Seems To Be Fixed -- Try Your PS3!

mspencer · March 2010

[url=http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/03/apocalyps3/#ixzz0gxOpO354]Wired.com's Chris Kohler[/url] wrote:

Monday morning, Sony confirmed this to be the case. “We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system,” said Sony spokesperson Patrick Seybold in a statement emailed to media and posted on the company’s blog.

The bug only affects the early models of PlayStation 3 — Sony says that the “slim” model released in late 2009 is not affected. This is slim consolation since that means that the people affected the most are Sony’s most loyal customers, the early adopters.

Everyone’s PlayStation 3 retains limited functionality — games that aren’t pinging the clock on startup will work. But Sony is advising all owners of early-model PS3s to not use their consoles until the bug is fixed, because the clock’s issues could cause problems with saved game data or Trophies.

Sony said Monday that it hoped to fix the issue “within 24 hours.”

Then again, the same users that first theorized that the internal clock was the culprit have said that the issue could fix itself within 24 hours — specifically, at midnight GMT, when the clock rolls over to tomorrow’s date.

Per Sony's PlayStation Twitter account:
"We're aware that many of you are having problems connecting to PSN, and yes, we're looking into it. Stay tuned for updates."
"PSN status update: We're narrowing down the issue and continue to work to restore service to all. Updates as soon as we have them."
"PSN status update (part 2): Readers/followers are confirming that "slim" units (120/250 GB models) are connecting normally."
"Here's the latest info on PlayStation Network's status: http://bit.ly/cZQKpn" (Sony recommends you avoid using your PS3 until this error is fixed, and they hope to have a resolution in 24 hours.)

One popular forum theory suggests this problem will fix itself on March 2nd at midnight GMT, which occurs at 2 PM Pacific, 4 PM Central, 5 PM Eastern. We'll see!

If your games are quitting with an error message regarding trophy information, or you cannot connect to PSN, and your PS3 is one of the older "fat" models (not a slim 120 or 250 GB model) then you have been affected by this problem.

Unconfirmed reports say this is apparently due to a Zune-like system clock bug, which apparently even affects users who have never connected their PS3's to PSN. Sony is working on the problem, but since a rushed update that bricks PS3 would be far worse then the current situation, please understand the solution will take some time.

(New topic cleared with Echo first. I don't know if it deserves a temporary sticky or not, but please feel free to mod edit this OP as necessary.)

Malechai · March 2010

Just realized while it sucks being unable to play mag I'm glad I'm not at work hearing ps3 owners blame their isp for psn not working.

First time in a long time I'm using the BC functionality on this thing. Bout all it's good for right now other than bluray.

mspencer · March 2010

Interestingly enough, you can still use your PS3 to reset your password. ISP tech support can possibly calm irate customers by having them reset their PSN passwords via the PS3. It works, and you even get an email from PSN that your password was changed. Clearly the PS3 has Internet connectivity.

Henroid · March 2010

I'm being told that this is apparently a leap-year related issue, that the system freaks out when it's not a leap-year as it was supposed to think it was and... weird. I dunno.

tardcore · March 2010

I have an 80 GB that I bought in April last year and I can connect just fine to the PSN.

Mr_Grinch · March 2010

Seems to make sense. Not sure if mine has been hit but I assume so. I had my fat on last night (28th) till about 21:00. I'll leave it off today and switch it on tomorrow in the hope that it somehow skips the potential 29th Feb/1st March issue.

I'd rather this didn't happen just as I was digging right in to Heavy Rain!

Incidentally I read someone fixed there's by unplugging the internal battery, then putting it back in, presumably doing the equivelent of resetting the cmos on a pc.

Henroid · March 2010

No matter what the solution, this shouldn't be happening.

I need to get ahold of my former roomies later in the morning, see if it happened to my PS3 (which they're hanging on to).

GrimReaper · March 2010

Urgh, I hope this gets fixed before I get home from work. I'd gotten back into playing GTA4. That said even though I own a "fat" 40GB PS3 it was playing GTA4 fine last night.

*shakes fist at Sony*

BTP · March 2010

How does this affect PS3's used only for movie viewing?

GrimReaper · March 2010

BTP wrote: »

How does this affect PS3's used only for movie viewing?

I think it doesn't, I think it affects only your ability to log into PSN, your trophies etc.

Shorn Scrotum Man · March 2010

Not all fat models have been effected. Played Demon's Souls on mine just fine, multiplayer and everything.

cooljammer00 · March 2010

I think it's kinda weird to think it's a leap year just cause it's an even number year. That must not be it, though I did learn last year that there are some years in 4s that don't leap, namely those of new centuries or millenniums or something.

Mr_Grinch · March 2010

GrimReaper wrote: »

Urgh, I hope this gets fixed before I get home from work. I'd gotten back into playing GTA4. That said even though I own a "fat" 40GB PS3 it was playing GTA4 fine last night.

*shakes fist at Sony*

I was ok last night as well, but it could either be because us brits:

a) Have slightly different PS3 models
b) Are a little behind when it comes to clock time. When this was being reported it was (I think) 1st March in the States, it was still 28th Feb over here.

I haven't tried mine this morning, didn't dare!

Unco-ordinated · March 2010

Henroid wrote: »

I'm being told that this is apparently a leap-year related issue, that the system freaks out when it's not a leap-year as it was supposed to think it was and... weird. I dunno.

Yeah, I think the best explanation I've read so far was at Gaf:

The going theory is that the PS3 is storing some form of date in GMT, then modifying that to get whatever you see in the on-screen clock. That modification process seems to be fine--the system can take 2/28/2010, 9PM GMT, add four hours, and get 3/1/2010, 1AM random time zone.

What's apparently effed, as speculation goes, is when the internal GMT-tracking rolls over to 3/1. It's either not rolling, or rolling to 2/29, at which point a system tries to add/subtract from 2/29, which it can't do because the front-end calendar doesn't have a 2/29/2010, and shit explodes. Seemed to happen around 4PM PDT, which I think is 12AM GMT, so.

And the PS3 launched in 2006; it's hit 4 2/28s so far. 2007 and 2009 were odd-numbered years; 2008 was an even, and a leap year. 2010 is the first even non-leap-year the system's been around for. If some sort of base-level math is choking on itself, it may have ruled out the odd 2007 and 2009 successfully, but is convinced the even 2010 is a leap year (this part I'm less sure of, but is why leap year could theoretically come into play at some point.)

I'd expect Sony to fix it within the next day or so but it's still a ridiculous, embarassing bug/error.

I think they're going to have to do a bit more than just release a new firmware update to fix it though, since there's a significant amount of systems that aren't connected to the internet that'll be affected. Sending out firmware update CD's for retailers to give out for free would be a good idea.

cooljammer00 · March 2010

I was thinking about that earlier. You can always download an update on a computer and throw it on a thumbstick.

Henroid · March 2010

I just got linked this: http://pici.se/pictures/SnmAatImj.gif

Mr_Grinch · March 2010

cooljammer00 wrote: »

I was thinking about that earlier. You can always download an update on a computer and throw it on a thumbstick.

The number of people that aren't tech savvy enough to do things like this (simple as it may seem) is very high. I really wouldn't like to be working on the Sony Helpline today...

mspencer · March 2010

tardcore wrote: »

I have an 80 GB that I bought in April last year and I can connect just fine to the PSN.

Are you running the latest system update? If not, would you mind being a guinea pig and updating to latest, and seeing if the problem suddenly starts?

Provided you also trust that a fix is forthcoming.

Henroid · March 2010

cooljammer00 wrote: »

I was thinking about that earlier. You can always download an update on a computer and throw it on a thumbstick.

That's how I was handling my PS3 updating for a while, since I didn't have a net connection for it. It takes some run-around though, and frankly, that is not a solution for a problem that should 1) be fixed on their end and 2) not have happened in the first place.

... I dunno why I'm holding this up against Sony so much. I guess something inside me is shouting, "Hey, how do you fuck up date / time alignment?"

Avicus · March 2010

Local computer site thinks they have found the line where the models stop working

http://www.edepot.com/playstation3.html#PS3_Model_Differences

It seems that the models before and including CECHK have problems and models CECHL and on are OK. More info would be helpful though because its not a sure thing, just from observation.

Shorn Scrotum Man · March 2010

Well, I can confirm I have a model after CECHK and everything works fine for me.

powersurge · March 2010

Not sure exactly which one I have but my original 60GB is effected. Can't connect to PSN, play downloadable games, etc.. At least its still fine as a blu-ray player till this is sorted. :mad:

Sir Platypus · March 2010

Shorn Scrotum Man wrote: »

Well, I can confirm I have a model after CECHK and everything works fine for me.

Motherfucker. CECHK right here.

I almost made it....

GrimReaper · March 2010

So, are Sony recommending people keep their PS3's powered off until this is fixed or something?

I'll check the serial on my PS3 when I get home.

Also, it seems to me Niko Bellic needs to fix Sony.

Mr_Grinch · March 2010

I don't think anyone's suggested keeping the power off as a working solution yet. I'm just doing it as a precaution

Though I want to play some Heavy Rain when I get in after a hard day's work

malkoth · March 2010

I'm rolling with an 80 gig CECHL phatty with the 3.15 update and everything is running fine... glad I dodged that bullet. Good luck to those who weren't as lucky. :?

GrimReaper · March 2010

A post from some guy on digg:

I posted this comment on the other article on digg about this also. Might have found a possible quick fix.

We couldn't get on to Netflix online through our PS3, saw this article & my checked the date on my PS3 had reverted to 12/31/1999. So I tried manually setting the date to 3/3/10. Now Netflix online & PSN are working for me. I have the PS3 phat 80g model. So try setting the date manually on your PS3.

Could try setting your PS3 clock manually.

Giga Gopher · March 2010

Looks like I really dodged a bullet by not having my PS3 hooked up to the internet 8-)

Avicus · March 2010

GrimReaper wrote: »

A post from some guy on digg:

I posted this comment on the other article on digg about this also. Might have found a possible quick fix.

We couldn't get on to Netflix online through our PS3, saw this article & my checked the date on my PS3 had reverted to 12/31/1999. So I tried manually setting the date to 3/3/10. Now Netflix online & PSN are working for me. I have the PS3 phat 80g model. So try setting the date manually on your PS3.

Could try setting your PS3 clock manually.

Nope doesn't work. Heavy Rain still doesn't load.

Looks like I really dodged a bullet by not having my PS3 hooked up to the internet

It makes absolutely no difference. It is a error hard coded into the system, not a problem with the PSN.

Diarmuid · March 2010

GrimReaper wrote: »

A post from some guy on digg:

I posted this comment on the other article on digg about this also. Might have found a possible quick fix.

We couldn't get on to Netflix online through our PS3, saw this article & my checked the date on my PS3 had reverted to 12/31/1999. So I tried manually setting the date to 3/3/10. Now Netflix online & PSN are working for me. I have the PS3 phat 80g model. So try setting the date manually on your PS3.

Could try setting your PS3 clock manually.

Didn't work for me, PAL 60 gig.

Seanron · March 2010

Hmmm, got this error immediately at 12.00 midnight last night whilst trying to sync my Trophy List. Had been playing Bioshock 2 uninterupted before then...

I hope this is fixed by the time I get home tonight :o Was hoping to finally finish my final Bioshock 2 run!

Avicus · March 2010

Seanron wrote: »

Hmmm, got this error immediately at 12.00 midnight last night whilst trying to sync my Trophy List. Had been playing Bioshock 2 uninterupted before then...

I hope this is fixed by the time I get home tonight :o Was hoping to finally finish my final Bioshock 2 run!

Well thats because you are in GMT +0? It seemed to cut out at exactly 0:00 GMT

Diarmuid · March 2010

Most of the dynamic themes I've downloaded are showing up as corrupted data.
The only one that's working is the Wipeout HD theme. Weird.

Seanron · March 2010

Avicus wrote: »

Seanron wrote: »

Hmmm, got this error immediately at 12.00 midnight last night whilst trying to sync my Trophy List. Had been playing Bioshock 2 uninterupted before then...

I hope this is fixed by the time I get home tonight :o Was hoping to finally finish my final Bioshock 2 run!

Well thats because you are in GMT +0? It seemed to cut out at exactly 0:00 GMT

I hear that, man this sucks!

Here's hoping there's a quick patch for this. I'll keep my eyes open for any news or fixes I hear of

Giga Gopher · March 2010

Avicus wrote: »

Looks like I really dodged a bullet by not having my PS3 hooked up to the internet

It makes absolutely no difference. It is a error hard coded into the system, not a problem with the PSN.

Hm, I guess I don't have that issue then.

Cherrn · March 2010

I played through half the original God of War last night, and I stopped getting trophies around the time I had to leave Athens. I was wondering if they were just broken in the game or something, but when I later booted it up, all my trophies for the GoW Collection were just gone.

So that's my story. I suppose when it gets fixed, there'll be a hole between Athens and the end of the Pandora Temple. Nuts.

APZonerunner · March 2010

This was said over an another forum:

The issue will not fix itself.
When the internal clock circuit error, it will halt all operands.
It will stop counting, hence the result of the time standing still, even the seconds will not move forward anymore.

Not even a firmware can fix it, since it's not a software-hardware problem, but a lowlevel hardware problem.

Have a feeling there will be a massive recall of PS3s that are affected.

The problem with games not working is either that trophy system gets currupted because of the time/date does not match, and/or it affects your DRM/licenses of downloaded content and the system activations.

Oh shit if true. This effects debugs, too, as mine is dead.

Uselesswarrior · March 2010

Giga Gopher wrote: »

Avicus wrote: »

Looks like I really dodged a bullet by not having my PS3 hooked up to the internet

It makes absolutely no difference. It is a error hard coded into the system, not a problem with the PSN.

Hm, I guess I don't have that issue then.

Isn't the issue with connecting to the internet in the first place? So you could have the issue and just not know about it.

Dirty · March 2010

So are save files in danger? I've never cared about trophies, and wouldn't be bothered if some or all of them were missing, but I'd be pissed if I had to restart any of my games.

DarkWarrior · March 2010

APZonerunner wrote: »

This was said over an another forum:

The issue will not fix itself.
When the internal clock circuit error, it will halt all operands.
It will stop counting, hence the result of the time standing still, even the seconds will not move forward anymore.

Not even a firmware can fix it, since it's not a software-hardware problem, but a lowlevel hardware problem.

Have a feeling there will be a massive recall of PS3s that are affected.

The problem with games not working is either that trophy system gets currupted because of the time/date does not match, and/or it affects your DRM/licenses of downloaded content and the system activations.

Oh shit if true. This effects debugs, too, as mine is dead.

Fuck, i hope thats not true.

Seanron · March 2010

APZonerunner wrote: »

This was said over an another forum:

The issue will not fix itself.
When the internal clock circuit error, it will halt all operands.
It will stop counting, hence the result of the time standing still, even the seconds will not move forward anymore.

Not even a firmware can fix it, since it's not a software-hardware problem, but a lowlevel hardware problem.

Have a feeling there will be a massive recall of PS3s that are affected.

The problem with games not working is either that trophy system gets currupted because of the time/date does not match, and/or it affects your DRM/licenses of downloaded content and the system activations.

Oh shit if true. This effects debugs, too, as mine is dead.

Shit man, my Operands will stop and my trophies are currupted?

Penny Arcade

PS3 Problem (8001050F) Seems To Be Fixed -- Try Your PS3!

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