If you are experiencing problems with your True Blue, and are wondering if you are the owner a fake, please read the information below to confirm if your device is real or not.
**UPDATE** Gradius has been kind enough to share with us how to pull the dongle apart to check. It is very easy to do. Some people are able to do it by hand but others will need a pair of pliers and some gentle coaxing to open it up.
http://psx-scene.com/forums/f265/how...tb-not-102390/
It has come to our attention that some unscrupulous parties in China are now circulating fake True Blue devices. The devices look very similar to the real True Blue devices externally, but inside there is a cheap clone PCB which does not function with the True Blue CFW V2 or any dongle firmware above v2.3. As a result this device will not work with any of the latest EBOOT patches which require higher True Blue firmwares - this includes ALL EBOOT patches released since the beginning of the year.
Furthermore, the hardware platform on which this clone is based appears to be almost identical to the JB2USB clone which surfaced a while back. In light of this it is likely that channels which distribute the clone JB2USB are also distributing these True Blue clones, so beware of shops selling JB2USB who also stock True Blue, because they may sell you a fake.
In order to identify the fakes, please check exhibits A and B in the image below. A is an example of the original True Blue circuit board, while B is an example of the fake.
In the fake (B) we can see that:
As the fake dongles do not support any True Blue firmware past v2.3, they can be trivially identified by simply attempting to update the dongle to the latest official True Blue firmware. If the update is unable to complete, then it is highly likely you have a fake. Alternatively, the fake can be identified by removing the PCB from the metal case and comparing yours to the image above.
Furthermore, the hardware platform on which this clone is based appears to be almost identical to the JB2USB clone which surfaced a while back. In light of this it is likely that channels which distribute the clone JB2USB are also distributing these True Blue clones, so beware of shops selling JB2USB who also stock True Blue, because they may sell you a fake.
In order to identify the fakes, please check exhibits A and B in the image below. A is an example of the original True Blue circuit board, while B is an example of the fake.
In the fake (B) we can see that:
- It is not based on the secure Actel FPGA, rather it uses an inferior chip on which the manufacturer markings have been removed
- Does not use a crystal oscillator
- Is glued inside the plastic inner case
- PCB size is obviously different
- PCB is green
As the fake dongles do not support any True Blue firmware past v2.3, they can be trivially identified by simply attempting to update the dongle to the latest official True Blue firmware. If the update is unable to complete, then it is highly likely you have a fake. Alternatively, the fake can be identified by removing the PCB from the metal case and comparing yours to the image above.
Official Site: True Blue
Thanks to bitsbubba for the news tip!
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