ARK-5 (FasterARK 5.1.0) on firmware 6.61, permanent with CustomIPL

FasterARK installs ARK-5, the current PSP custom firmware, from official 6.60 or 6.61; the CustomIPL app in the same download then makes it start with the PSP (supported on every retail model).

For: every PSP (1000, 2000, 3000, Go, Street) on official 6.60 or 6.61 · updated Oct 29, 2026 · not sure? check your PSP

Before you start

Charge the battery fully and keep the AC adaptor connected. Do not switch off while CustomIPL installs.
Use the CustomIPL app that comes in the FasterARK zip; do not download CustomIPL separately. Never use its "revert to the original IPL" option unless DC10 recovery is set up (ARK-5 issue #120).
FasterARK's download is a rolling release: its files are replaced without a new version number. The hashes below are the ones GitHub listed on the date shown; a newer file is not a fake, but the page should then be re-checked.

Steps

Make sure the PSP is on official 6.60 or 6.61 (6.60 TT and DT work too): Update to 6.61.
Download FasterARK Full (ARK 5.1.0) (with the DC10 recovery tool and extras) or FasterARK Lite (ARK 5.1.0), and extract it onto the memory stick.
On the PSP: Game, Memory Stick, run FasterARK and let it finish.
If all went well, run CustomIPL and install it. ARK-5 now starts every time the PSP does.
Without CustomIPL, ARK has to be started again after every full power-off or restart (sleep is fine).

Files

File, and how to check it	From
FasterARK Full (ARK 5.1.0) 13.2 MB SHA-256 `0f484899eea7f757005eb581465ade79b286963cbdd0f5cfa7070eab5ee15b57` as listed by GitHub (the release page's digest), checked by Brewology on Oct 29, 2026	GitHub (PSP-Arkfive) release page	Get it
FasterARK Lite (ARK 5.1.0) 9.9 MB SHA-256 `16d922916beaaa4b20d7c695c1f4d0bdfa3e43f5e273fd2852c1e29d3e4081dd` as listed by GitHub (the release page's digest), checked by Brewology on Oct 29, 2026	GitHub (PSP-Arkfive) release page	Get it
ARK update from ARK-4 (ARK 5.1.0) 3.0 MB Only if ARK-4's over-the-air update does not work SHA-256 `9ba03e96522cc2758b5f06e89a237de79ec5ac04eb3b37df258872ab1accfda4` as listed by GitHub (the release page's digest), checked by Brewology on Oct 29, 2026	GitHub (PSP-Arkfive) release page	Get it

Brewology does not host these files; each link goes to the site that publishes it. To check a download on a PC: certutil -hashfile FILE MD5 on Windows, md5sum FILE on Linux, md5 FILE on a Mac (SHA256 in place of MD5 for the longer hash).

Then

DC10, in the Full package, is the recovery tool if the PSP ever will not start: run its installer once (it needs Sony's 6.61 file renamed 661.PBP, or 661GO.PBP on a Go) so that holding L at power-on can reach it.
The PSP cannot join WPA2-only or WPA3 Wi-Fi (WEP, WPA or mixed WPA/WPA2 may work): copying homebrew to PSP/GAME/ from a PC is the sure way.

Sources

FasterARK README · ARK-4 wiki: cIPL on every model · ARK-5 · DC10 README · ARK-5 issue #129 (brick report)

Something here out of date, or a hash that does not match? Tell us in the forum and we fix the page.

Other ways in

Official PSP firmware 6.61, from Sony's update server

For: a PSP on official firmware below 6.60