The need to replace my joystick came about after a heavy gaming session over Christmas mostly by my brother Oli. After a marathon Virtua Tennis session the PSP was passed to me and after about my first serve the joystick finally gave in and I was left with a pretty unusable PSP. As I had imported it 9 months earlier from Japan I didn’t fancy sending it all the way back to be repaired and thought I could have a go at repairing it.
Well the joystick unit was well and truly shot and this left me with a problem. I completely dismantled the joystick and decided it wasn’t worth trying to fix as the guts had completely fractured. No worries I’d get a replacement and just use the D-pad till I could find another unit. I put the unit back together minus the joystick and taped over the hole to prevent dust getting inside. I fired it up to discover not having anything where the joystick was caused the web browser and all games to mysteriously pull down and to the left. One useless PSP!
I found out what my options were; I could send it away in the UK and get it repaired for £40 which seemed like a rip off (I had already done the hard part and taken the thing apart through trial and error) or get a replacement unit from a supplier in Hong Kong. Thinking it might be a couple of weeks till I was gaming again I plumped for the replacement only for it not to arrive and several emails and 3 months later for me to give up trying! As luck would have it, I managed to find a second hand one in full working order and it arrived today. After three months of portable gaming misery, I am up and running again and am guessing I won’t be the last to have to do this.
Disclaimer: Opening up your PSP will void your warranty! The following guide is meant to be informative and I accept no blame for any damage caused to your PSP if you decide to follow this ‘How To’.
1. Removing the Cover
You will need a small ‘Phillips’ (cross) screwdriver and ideally an anti static dust brush (available at PC stores) to replace your joystick on your PSP. Removing the cover of your PSP involves removing 5 small screws and the first three are fairly obvious. On the back of your case with the top facing away from you there are two screw holes, one toward the bottom of the case and one at the top right hand corner beneath the ‘L’ shoulder button. Next up, on the bottom of the PSP is a little silver screw that keep the front cover attached. Unscrew each of these and keep them somewhere safe.
Removing the battery reveals a couple more screws and one or two that are hidden. The screws that we need to remove are the left hand black one and there is one in the bottom left hand corner underneath the sticker. Be warned though this is a dead give away that the warranty is voided when this sticker has been tampered with. Rather than trying to peal this off simply locate the screw using the screwdriver and remove as indicated by the picture below.
Flip the PSP back over and if necessary remove the stick by prying it upwards with a screwdriver though it should just pull upwards. The PSP cover should now pry apart, taking care not to touch the screen and internals of the PSP.
2. Removing the Joystick 
After removing the PSP cover, turn the system over revealing the under side of the buttons. There are two screws holding the joystick unit in place and these also need to be removed to free the unit. The joystick can now be removed and replaced with the new unit remembering to remove the stick beforehand. Make certain the ‘washer’ is in place when you install the unit and then replace the two screws, ensuring the joystick is secure.
3. Reassemble
It’s a good idea at this stage to remove any specs of dust or debris with the brush that may have landed of the screen or underside of the cover. Then carefully replace the cover and replace the screws that were removed in stage one of the process. Good luck.
Give me a shout if you’ve got any questions, I’ll do my best to help!
WELL I NEED A NEW JOYSTICK(THE THE WHOLE UNIT)WHERE CAN I GET IT FROM OR WHAT WEBSITE CAN I GET IT FROM.THANK U
Nice tutorial, i shall post a link and news from my site
Nice walkthough, I have opened up my psp a long time ago, to remove some irritating dust underneath my screen. But this is nice for a firsttimer. Great work
Nice tutorial. Took my PSP apart this morning as I was bored, decided I wanted a look around the beautiful console. Having just read your tutorial the instructions are clear and well laid out, with good photos. I took my joystick out and replaced it again, following your instructions. You’ve taken care not to remove screws that are unnecessary. A well thought out guide.
Thanks for the nice “How To” Ben Bishop.
Bruce – I struggled for a while to find one and by luck, one came up on Ebay. The only other seller I found was in Hong Kong but neither they ’sent’ arrived. I don’t know where you are from but there is a place in the UK that will replace them for £40 if you want to send it to them but I didn’t want to spend that sort of money. Sorry I can’t help any more.
To Wraggster, ByteWorkz, Daniel Reid and Wildoman, thanks for the comments. Hopefully it will help someone out!
Tutoriales PSP
Ahí van unos cuantos enlaces a tutoriales para la PSP. Lo primero sería empezar con un tutorial para novatillos en estas lides PSPeras, leedlo antes de empezar con cualquier otra cosa si eres nuevo con la PSP. En españolEn este enlace
If your in the states and need a new analogue assembly you can pick one up from my website below.
XboxRepairGuide
I had a similar problem – my analog stick broke after owning my imported US PSP after about seven months. I bought a replacement from Brando for about US$20.
well thought out and simple, this was extremely helpful as i’ve had the screen dust problem as well… I just thought i’d ask, were the joystick internals on your psp broken due to pushing down too hard on the joystick, simply eratic play or long period usage? just trying to avoid this problem, thanks again…
Would it be possible if I could send you my broken psp and maybe fix it? I would pay you handsomely..
This is really a great work
Im going buy another Joystick,thanks
Riza, I can’t comment for how my brother plays but I do find myself getting pretty tense and pushing perhaps a bit too hard. It was pretty intense, daily play for the first three months and still regular play up until it went. Can’t really be sure of the cause though, could have just been a dodgy unit?
If everyone is on about buying new analogue sticks i think you can buy them on lik-sang
this has helped me out alot because i snapped mine in half when my brother forgot to put it back in the case ans left it on the couch. i still cannot find a place that sells the replacements except in Hong Kong and that is too far away.
I’ve made a translation of your “how To” for French Users. Check it out at PSPShock So if you’don’t agree with it just tell me (posting on the link) and i will put it offline Thanks again for this great “How To”. unfortunatly it comes at the wrong moment, i’ve already change my PSP (warranty), cuz of this issue. But it’ll help others I hope
How to replace your analog stick
So, your analog stick has broken and you are looking for a step by step
walkthough? Well, it happens…
True, Thanks again this is the most complete yet simplified guide I’ve seen yet… has anyone heard of someone trying to port a wireless ps2 controller for use with their psp? IR or WiFi port? this would be a more comfortible way to play if you had a stand.?.?.? is it possible?
Just what I had been looking for. Excellent advise and saved me alot of money.
How small of a screwdriver would you need to take out the screws?
where can i find a psp analog stick unit
Great walk-through, Just a note to anyone who is looking to replace the joystick port. ebay have these parts for as little as £5. I had mine delivered from Hong Kong in just 5 days and works perfectly.
Thanks!!!
you’ve saved a lot of money, I was going to send my PSP to Sony.
Thanks again
Glad it has helped everyone. Spread the word.
what if you take the analog apart?
@ Rye: I took the analogue apart and the actual unit itself had fractured in half. I really needed a whole new unit, though even if I had found a replacement for the part that had split, the analogue unit is really tough to put back together. Too many little parts!
the joy stick does not let me play my games does not let me move when i zoom in my pictures and does not let me move on the internet
I NEED A NEW JOYSTICK (THE WHOLE UNIT) WHERE CAN I GET IT FROM.THANK YOU
Very nice tutorial – I now have no qualms about fixing it myself, having paid the £40 the first time it happened.
MrModchips was recommended to me as a place to buy the unit – http://www.baldbouncer.com.
I’ve yet to purchase though…
Argon0
Oh, and mine has gone doolally while playing Virtua Tennis too.
Andy
Thanks so much for your directions! Repair worked great… here’s where I ordered the replacement joystick assembly:
http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/index.html
What if I really want to take apart the joystick, cause its broken and i wannt stick it and use it again.
If you REALLY want to take apart the joystick and fix it, then get a bloody job. a new one is only £10
Hi Great instructions,
I noticed when removing the analogue module there are 3 terminals, On the psp housing where these teminals mate up,
looks like a plastic film?
covering all 3 connectors.
Is this meant to be there as I cannot compare with another psp. It did work for a while
cheers
Sam
Great walkthrough. I opened up my console to replace the joystick and it took me no time at all. Thank u
Hey thanks a lot it really helped. If you need a joystick unit go on ebay.com thats where i went!
EXCELLENT TUTORIAL. YOU EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT TO DO TO SAVE YOUR SYSTEM AND RESTORE IT TO BRAND NEW!
Thanks for this nice tutorial. I have now successfully replaced the joystick unit for my PSP. Great stuff!
man my joy stick broke an i tried to fix it but a lil springy thing fall off an now it is just
YHA I WAS JUST READING this the other day and decided to do this,because my joystick moves by it self around when iam playing a game or on the internet.I just got a new joy sitck ready to install it,but when i instaled it nothing happend.My psp was the same.I NEED HELP…..email me back.
@Christian,
I am not sure what to suggest. I was fortunately able to change the unit and it has worked perfectly since.
Can anyone else help Christain out?
Great instructions. Exactly what I needed so I could avoid having to deal with Sony service processes.
Can anyone help please?
I bought a second hand of psp which requires a replacement of the joystick unit.
After I had the first 3 unscrewed, I could not unscrew the 2 behind the battery as they have been worn out.
The seller did not reply me. What should I do now please?
nice work
XBOX Reaper on Ebay Sells them out of Birmingham for 10 bucks…Good deal
I have the same problem that you have with the joystick. when i took it out the psp still go UP, when you replace your the psp returnsd to work fine again????
BenBishop you are indeed the man, my first gen PSP is once again working like a charm. Thanks indeed.
Vince*
Thanks!
Can you help me?
I want to remove the joystick. It’s useless for me. But why when I removed it. In game, the key auto down move?
Any suggestion?
OMG thank you so much….i was helluh trippen cuz i thought that i would never play again….thank you again….do you noe a place where i can buy them
@vince + namboy
Glad I can help. Try Ebay or any specialist game supplier for replacements. Also have read back through the comments. Various people have left advice on where to get them from both in the UK and US.
@Paulo Alexandre + Mike
The PSP needs the joystick unit in the system for the axis to be set to zero. The PSP was never designed for it to work with out it. Replace it with a new one and you should be fine.