Play your PSP online! Right now! (with Xlink Kai and a WRT54G)



So you're getting jealous of your boyfriend's being able to play Gretsky Hockey online? You say your favorite new PSP game can't be played online? With a little finagling, it probably actually can.
is here to help! This software aids and abets in the "tunneling" of your PSP.

What's tunneling? Um. Think of it this way: your PSP needs to be tricked into thinking it's looking at another PSP. Configure almost any wireless device properly, and simultaneously hardwire the device so it can communicate with the internet, and poof! Your PSP assumes your wireless adapter is another PSP, and in the meantime, your wireless "fake PSP gameplay partner" is, in actuality, four other people from around the world. Get it?

Great. I sure didn't. Matter of fact, I had to take the easy way out. In this helpful how-to guide, I'm going to explain the easy way out--but to follow these instructions, you gotta have the same kind of router I used. If you don't have this router, you can fortunately set up Xlink a bewildering number of other ways.

If You Don't Have a Linksys WRT54G (the linksys wireless-g router)...

...then I can't help you out much. Sorry. But basically, all you need is:

  • A wireless adapter (possibly connected to a second computer) or a wireless router (look! a list of
    !)
  • A computer hardwired to a high-speed internet connection
  • A PSP
  • Xlink Kai software (
    )
  • A lot of time on your hands

First, set up your xlink account at the
. Download that software. Then, config, config, config. Here's the
, with links to the FAQ and to the forums. In the forums, someone posted
and some instructions, which will probably be helpful. I myself can help no more. Now go.

If You Do Have a Linksys WRT54G...

...you're in luck! Prepare yourself for the super-awesome, fast, easy way out. This method takes most of the Huh? out of network configurations. Of course, the easy way out always comes with its risks, but I think the risks are well worth the instant gratification. Here's what you need:

  • The Aformentioned Linksys Wireless-G Router, or a Buffalo WBR-G54, whatever that is.
  • A computer hardwired into that router
  • Xlink Kai software (
    ) on the hardwired computer
  • A slightly sketchy linksys hack
  • WinXP. Um, rather, my how-to deals with XP. Your OS, obviously, will differ from the OS depicted.


Here are the help forums to
, which itself comes with a handy and informative readme file, but I'll talk you through the steps anyway. You should know, though, that all of this has been said before, elsewhere, and better. Also: I stand by this firmware hack, but I can't be held accoutable if something messes up.

Okay. Have your xlink account? You downloaded the Xlink Kai software to the computer that is hardwired into the router? The router that you have is a WRT54G/GS (pictured above)? Great. Let's go.

Step 1. Download
, where it says "Click here to download latest firmware." This is a sketchy hack for your router to communicate with the PSP, and with Xlink. Unzip it. Don't forget where you put that .bin file, because you're going to need it.

Step 2. From a computer hardwired to the router, you now must open up your router config (usually located at 192.168.1.1) in your web browser of choice. Ensure that all of your network settings are written down. (And please, additionally ensure that your router is set to "mixed signal"--your router is a "G" router, but it needs to accept the wireless signal from your PSP, which is "B." Set it to "mixed." Save.)

Step 3. Whookay--if you're not into flashing the firmware on your WRT54G with a sweet firmware hack, you should give up now. This step physically changes the settings on your actual, physical router. A lot could go wrong. You have your network settings? All of them? Know how to use BOOT_WAIT? Please, have everything at hand just in case of disaster. I screwed this part up initially, and after I reinstalled my AT&T DSL service and then my Linksys router software, everything was cool, and I went on. But don't be like me. Don't screw up.



Step 4. Don't screw up. In your router config (192.168.1.1, lest your router is at a weird, otherly IP), choose the "Administration" tab. Then choose "Firmware Upgrade" (pictured above). Make sure "No reset" is ticked. Browse for that .bin file you downloaded and unzipped. Select "Upgrade." And wait. It may take a moment; if anything goes wrong during this process, woe be to you.

Step 5. Upgraded? Phew. Cool. Now. What this sweet sweet hack does is, it can set the router from Infrastructure to ad-hoc, all the while keeping your hardwired computer online. What's more, it scans for the PSP, and connects the router ad-hoc style to the PSP's SSID. It also puts the actual Kai software onto the router.

Step 6. So we're going to play with all that in a moment. Keep your router config open. Where'd you put that Xlink Kai software? Oh, over there. Great. Choose "Start Kai Config Tool," not "Start Kai" itself. We want to open the Kai Config. Under "UI," let's change the Kai interface from "default," which you'd normally want, to "Java." Set your network adapter to "Autodetect and Lock." Go ahead and include your Xtag and password and autologin, just to make the whole thing less troublesome. Click OK!



Step 7. Java time. Now choose "Start Kai" from wherever you put Xlink Kai. Mine's right there, handily in my XP start menu. Kai will start up in a weird, Java form. If it opens, skip to step 10. If it doesn't, read on:

Step 8: If no window appears at all--this occurred on my computer, Nik's computer, and someone else's computer--just
or
download and install the latest in Java. Do it, do it now.



Step 9. (A bit of general troubleshooting.) Also, if you try to start Kai, and then try to restart it again, sometimes it won't open because the Kai engine itself is already running. Every time you close the Kai UI, check the bottom left of the screen (Windows users) for an icon that is labelled "Kai engine." Right-click it and select "Stop Kai Engine." Make sure the Engine is stopped every time you go to open the Kai UI.



Step 10. Okay. Are we set with the latest in Java? The Kai Engine isn't running? Cool. "Start Kai." It should be a funky Java window. In the top left of this window is something called "Menu." Click it! And, from the drop-down menu, select "Settings" (pictured above).



Step 11. The settings menu has opened (see above). Enter your Xlink tag and your password. For the "engine host," you want your router's IP address! This way, the Kai software knows to look directly at your router for the engine, and for the PSP itself. If 192.168.1.1 is your router's address (it probably is), enter that here. Keep the engine port at the preset value, 34522. Save! And close.

Step 12. (Make sure the engine is also closed. Check the bottom right. Is that the Xlink Kai Engine, still running? Gyah! Right click and select "Stop." Do it now. It's a good habit.) Now, return to the Kai config ("Start Kai Config Tool"). Set the UI back to "Default"--god, wasn't the java UI annoying?--and click OK.

Step 13. Is your router config still open in your other browser window? At 192.168.1.1? Okay, good. Click the "Wireless" tab, and then "MAC Filter." Make sure the Wireless MAC Filter is disabled. Save. Don't close this window.

Step 14. Still in your router config? Great! Click "Administration," and then "Management." Maybe enable autologin, enter your xtag and password here. Under interface--this is a little tricky--put "eth1" if your router is WRT54G v2.0 or 2.2. Earlier models, enter "eth2." Your model number should appear somewhere on the front of the router. (There's more on this subject in AhMan's readme .pdf that came with the .bin file--it's an invaluable resource.) Save. And keep this window open.

Step 15. Get your PSP and pop in a game. In your game's menus, choose multiplayer, or versus, or whatever, and click "join game" or whatever--anything in the game to get your PSP to send out a wireless signal.



Step 16. In your router config, which I know you kept open, select "Administration," then "Kaid." Remember this screen: it's the screen you'll come back to every time you want to play a PSP game online (screen pictured above). It's one of a couple new screens you got as part of the hack firmware upgrade. Click on "Start Kaid." Wait for it to tell you that Kaid is running. Don't close this window, and don't leave this screen.

Step 17. Your PSP is still on and looking for a game? Good. In the router config screen that you're in, click "Scan PSP." This takes the router off AP mode; wait for the screen to show you that it is now connected to the SSID of your PSP. Keep this window open in the background.



Step 18. Start Kai on your computer again. (It should be the default UI, not the Java version we changed settings in before. It's pictured above.) In Kai, there's a magnifying glass icon up at the top (see red circle). Click on it. This tells you which server you're currently connected to. Now click the folder icon below the magnifying glass icon (see other red circle). It will tell you which consoles are currently detected by Kai. If you did everything exactly, a PSP icon and your PSP's current SSID should appear here (see picture, where the PSP does not appear! That's because my PSP is not on, har har).

Step 19. You're set to play! Switch to Kai's arena mode by clicking the globe icon (uncircled, but next to the magnifying glass, which is circled). Go to the PSP arena. Choose your game's arena. Join a private arena (or create your own), set your status to "join" or "host," and (back on your PSP) maybe exit your game's search mode, then search for a game again. If you're in the Kai arena, with your status properly set, a game should appear on your PSP...eventually. Join it! If no games appear, it's probable that no one is hosting a game--host your own, then! And watch the competitors floooow in.

Step 20. That is, unless that game is Darkstalkers, Lumines, or any other game that changes your PSP's SSID when you try to connect to another user. As a rule: racing games okay, Lumines and Darkstalkers finicky. Network geekpants are hard at work devising ways around this; even the next version of this linksys firmware hack might provide a fix. (edit: Now it does! Download away!) Until that day comes (edit: it has!), you can only really connect to games that keep a static SSID. Unless you're a network whiz. Cheers to you, network whiz!

P.S. If you're a network whiz on a Mac, I bet
.

Step 21. Ah! A hard night of searching for, and joining games. But what's this? None of your roommates with wireless computers can connect to the internet? That's because the router is currently occupied with the PSP; tell your roommates to deal with it. Once you've taken your sweet time at WipEout, go to the router config page, which you left open in a window in the background. Click "AP mode," so that your roommates can get back onto the internet (the SSID will change back to the name of your home's network). Then click "Stop Kaid." Make sure the engine is closed in the bottom right, too. Turn off your PSP whenever.

Step Every Time. I refer you to step 21. Remember step 21 forever. Always turn on your PSP and look for games, then go to your router config and start Kaid, </I>then</I> scan for the PSP, and then open the Xlink Kai software. Then when you're done, just kind of do the same thing backwards--close the software, go back to AP ("normal, not-PSP") mode, stop Kaid, turn your PSP off whenever. The key is always doing everything in the right order; it'll become a good habit.


Updates:

A.) The wireless Linksys "B" router, while nearly identical, won't work with this firmware. You can still get it to work, of course, but not with this firmware.

B.) Don't try to unpack the .bin file. It's the .bin file you upgrade with. Only unpack the initial .zip file you downloaded.