Welcome to a deep dive into the developments of PS5 error code diagnostics! This innovative method began on November 7, 2023, with the release of my BwE PS5 Code Reader. As an open beta, the initial database included around 65 codes, some of which were intentionally fake to guard against potential misuse. Unsurprisingly, being the first to introduce this diagnostic approach, others were quick to replicate it.
This page serves to compare my original app against these imitators, highlighting how they’ve evolved (or not) since their inception. Do these copycats offer newer, more insightful codes and descriptions? Or will they fall short of the standard set by my original work?
Let’s find out!
All apps were updated to their latest versions at the time of testing (8-13th January 2024).
BwE PS5 Code Reader Pro
I got a PS5 here with severe RAM damage, basically the console is corrupting its own memory. My program tells you which RAM chip is faulty and thus you're able to replace it and resolve the issue. There is also a DRAM Init Error and DDR Power Error which accompany the results which further confirms the issue.
Note: The key difference between my Pro vs standard version is that the Pro uses the NOR to read codes, thus consoles with dead/no southbridge can be diagnosed - it also has up to 7 more sets of information. The normal version uses UART and only displays a single red line for the error description. So take whatever result is illustrated in the Pro version and remove everything but the red line and you will see what the regular version will illustrate. Both apps share the 30,000 or so codes (+ descriptions), but the Pro has an additional set of codes that only it can parse.
The Coder's App - Fail
Andy's App - Fail
Console Service Tool - DNF
Console Service Tool (2nd Attempt Week Later) - Fail
The first app, The Coder's UART-CL which has 142 codes (without RAM repeats) seems to not write anything into the console log if it does not know the error. So it skipped all of the RAM ones and found one relating to the APU not responding which was correct, however, provides no insight into any specifics. This app is not maintained by the owner with its last update being around April 2024. Furthermore this app has/had a misleading amount of error codes, their public website originally said they had 1422 codes, this was later reduced to 332 after I made fun of him for having my honey-potted and fake codes (codes that were outside the hexadecimal range). Amusingly he still has some fake codes in his latest database and only recently removed references to my BwE PS5 NOR Tool from his database. The Coder has made no unique feature or design and his other applications even use regex to find and replace serial numbers, a worrying methodology to say the least.
The next app, Wee Tools Pro by Andy which has 188 codes is a paid and closed source application and has not been updated since at least August 2024. It too is using my own database as a starting point for his own. Andy claims (On his Twitter and donation pages) to have 18 million codes which is wrong, but is based on the app's use of wildcards (the first in the comparison to implement as such) thus each wildcard represents 16 codes - hence the large claim. His codes are unable to parse RAM errors which makes it the only one of the comparisons to not be able to. While it has the row at the top to illustrate it can read the power state, upcause etc it did not display it in testing. It also seems to include its own unique 'reason' for the error codes which I will discuss later along with the misleading code count. Ultimately, it failed to understand the issue with the console, resorting to a fatal shutdown description of which was very vague.
The final app, Console Service Tool which has 219 codes (without RAM repeats) was the first to steal from my original beta application. Its creator is the key person responsible for this as my second honeypot set was first seen in his app, so while the other applications simply used my stolen database "amoamare" actually hacked my application/website to retrieve my beta codes. This illegal activity spawned these clone applications and their continued attempts to steal my codes continues today. It has recently gotten an update, albeit not pushed to the public. So while the current compiled release is from March 2024 the code (and the version I used) is 2 weeks old. This app, like mine, capitalises on the entire error code and not just the fault itself. So it is able to read power management, what turned the device on and temperature, however, rest of it is not correct or is simply vague placeholders like the "207B" example illustrated. Ultimately, it came up with the same description as Andy's tool but was at least able to give a better description for the power issue the console had. This app also failed to run at all at one point, not being able to display the error codes unless manually inputting UART commands. This was fixed it seems with their newer unreleased updates.
All three apps failed to diagnose the console beyond a single power sequence error.
BwE PS5 Code Reader Pro
The first PS5 that I had compared all of the apps against had a very simplistic error which I expected all of the apps to succeed with. They didn't. So instead of dumbing down the test I decided to go for a console with a more difficult and complex issue, the southbridge.
The Coder's App - Fail
Andy's App - Fail
Console Service Tool - Fail
The Coder's UART-CL failed miserably as it gave literal unknown errors, skipped some then showed a general power failure error.
Andy's App gave vague descriptions relating to a sonics bus error but then later described watchdog timer errors which were wrong. It also showed the one correct but vague error description for the power that The Coder's app got.
Console Service Tool had the same descriptions as Andy's app but instead of guessing watchdog timer errors their app decided not to output a description, akin to The Coder's app.
All three apps failed to diagnose the console beyond a single power sequence error.
Lets have a quick look at some error descriptions across the apps. I won't provide the error codes just to make it ever so slightly annoying for these people to update their database with my correct code. Here's one freebie for these fake app authors anyways '80851337 = PCIe Link Down'
There are lots of examples where all 3 comparisons had no result, had basically copied and pasted mine (SB-TSI I2C for example) or were just plain old wrong. I think the main issue with their databases is that they rely too heavily on wildcards that are wrong. Note that The Coder does not use wildcards, hence why his app appears to be the worst.
I got a bit confused with Andy's app displaying a 'Reason' for the error codes and how it built the code descriptions even when it didn't have the code in the database properly. It turns out the app uses a code list dictionary where error codes are keys, and each entry is supposed to have a category, type, and description—though only a small percentage actually do. The core logic revolves around iterative matching, where it replaces characters at the end of the code with X to generalise it and check for matches in the list, essentially faking wildcards (so basically if there wasn't already a wildcard in the database, it will make one on the fly). The 'Reason' numbers it generates come from processing the last four digits of the code and converting them to a decimal value. In reality, it's just presenting unnecessary fluff to appear more insightful than it is. This explains the incorrect descriptions.
Andy’s app claims to support over 18 million error codes, but this number is artificially inflated through a flawed counting method. The code calculates the total by treating every X wildcard in a single code as representing 16 possible values, meaning that a code like 8005002XX is counted as 256 unique codes instead of one. This method misleadingly amplifies the database size. Additionally, the app relies heavily on iterative matching with wildcards, mimicking functionality but failing to deliver true accuracy or detailed analysis. My app on the other hand has tens of thousands of actual literal codes and their unique descriptions, so unique that they're numbered so I can directly match them back to their original codes if need be.
I think its funny when my honeypot was originally stolen they must have been really excited, so excited they didn't check the database at all... Here's an example of my favourite whoopsy, forgetting to remove my name from the database and leaving non hexadecimal (fake) codes. As I have no historical database of Andy's app I cannot include him. But he at least currently doesn't leave my name in his app.
Note: All current apps STILL have some fake non-existent honeypot codes from my 1.0.0 of my app.
The Coder's database April 2024
The Coder's database April 2024 -- Again. He changed the code but still kept the original in there...
The Coder's current database. Finally!
Amoamare's (Console Service Tool - then PS5CodeReader) 2023 database
Amoamare's (Console Service Tool - then PS5CodeReader) 2023 database.
Whoops, there's no Q in hexadecimal!
Amoamare's (Console Service Tool) current database. All fixed eh!
PSDevWiki's Dec 2023 database. Whoops, there's no Q in hexadecimal!
PSDevWiki's current database. No more Q's but still BwE <3
Because the current databases that are being used are just copies of mine (or at least they try) so if my censoring makes it even just a little bit more difficult for them to copy my hard work then so be it!
Not quite—they're giving you incorrect descriptions. While they may seem functional and provide answers (though some outright fail to do so), I’ve demonstrated how they are essentially fabricating descriptions. What good is a database if it simply replaces parts of a code with wildcards to force a match? The codes cannot be generalised to that extent without losing accuracy, meaning you’re often left with completely wrong answers! the code converts it to a wildcard until it finds the next nearest match? The codes cannot be generalised that much, you're getting the wrong answers!
All of my codes are from a PS5 that exists in the world. So they will hit you eventually and these free apps won't be able to help you repair anything. I add new codes daily which is part of why my database is so large. I also work with reverse engineering the console itself to understand the errors better. Don't rely on stolen codes and fluff for your repairs!
I have a WebTools platform where you can run all of my apps in the browser in 24hr sessions for less than $6.