Do you know what to do if your PSP needs repair service? First of all, make sure that it really needs repair before you ship it off to a Sony repair center, or worse let an unauthorized person attempt to repair it. If it is still in warranty, which is a year from the date of purchase and you allow someone other than an authorized Sony service technician to attempt to repair it, the warranty will then be voided if you need service still or again. Before you decide you do need PSP repair service, you might want to check out a few troubleshooting steps.

Stating The Obvious

Obviously, if you dropped your PSP and it won't come on anymore or the LCD screen is broken, you don't need any further confirmation of its "broke" status. However, if it was working and now its not or just one part of it is not working, look in the back of your owner's manual. If you don't have a print version of this, you can access the owner's manual online at playstation.com. Click on support and then manuals. If you're lucky, you'll find something silly that you overlooked and won't need PSP repair.

There are several points under the troubleshooting section in the back of the owner's manual that you may want to check out before you arrange for PSP repair service. You will have to troubleshoot with the service center before repair arrangements can be made anyway so you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration by doing this first. Unless of course, Aunt Matilda sat on it and smashed it to smithereens.

What to do Once You're Sure

Ok so you're sure that you do indeed need PSP repair service. You still have to call the toll-free number in the owner's manual but you'll be ahead of the game if you performed the troubleshooting steps already. If you're PSP is more than one year old, of course, the warranty will have expired so you may want to check the calendar or your receipt before you make that phone call. Another checkpoint: You must have your receipt, invoice or bill of sale in order to qualify for PSP repair under the warranty.

If you know you don't have your proof of purchase, you may want to make other plans or plan to pay for the repair yourself. If you do have the proper documents, realize that you must call and get instructions regarding which service center to send your PSP to. You must also pay for the shipping. Normal wear and tear or dropping the unit is not covered under the warranty. Neither is any type of accident or act of God. So if your PSP doesn't work anymore because you and it got caught in a flood, Sony isn't going to pay for your PSP repair.

If you find you don't qualify for PSP repair service under the warranty, be careful who you agree to pay to fix your unit. Since Sony has dropped the price of the PSP to $199, you may not want to pay half or three-fourths of that amount to have yours repaired. Be aware of all your options and then you can make an informed decision regarding whether or not you will require PSP repair service.