Get Rid of the “Featured” Page on PlayStation Vita TV

After hacking both my Vita and my PS TV, I noticed something extremely annoying about the PS TV’s user interface. There’s a “Featured” page that you can’t close, which basically advertises games to you from the PlayStation Store. It wouldn’t be so bad, but this page is what pops up as the default view every time you exit a program. It’s unnecessary, annoying, and it doesn’t exist on the Vita.

After doing some digging around the shady parts of the Internet, and trusting a source for a VPK application that could have possibly bricked my PS TV, the page is finally gone for good. Here’s how I did it.

First, you’ll need a PS TV that’s been set up to run homebrew code. I wrote a mega guide to hacking the PS TV, so if yours isn’t hacked yet, you can use that. Next, you’ll need to have installed VitaShell. This is a file management application for the Vita and PS TV. Next, you’ll need to download and install a VPK application for the PS TV called VitaRW.vpk. What this does is mount read-only sections of the file system as read-write, so we can edit and delete files.

Now, removal of the annoying Featured page is very simple, but you have to be extremely careful.  Deleting protected operating system files can irreversibly brick your PS TV or Vita. Use this at your own risk and peril! You have been warned. The creator of VitaRW doesn’t even share a compiled version of the application on his GitHub page because it’s so easy to mess a Vita or PS TV up with it.

Luckily I’ve found a compiled VPK file, which I’ve uploaded here: http://stuffjasondoes.com/tools/VitaRW.vpk

You’ll need to get this file on to your PS TV and install it. Fire up your PS TV, be sure to run h_encore, fire up VitaShell, and either FTP or USB the file to the root of ux0: and install it. A reboot is not necessary after installation.

Once the package is installed, a plain white icon called VitaRW will be on your home screen. Run it and it will unmount and re-mount all system partitions as read only. This is where you have to be extremely careful.

Go back in to VitaShell and navigate to vs0:/app/.This directory contains many system apps, but the one you want to delete is NPXS10102. For me, it was at the very bottom of the list, but ensure that you’re highlighting the correct directory name before doing anything. Once you have the directory highlighted, press Triangle and then select Delete. Reboot your PS TV.

When the PS TV comes back up, the Featured screen will be gone for good. At this point I uninstalled VitaRW from my system and likely won’t put it back… just to be safe.

All in all a scary process, just take your time and be sure of your actions, and you’ll be rid of that horrible nag screen forever.

If you enjoyed this tutorial and would like to see more, please feel free to share this article on social media, comment below letting me know what else you’d like to see, and follow me on Twitter @JROlmstead.