The firmware is up to date, the regions are correct. It’s apparantly a known issue, particularly with certain games (The Last of Us being the most notorious) https://goo.gl/sUzin5
I had fun with some games yesterday but I don’t want to get too comfortable knowing I will have to take this particular console back again.
I might have to get a brand new PS3 if such a thing is still around. Replacing the blue ray unit is beyond my techical skill set.