Switching from Gateway to CFW can be a pain, especially since all your saves were created on Gateway. There's only one way to get those saves to be usable on cia games, and that's to decrypt the saves and eventually import them in the end. It's a very tedious process, but worth it in the end to be able to keep all your saves you worked hard on for so long. Gateway has become more and more obsolete, with CFW being more convenient to work with. ESPECIALLY Arm9loaderhax!

This will guide you on how to convert Gateway saves, and import them into cia games. For those who want to abandon Gateway, or those who still want to keep Gateway but use CFW.
No other guide for this existed so I figured I had to create one.
Be sure you have PLENTY of time to work on this, you'll also need a ton of patience for this!

Thanks to @zhdarkstar for the tip about using JK Save Manager for just about everything! Made the guide ten times easier than it was before.



Requirements
JK Save Manager
CTRXplorer (Can also use FBI)




I. Preperation Steps

1. Right click and copy all your .sav files, paste them anywhere on your computer as backup

2. Make a new folder on your SD card, call it something like "Gateway saves"

3. Copy one of your .sav files into this folder

4. Look up that save file on 3DSDB to see what game it is

5. Rename that .sav file to 0004000002C23200

6. Make a new folder and name it to whatever game it is
Example:
SD:/Gateway saves/Super Mario 3D Land/


7. Place the 0004000002C23200 sav file in this new folder you just created

8. Repeat steps 3-7 until every game is setup this way. Can take a while to go through depending on how much saves you have, be really patient.

9. Download JK Save Manager.cia, and CTRXplorer.cia then place them anywhere on the SD card





II. Exporting & Importing the saves with JK Save Manager

1. Install all the cia games you need, for the games you're going to import saves with

2. Launch each and every game one time, allowing it to initialize which creates save data. Again, this takes a LOT of patience to go through

3. Install JK Save Manager and CTRXplorer cia's using any cia manager you like. Assemble them near the game cart icon on the home menu for quick access.

4. Open CTRXplorer and browse into the Gateway saves folder, then into one of the game folders

5. Copy the 0004000002C23200 sav file (Instructions on top screen, should be Y to copy), then press B twice until you're on the SD's root. Paste the file here using the Y button (Say yes to replace if the file already exists)

6. Press home and close it. Press select to open Gateway's rom menu and choose the game you're about to work on, but don't go into the game

7. Open JK Save Manager, go to "Cartridge", then choose "Export save". Name it anything such as a date ex: 5-8-16

8. Once you exported the save, go back to the main menu and choose "SD/Cia". Find the game and choose "Import save"

9. Repeat steps 4-8 until every game's save is exported then imported. You'll need extreme patience for this, as this is the only way to decrypt the .sav files.

10. Launch some of the games to confirm that the save did indeed transfer successfully.11. PLEASE make a backup of ALL the backed up saves from JK Save Manager, by uploading them to Google Drive or Dropbox!! This way your saves are forever safe!



About Card2 games
Certain games are card2 type games, where the save file is stored inside the cartridge. In our case, the save is stored inside the rom itself. Games like Pokemon XY/ORAS, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Tomodachi Life, Zelda Tri Force Heroes are card2 games. They don't produce a .sav file on the SD card like card1 games.
To export card2 saves, carry on by selecting the rom then using JK Save Manager to export the cartridge's save. Then import the save in SD/Cia.





Trivia
- Gateway saves are encrypted, so you can't export the save until you first renamed it to 0004000002C23200 and place it on the root. Since you can't have more than one of the same file name in one directory, you gotta work on these one by one. In this process, you're decrypting the saves.

- Some games like Fantasy Life and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy store their primary save data in "Extdata". If you plan on using the same NAND in the end, you don't have to worry about exporting/importing that.


- Saves from JK Save Manager, can be used by just about ANYBODY, from any region. They're highly universal and valuable to share on saves threads. Post them if you like to contribute!​

 

[Shadow#1]

I'm not entirely sure I was on gateway, actually. See, I have .sav files but I was using Rxtools to actually do everything. But the card was called was called Gatewayemu. But it's not a gateway card, it's just a standard SD.

WTF?

 

[piecewise]

Ok, according to the guy that actually did it (not me) he used Emunand and menuhax. He says that the emunand probably contains all the old saves but he's not sure that the data can be ripped and put into arm9 from the backup.

 

[George miller]

I cant do this with adventure time secret of the nameless kingdom, anyone found a way to do it? Please, it's the only game i´m having issues with, if you need the .sav to help me, let me know. Thanks again all you guys.

 

[viral777]

im trying to move my saves from a gateway 3ds over to a A(Lh 3ds. how would i go about this on part 2?

 

[Des_Kaje]

Question: I'm going to upgrade to A9LH soon. I'd like to import my Gateway Savefiles into the cia files I will use once I have installed A9LH. However, following Plailect's guide, Part 3 Section 4 tells me to do the system upgrade, which now would take me to firmware 11.1.0-34. The thing is that this firmware does not support Gateway, so I cannot execute step 6 of the guide in this thread (under II. Exporting & Importing the saves with JK Save Manager). Seems I cannot import saves before doing the system update, since I have no cia manager yet (such as FBI) - and the thing is, in Plailect's guide, installing such a cia manager comes after doing the system update, which would be too late since pressing select to bring up the Gateway Rom Selection Menu wouldn't work anymore. Does anybody have any idea how to bypass this, or should I just accept the fact that I can't import my saves (which wouldn't even be such a big problem, but still...)

 

[simbin]

Looks like I'm late to the party.

Can I perform the import process on a different 3DS?

Do I update my source EmuNAND's firmware (o3DS/Gateway/9.8) to match the target EmuNAND (n3DS/A9LH/10.6)?

 

[veraci_00]

I'm receiving an error opening save archive error. I'm trying to do etrian odyssey 4.

 

[2DSGamerdude]

well, nice tut and all, matt!
but i tried JSKM using the tut myself, and for me personally it didn't work, i followed all the steps in the guide,
to export/import my GW saves from my 2DS (GW Emunand 10.7) => my OLD 3DS (Luma 3ds, Emunand 11.0),
some saves won't open, some won't transfer over etc.

but, by using SDF instead, to export the saves to filer on my 2ds and then copying them over to my 3ds using filer, and then importing them to the .cia games it works, my saves transfer seamlessly from one emunand to another and on different systems, both using SDF (OFC!).

 

[JumpingShadow]

First, thanks for the guide. Secondly, I have a similar question to what gohan123 on last page but nobody gave them an answer.

I'm currently using gateway on an old 3DS (4.4 sysnand) and contemplating moving to a9lh, but here's my problem. I have ACNL and pokemon X cartridges with saves with 6.0 encryption. I assume there is no way to "convert" the save and inject it back in the cartridge but would I even be able to use my save file by dumping my cartridges and applying this method and then injecting them in a cia, or are they gonna be lost forever because of the 6.0 encryption thing? Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Alucardio]

Hey guys, my gateway cart broke and I installed a9lh + luma on my 3ds but by the looks of it, there is no way for me to transfer my 50 hour dragon quest VII (usa) save file to cia without a physical cart

Is there anyone out there that could convert my .sav so i can import it to my CIA USA game? I would be eternally grateful!

 

[clancy94]

well, nice tut and all, matt!
but i tried JSKM using the tut myself, and for me personally it didn't work, i followed all the steps in the guide,
to export/import my GW saves from my 2DS (GW Emunand 10.7) => my OLD 3DS (Luma 3ds, Emunand 11.0),
some saves won't open, some won't transfer over etc.

but, by using SDF instead, to export the saves to filer on my 2ds and then copying them over to my 3ds using filer, and then importing them to the .cia games it works, my saves transfer seamlessly from one emunand to another and on different systems, both using SDF (OFC!).

Any chance you could get my pokemon Y .sav file converted to use with JKSM? (I dont have my gateway anymore)

 

[2DSGamerdude]

Any chance you could get my pokemon Y .sav file converted to use with JKSM? (I dont have my gateway anymore)

um, with using JKSM for me it didn't work, it gave me errors using the JKSM tool, but for using filer it worked.

actually, importing the .sav file (JKSM format) import to Cia file,
and then exporting it via save data filer the save works.

i mean finding a .sav file in the 3ds save thread and downloading it.

um, do you have the save file in .sav format? if so i could convert to to save filer format/JKSM?
not sure if it'll work, but i can try at least.

 

[Pokeman060]

If I have some of my games in .3dz instead of .3ds, will the save file conversion for cia still work?

 

[keyra]

If I have some of my games in .3dz instead of .3ds, will the save file conversion for cia still work?

saves are still saves

 

[Seikirengan1601]

i got "error opening save archives!" when export data from cartridge. Is there anything problem?

 

[Seikirengan1601]

i got "error opening save archives!" when export data from cartridge. Is there anything problem?

After i've tried, and im just realized im doing the wrong instruction. Now i can play mario kart 7 wih my old save hahahaha. Mannn this is the one i need after install cfw. Big thanks to you sir! Hehehe

 

[simbin]

YOU ARE MY HERO!!!!!!!!!

Do you know if possible to convert NES REMIX (EUR) to (USA)?
I'm also curious if NSMB2 to NSMB2 Gold Edition works?

Got them working... found your other thread too... thanks a million!!!!

 

[simbin]

Did anybody else have problems exporting Mario vs Donkey Kong Tipping Stars? I just get an error and nothing is exported. Every other game has worked flawlessly!

UPDATE: Over 40 games success!

Unable to dump these:
Castlevania Mirror of Fate
Fantasy Life
Mario vs Donkey Kong Tipping Stars

 

[HCartin]

um, with using JKSM for me it didn't work, it gave me errors using the JKSM tool, but for using filer it worked.

actually, importing the .sav file (JKSM format) import to Cia file,
and then exporting it via save data filer the save works.

i mean finding a .sav file in the 3ds save thread and downloading it.

um, do you have the save file in .sav format? if so i could convert to to save filer format/JKSM?
not sure if it'll work, but i can try at least.

Hey, would you please do the transfer to my SSB .sav file please? I followed Plailect's Guide and now I cannot boot the GW cart anymore. It is the only save that I care to mantain from GW Emunand.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Question: I'm going to upgrade to A9LH soon. I'd like to import my Gateway Savefiles into the cia files I will use once I have installed A9LH. However, following Plailect's guide, Part 3 Section 4 tells me to do the system upgrade, which now would take me to firmware 11.1.0-34. The thing is that this firmware does not support Gateway, so I cannot execute step 6 of the guide in this thread (under II. Exporting & Importing the saves with JK Save Manager). Seems I cannot import saves before doing the system update, since I have no cia manager yet (such as FBI) - and the thing is, in Plailect's guide, installing such a cia manager comes after doing the system update, which would be too late since pressing select to bring up the Gateway Rom Selection Menu wouldn't work anymore. Does anybody have any idea how to bypass this, or should I just accept the fact that I can't import my saves (which wouldn't even be such a big problem, but still...)

Hey, but haven't you installed the BigBlueMenu on .3ds format from the "Select Menu" in GWEmunand? You should search for it and that way you can install the BBM.cia and then install any .CIA you want.

 

[rebirthz]

Hi friends,

could you please tell me and if it's not too much explain to me how to transfer the gate way's save files into the difference legit 3ds please.

I own 2 3ds, one for gateway running US region firmware and one legit JP with the most updated firmware.

the problem is i want to transfer the save from the gateway to the legit one (not sure where is Puzzle and Dragon save stored, i believe it might store in the cartridge).

but since this topic is for gateway to cia, one friendly guy brings me here and my brain explodes trying to understand this.

so please, if it's not too much, please explain to me if you know how to do.

Thank you so much dude!