Hacking How to bypass the date softbrick on r4isdhc.com cards and keep DSi-enhanced game compatibility

[kuwanger]

You forgot method 4: Sell/trash self bricking cards and buy one that doesn't brick itself after a certain date. Planned obsolescence should never be tolerated. Don't buy that crap. Buy a better card. Even an original R4 (they're all clones technically though. ) or an AceKard would be preferred.

I wouldn't trash a card that can be made to work well. And selling it is really just perpetuating the scam card. I definitely agree, don't buy the card. I'm still (every long once in a while*) toying with trying to bypass the time bomb. Even if I ever do get it fixed, I would recommend people to not buy the card. Like Barnwey said, it's actually a good card otherwise.

I'm likely to get a AceKard (or similar) whenever the whole magnet + ds card is stable. Would still like to hack the r4isdhc and make good use of it regardless of what happens.

* In fact, this thread sparked a Reddit thread which noted an updated R4i-SDHC menu that's also patched (it has a time bomb too?---I know it's designed to fail to load on "fake" r4isdhc cards). The patched version loads but games don't start. And patching r4isdhc's R4.dat the same way causes the same problem (although it crashes sooner). *sigh*

 

[BARNWEY]

I wouldn't trash a card that can be made to work well. And selling it is really just perpetuating the scam card. I definitely agree, don't buy the card. I'm still (every long once in a while*) toying with trying to bypass the time bomb. Even if I ever do get it fixed, I would recommend people to not buy the card. Like Barnwey said, it's actually a good card otherwise.

I'm likely to get a AceKard (or similar) whenever the whole magnet + ds card is stable. Would still like to hack the r4isdhc and make good use of it regardless of what happens.

* In fact, this thread sparked a Reddit thread which noted an updated R4i-SDHC menu that's also patched (it has a time bomb too?---I know it's designed to fail to load on "fake" r4isdhc cards). The patched version loads but games don't start. And patching r4isdhc's R4.dat the same way causes the same problem (although it crashes sooner). *sigh*

I feel ya man, I almost had an alternate method that completely got rid of the date lock working a couple days ago. Unfortunately, it was too unstable, and had to be scrapped. It was a shame really... Yes, I know about the whole reddit thread too. I was the one who started it and was the most active, I just happen to go under different usernames on almost every website XD

 

[Technicmaster0]

Great tutorial but two questions:
-Did the pre-2014 cards have a "date softbrick"?
-Does the r4i-sdhc.com kernel contain a "date softbrick"?

Also, for people who want to use the R4i-SDHC kernel with a r4isdhc card (for whatever reason): http://mkiddy.leerik.nl/R4i/

 

[BARNWEY]

Great tutorial but two questions:
-Did the pre-2014 cards have a "date softbrick"?
-Does the r4i-sdhc.com kernel contain a "date softbrick"?

Also, for people who want to use the R4i-SDHC kernel with a r4isdhc card (for whatever reason): http://mkiddy.leerik.nl/R4i/

1. Every card from r4isdhc.com should have a date lock in their official firmware. Even though, the firmware for pre-2014 cards is very out-of-date, so many just opt to use YSMenu or other alternative firmwares instead.
2. It does stop working after the year 2020, though I don't know if it's intentional or not (as the r4i-sdhc team seems to be pretty legitimate).

Also, I don't use the R4i-SDHC kernel in my tutorial because you can't use it and the R4iSDHC kernel side-by-side and not have it flip out. Not to mention, since it doesn't work with DSi-enhanced games on R4iSDHC cards, there's no advantage to using it over YSMenu. I was working on another method with the patched R4i-SDHC kernel, but it was too buggy to include in the thread...

 

[Technicmaster0]

1. Every card from r4isdhc.com should have a date lock in their official firmware. Even though, the firmware for pre-2014 cards is very out-of-date, so many just opt to use YSMenu or other alternative firmwares instead.
2. It does stop working after the year 2020, though I don't know if it's intentional or not (as the r4i-sdhc team seems to be pretty legitimate).

Also, I don't use the R4i-SDHC kernel in my tutorial because you can't use it and the R4iSDHC kernel side-by-side and not have it flip out. Not to mention, since it doesn't work with DSi-enhanced games on R4iSDHC cards, there's no advantage to using it over YSMenu. I was working on another method with the patched R4i-SDHC kernel, but it was too buggy to include in the thread...

I think that you are mixing up the terms "firmware" and "kernel". "firmware" is the data stored on the flashcard itself to bypass anti piracy measures etc. Kernel is the right term for the files that are on the MicroSD card.
R4isdhc.com and r4i-sdhc.com are most likely the same team with different branding. The r4i-sdhc.com kernel probably never contained the "bricking" code (although the term bricking isn't correct in this matter either because it's for a "final" destruction).
I think that the date lock became a thing with the 2014 version (that revision was kind of a re-launch of the complete team). I think that it doesn't matter if the kernel is out-of-date since there haven't been any new DS game anti piracy measures anyways (and the 2013 card still works on the latest 3DS firmwares).

 

[BARNWEY]

I think that you are mixing up the terms "firmware" and "kernel". "firmware" is the data stored on the flashcard itself to bypass anti piracy measures etc. Kernel is the right term for the files that are on the MicroSD card.
R4isdhc.com and r4i-sdhc.com are most likely the same team with different branding. The r4i-sdhc.com kernel probably never contained the "bricking" code (although the term bricking isn't correct in this matter either because it's for a "final" destruction).
I think that the date lock became a thing with the 2014 version (that revision was kind of a re-launch of the complete team). I think that it doesn't matter if the kernel is out-of-date since there haven't been any new DS game anti piracy measures anyways (and the 2013 card still works on the latest 3DS firmwares).

Hmmm, I think I have been mixing them up, thank you for pointing that out XD! Even though, I've heard some mixed information about the 2013 cards. I've heard that some do brick after a certain date, and that some don't. Even though, judging from the team they come from, I assume they would brick. Even though, please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have made if you have a 2013 card. Also, it kind of does matter if the firmware is out-of-date imo because there are always improvements to be made. Even WAIO and YSMenu are being improved with each update; to some, it's very important how active the team behind their card is.

 

[Technicmaster0]

Hmmm, I think I have been mixing them up, thank you for pointing that out XD! Even though, I've heard some mixed information about the 2013 cards. I've heard that some do brick after a certain date, and that some don't. Even though, judging from the team they come from, I assume they would brick. Even though, please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have made if you have a 2013 card. Also, it kind of does matter if the firmware is out-of-date imo because there are always improvements to be made. Even WAIO and YSMenu are being improved with each update; to some, it's very important how active the team behind their card is.

You're welcome
Sorry, I don't have a 2013 card; only a 2014 one (which seems to be the same hardware as the 2015 and 2016 version). My information is from this forum.
All of the current updates for the r4isdhc.com kernel are just to set the date and don't really give improvements; you can see that there are no new features since 2014 at the news page.

 

[BARNWEY]

You're welcome
Sorry, I don't have a 2013 card; only a 2014 one (which seems to be the same hardware as the 2015 and 2016 version). My information is from this forum.
All of the current updates for the r4isdhc.com kernel are just to set the date and don't really give improvements; you can see that there are no new features since 2014 at the news page.

True, the most updated kernels are probably YSMenu, and WAIO. Unfortunately, we can't use WAIO on these cards without it bricking...

 

[kuwanger]

Also, for people who want to use the R4i-SDHC kernel with a r4isdhc card (for whatever reason): http://mkiddy.leerik.nl/R4i/

As I mentioned earlier, the patched v1.84 kernel won't actually load games--at least, on my 2015 model. If it does work for you, I'd be interested to hear to hear a walk through on how you got it working. It's possible I made a mistake somewhere.

 

[Technicmaster0]

As I mentioned earlier, the patched v1.84 kernel won't actually load games--at least, on my 2015 model. If it does work for you, I'd be interested to hear to hear a walk through on how you got it working. It's possible I made a mistake somewhere.

It loads ROMs for me and I didn't have to do anything else except copying the files to the MicroSD card.

 

[kuwanger]

It loads ROMs for me and I didn't have to do anything else except copying the files to the MicroSD card.

Tried with a fresh MicroSD card and it works for me too. Not sure why it wasn't working on my other card. *sigh* In any case, it still has the time bomb code, so it's no real improvement. Thanks for the information, though.

 

[roytam1]

Great tutorial but two questions:
-Did the pre-2014 cards have a "date softbrick"?
-Does the r4i-sdhc.com kernel contain a "date softbrick"?

Also, for people who want to use the R4i-SDHC kernel with a r4isdhc card (for whatever reason): http://mkiddy.leerik.nl/R4i/

tried this patch on 2.0b and 3.9b, patch breaks DSi-enhanced ROM loading.

 

[mike a]

i have a 2016 r4i gold pro card, so I can just set the date on my 3ds to the right time?? I thought it expired in 2017

 

[Technicmaster0]

i have a 2016 r4i gold pro card, so I can just set the date on my 3ds to the right time?? I thought it expired in 2017

It will expire 2019 with the latest kernel and there will probably be a new kernel then.

 

[mike a]

so, I can just keep downloading the latest kernel from the site then?? like I'd have to download the 2018 gold pro kernel and use that

 

[Technicmaster0]

so, I can just keep downloading the latest kernel from the site then?? like I'd have to download the 2018 gold pro kernel and use that

Yes. But it's probably the same that you already have.

 

[kidman64]

Does anyone have the patched 1.84 zip file? the original URL is down. Thanks in advance.

 

[Technicmaster0]

Does anyone have the patched 1.84 zip file? the original URL is down. Thanks in advance.

http://technicmaster0.no-ip.biz/Fla...-2017/R4i SDHC Dual-Core/r4i-sdhc.com kernel/

 

[kidman64]

much appreciated!

 

[FormattedPotato]

You can avoid the r4isdhc firmware and time bomb entirely and directly use YSMenu firmware. Read this thread: gbatemp.net/threads/ysmenu-for-r4-sdhc.187663/