Tutorial
Updated
Custom Themes for the Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS Custom Themes Tutorial by sks316
NOTE: The Themely and Anemone3DS guides have multiple methods for downloading themes. It does not matter which method you use.
Take your SD Card out of your 3DS/2DS and put it in your computer/Mac.
Go to Theme Plaza, find a theme you like, and download it.
Create a folder called "Themes" on the root of your SD Card if it does not already exist.
Drag the ZIP file you just downloaded to the Themes folder on your SD Card. (With Themely, it is unnecessary to extract the data from the ZIP file.)
Create a folder called "Themes" on the root of your SD Card if it does not already exist.
Drag the ZIP file you just downloaded to the Themes folder on your SD Card. (With Themely, it is unnecessary to extract the data from the ZIP file.)
Take your SD Card out of your computer and put it back in your 3DS/2DS.
Turn on your 3DS/2DS and install the Themely CIA using your favorite CIA installer.
Start Themely (It may black screen the first time you start it. If it does, force the 3DS/2DS to shut down by holding the Power Button and try again)
Tap the QR Code button on the Touch Screen to open the QR Code scanner.
Go to Theme Plaza and find a theme you like.
Once you've found a theme, simply hover over the preview for the theme.
Position your 3DS camera in front of the QR Code. Re-position it until all of the QR Code is visible on the 3DS's screen.
The theme will begin downloading after the QR Code is scanned.
Go to Theme Plaza and find a theme you like.
Once you've found a theme, simply hover over the preview for the theme.
Position your 3DS camera in front of the QR Code. Re-position it until all of the QR Code is visible on the 3DS's screen.
The theme will begin downloading after the QR Code is scanned.
Press the A Button to install the theme. (Hold R and press the A Button to install the theme without BGM.)
Press Start to exit Themely and press the HOME Button to go to the HOME Menu.
You should now see the Custom Theme you installed on your HOME Menu.
You now have Custom Themes. To install a new theme, download a new theme from Theme Plaza and install it using Themely.
Download Anemone3DS from here. (This tutorial will use the CIA version, but installation for the 3DSX version should be the same as any other 3DSX.)
Take your SD Card out of your 3DS/2DS and put it in your computer/Mac.
Go to Theme Plaza, find a theme you like, and download it.
Create a folder called "Themes" on the root of your SD Card if it does not already exist.
Drag the ZIP file you just downloaded to the Themes folder on your SD Card. (With Anemone3DS, it is unnecessary to extract the data from the ZIP file.)
Create a folder called "Themes" on the root of your SD Card if it does not already exist.
Drag the ZIP file you just downloaded to the Themes folder on your SD Card. (With Anemone3DS, it is unnecessary to extract the data from the ZIP file.)
Take your SD Card out of your computer and put it back in your 3DS/2DS.
Turn on your 3DS/2DS and install the Anemone3DS CIA using your favorite CIA installer.
Start Anemone3DS. It will take a while to boot depending on how many themes you have.
Press the R button to open the QR Code scanner.
Go to Theme Plaza and find a theme you like.
Once you've found a theme, simply hover over the preview for the theme.
Position your 3DS camera in front of the QR Code. Re-position it until all of the QR Code is visible on the 3DS's screen.
The theme will begin downloading if you have done this correctly. It may take some time.
Go to Theme Plaza and find a theme you like.
Once you've found a theme, simply hover over the preview for the theme.
Position your 3DS camera in front of the QR Code. Re-position it until all of the QR Code is visible on the 3DS's screen.
The theme will begin downloading if you have done this correctly. It may take some time.
Enter the theme browser by tapping the download button on the Touch Screen or by holding X, holding left on the D-pad, and then releasing X.
Wait for the theme list to load. Once it loads, navigate to a theme you like. You may also navigate to other pages with the on-screen controls. You may also use Y to see a preview.
Once you find a theme you like, press A to download the theme. It may take some time to download. Once it's downloaded, press B to go back.
Wait for the theme list to load. Once it loads, navigate to a theme you like. You may also navigate to other pages with the on-screen controls. You may also use Y to see a preview.
Once you find a theme you like, press A to download the theme. It may take some time to download. Once it's downloaded, press B to go back.
Press the A Button to install the theme. (Press X to install only the BGM.)
Press Start to exit Anemone3DS and press the HOME Button to go to the HOME Menu.
You should now see the Custom Theme you installed on your HOME Menu.
You now have Custom Themes. To install a new theme, download a new theme from Theme Plaza and install it using Anemone3DS, or scan a QR Code.
If Anemone3DS isn't working for you, you can post about your issue here and try one of the other options.
If you have a feature suggestion for Anemone3DS, you can post it here
THIS TOOL REQUIRES THAT YOU HAVE CUSTOM FIRMWARE INSTALLED! PLEASE REMEMBER THIS WHEN FOLLOWING THIS GUIDE!
Extract Howling Theme Tool to whatever location you'd like.
Inside the Howling Theme Tool install directory, create a new folder called "Themes", and inside that folder, create 3 folders with the names Custom, Custom NSFW, and Oficiales. Custom will be used for Custom themes, Custom NSFW will be used for NSFW themes, and Oficiales will be used for Official themes.
Go to Theme Plaza, find a theme you like, and download it.
Extract the .ZIP file that the theme came in.
If the theme is SFW, drag the folder into [HTT Install Directory]/Themes/Custom, and if it's NSFW, drag it into [HTT Install Directory]/Themes/Custom NSFW.
Once the theme files are in the respective folders, run "Theme Checker" in the Software folder, select your Themes folder and then press "Start Verification". If you get a message that says "All the themes are in good condition", you're good to go! Otherwise, follow the on-screen instructions.
Then run Howling Theme Tool, choose your language, select your Themes folder, and hit Start.
Click the theme you'd like to install in the "Available themes" list, then click Add to add it to the "Themes to pack" list.
Click the "..." button, select "Create theme package", and then choose your 3DS's region.
Wait while Howling Theme Tool compiles the CIA file.
Once it's done, save the CIA file wherever you'd like. You may now close Howling Theme Tool.
Take your SD Card out of your 3DS/2DS and put it in your computer/Mac.
Move the CIA file you just created to your SD Card.
Take your SD Card out of your computer and put it back in your 3DS/2DS
Install the CIA file using your favorite CIA installer.
Finally, go to your 3DS's theme manager (yes, the official one) and apply the custom theme.
You now have Custom Themes. To install a new theme, download a new theme from Theme Plaza, rebuild the CIA using Howling Theme Tool, and install the CIA.
If Howling Theme Tool isn't working for you, you can read the FAQ below, post about your issue here and try one of the other options.
Q: What does this tool do?
A: Howling Theme Tool builds .CIA packages of 3DS Custom Themes for installation with a Custom Firmware like Luma3DS.
Q: What do I need to do to get this to work?
A: Read the guide, that's the reason it's there.
Q: What Custom Firmwares does this work on?
A: The tested CFWs are Luma3DS, rxTools, and Player's Heaven.
Q: I don't have CFW, can I still use this?
A: Unfortunately, CFW is required. Please follow Plailect's 3DS Hacks Guide to install Custom Firmware.
Q: Something's not working! Help?
A: Please be more descriptive, we can't help you if you don't describe what your issue is.
Q: Themes get deleted whenever I visit the eShop or Theme Shop! What gives?
A: You're likely using an old version of Howling Theme Tool. Please ensure you're using the latest version.
Q: The themes don't show up! What happened?
A: CIAs generated with Howling Theme Tool may not work very well with FBI. It's recommended that you use DevMenu or BigBlueMenu to install the CIAs. Due to the nature of these files, I cannot redistribute them or link to them here. Use Google to find them.
Q: I'm getting a "Failed to create empty document." error when extracting Howling Theme Tool. Where did I go wrong?
A: @Chelsea_Fantasy has answered this question in this thread.
A: Howling Theme Tool builds .CIA packages of 3DS Custom Themes for installation with a Custom Firmware like Luma3DS.
Q: What do I need to do to get this to work?
A: Read the guide, that's the reason it's there.
Q: What Custom Firmwares does this work on?
A: The tested CFWs are Luma3DS, rxTools, and Player's Heaven.
Q: I don't have CFW, can I still use this?
A: Unfortunately, CFW is required. Please follow Plailect's 3DS Hacks Guide to install Custom Firmware.
Q: Something's not working! Help?
A: Please be more descriptive, we can't help you if you don't describe what your issue is.
Q: Themes get deleted whenever I visit the eShop or Theme Shop! What gives?
A: You're likely using an old version of Howling Theme Tool. Please ensure you're using the latest version.
Q: The themes don't show up! What happened?
A: CIAs generated with Howling Theme Tool may not work very well with FBI. It's recommended that you use DevMenu or BigBlueMenu to install the CIAs. Due to the nature of these files, I cannot redistribute them or link to them here. Use Google to find them.
Q: I'm getting a "Failed to create empty document." error when extracting Howling Theme Tool. Where did I go wrong?
A: @Chelsea_Fantasy has answered this question in this thread.
If you have any suggestions for this tutorial or if anything is broken or out of date, feel free to DM me.
Last edited by PrincessLillie,
