Hacking 11.6 Update + Gateway.bin = Lost B9S

[morocco1]

Hello

I've been a long time lurker on these boards and have usually managed to find the info I needed without posting to ask, however I'm completely stumped here. I updated to 11.6, and tried to use the v2gw.bin payload to enable my Gateway card, and yep, I've now got a stock firmware - brilliant. Yes, I know that GW is no longer recommended, but it's convenient, and I had no idea that trying to use it would delete my CFW. I'm good at following instructions i.e. 3ds.guide, but ultimately I don't have any real understanding of what the various hacks and fixes are actually doing to the 3DS and what I should / shouldn't do - first slip up in 4 years and it looks like a major one right now.

So what are my options here?

• I've got backups of everything I should have backed up
• I don't have a hard-mod
• I don't have an NTR-compatible 3DS flashcard but happy to acquire one if that will allow me to get B9S back.

 

[Majickhat55]

Hello

I've been a long time lurker on these boards and have usually managed to find the info I needed without posting to ask, however I'm completely stumped here. I updated to 11.6, and tried to use the v2gw.bin payload to enable my Gateway card, and yep, I've now got a stock firmware - brilliant. Yes, I know that GW is no longer recommended, but it's convenient, and I had no idea that trying to use it would delete my CFW. I'm good at following instructions i.e. 3ds.guide, but ultimately I don't have any real understanding of what the various hacks and fixes are actually doing to the 3DS and what I should / shouldn't do - first slip up in 4 years and it looks like a major one right now.

So what are my options here?

• I've got backups of everything I should have backed up
• I don't have a hard-mod
• I don't have an NTR-compatible 3DS flashcard but happy to acquire one if that will allow me to get B9S back.

Yup you just need to get a compatible flashcard and you can get your B9S back. I'd recommend the R4i Gold RTS. It's only $20 and you can play NDS roms with it after you hack your console so it's not useless after the fact. http://www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?ProID=149

Using Gateway in SysNAND mode will remove CFW from an O3DS and brick a N3DS. It's only meant to be used with emuNAND lower than 11.2, if you decide to use it again later.

 

[morocco1]

Yup you just need to get a compatible flashcard and you can get your B9S back. I'd recommend the R4i Gold RTS. It's only $20 and you can play NDS roms with it after you hack your console so it's not useless after the fact.

Using Gateway in SysNAND mode will remove CFW from an O3DS and brick a N3DS. It's only meant to be used with emuNAND lower than 11.2, if you decide to use it again later.

Great, I feel more relaxed about it now.

I'd been using a SYSNand-only setup on 11.2, plus the v2gw.bin as a payload. Am I able to go back to using an Emunand setup once I've regained B9S then? It'd be convenient to be able to go back to using the GW card; I have 2x 32GB microSD cards with all my games, and of course all my save files are GW format too. I'd been using it so long I was too heavily invested to move away from it!

 

[Majickhat55]

Great, I feel more relaxed about it now.

I'd been using a SYSNand-only setup on 11.2, plus the v2gw.bin as a payload. Am I able to go back to using an Emunand setup once I've regained B9S then? It'd be convenient to be able to go back to using the GW card; I have 2x 32GB microSD cards with all my games, and of course all my save files are GW format too. I'd been using it so long I was too heavily invested to move away from it!

Yeah of course. Once you have B9S again, you can make an emuNAND and downgrade it to 11.2, you'll still need to use the v2gw.bin to get it work though. Assuming Gateway still works with that method on B9S v1.3. I know a lot of programs had to be rewritten from v1.2 to v1.3 to retain compatibility.

Even if that's the case though, nothing is stopping you from using the v1.2 release of Boot9Strap during your install.

 

[morocco1]

Yeah of course. Once you have B9S again, you can make an emuNAND and downgrade it to 11.2, you'll still need to use the v2gw.bin to get it work though. Assuming Gateway still works with that method on B9S v1.3. I know a lot of programs had to be rewritten from v1.2 to v1.3 to retain compatibility.

Even if that's the case though, nothing is stopping you from using the v1.2 release of Boot9Strap during your install.

Well, that could have been a lot worse - $20 outlay for an NTR-compatible card I can live with, especially since it looks like it will provide a bit of a safety net (not that I'm ever updating again...).

It looks like I had B9S 1.3 (the date modified is showing as 06/09/2017 on the SD card) and v2gw.bin was working fine with that. Should save me a few hours converting roms and saves to be CIA-compatible.

Thanks for the info, appreciate it.

 

[Majickhat55]

No problem. And yeah, it's a definite safety net. As long as you have that you can recover from any brick that isn't related to the hardware. Updating is always safe using B9S, it's just a matter of homebrews potentially needing updates afterwards. Your system itself will never lose CFW from a system settings update when using a CFW with firm protection like Luma.

 

[morocco1]

No problem. And yeah, it's a definite safety net. As long as you have that you can recover from any brick that isn't related to the hardware. Updating is always safe using B9S, it's just a matter of homebrews potentially needing updates afterwards. Your system itself will never lose CFW from a system settings update when using a CFW with firm protection like Luma.

So I'd thought until I read (afterwards, obviously...) that the GW bin file can remove it after 11.2. I'm baffled by that to be honest, not working I could understand, but somehow it's completely removed my CFW. Never mind - with the new card I'll be able to fix it. Thanks again.

 

[FateForWindows]

So I'd thought until I read (afterwards, obviously...) that the GW bin file can remove it after 11.2. I'm baffled by that to be honest, not working I could understand, but somehow it's completely removed my CFW. Never mind - with the new card I'll be able to fix it. Thanks again.

Gateway CFW, B9S and Luma CFW are all separate things.

 

[Majickhat55]

So I'd thought until I read (afterwards, obviously...) that the GW bin file can remove it after 11.2. I'm baffled by that to be honest, not working I could understand, but somehow it's completely removed my CFW. Never mind - with the new card I'll be able to fix it. Thanks again.

It does it because Gateway doesn't protect your FIRM like Luma does. So when you update in Gateway mode it's basically ignoring the protection and updating normally; clearing the hax. Trying to use it over 11.2 just doesn't work because Gateway never updated their own firmware after 11.2. That's the entire reason for loading Gateway through Luma on emuNAND. Then if you do update, it won't do anything but make Gateway blackscreen but you's still have your hacks.

 

[morocco1]

It does it because Gateway doesn't protect your FIRM like Luma does. So when you update in Gateway mode it's basically ignoring the protection and updating normally; clearing the hax. Trying to use it over 11.2 just doesn't work because Gateway never updated their own firmware after 11.2. That's the entire reason for loading Gateway through Luma on emuNAND. Then if you do update, it won't do anything but make Gateway blackscreen but you's still have your hacks.

Now I got you.

That's exactly what I'd done, updated in GW custom firmware mode run as a Luma payload. Which TBH I should have known better about because I've been not updating in GW ever since 4.5. Makes sense now. Presumably had I updated in Luma, I'd have still had CFW but no longer had a working method of booting my GW card.

Every day's a school day.

 

[Shady Guy Jose]

Now I got you.

That's exactly what I'd done, updated in GW custom firmware mode run as a Luma payload. Which TBH I should have known better about because I've been not updating in GW ever since 4.5. Makes sense now. Presumably had I updated in Luma, I'd have still had CFW but no longer had a working method of booting my GW card.

Every day's a school day.

Almost right. Prior to 11.2, this would be the exact case. Updating in GW mode would delete hacks, anything else would be safe or just make Gateway stop working.
However, right now, just booting an 11.3+ SysNAND in Gateway mode (you don't even need to update) will have the same effect. So create an 11.2 EmuNAND from an old backup and stick to that whenever you're using Gateway, at least until they update it.

 

[Majickhat55]

Now I got you.

That's exactly what I'd done, updated in GW custom firmware mode run as a Luma payload. Which TBH I should have known better about because I've been not updating in GW ever since 4.5. Makes sense now. Presumably had I updated in Luma, I'd have still had CFW but no longer had a working method of booting my GW card.

Every day's a school day.

Yeah and these things change like every other day so that doesn't help either Lol. Always learning something new

 

[morocco1]

Almost right. Prior to 11.2, this would be the exact case. Updating in GW mode would delete hacks, anything else would be safe or just make Gateway stop working.
However, right now, just booting an 11.3+ SysNAND in Gateway mode (you don't even need to update) will have the same effect. So create an 11.2 EmuNAND from an old backup and stick to that whenever you're using Gateway, at least until they update it.

It says on here they're updating it SOON, is that right?

I backed up my NAND when I went from AL9H to B9S that should be OK.

Yeah and these things change like every other day so that doesn't help either Lol. Always learning something new

An extremely effective method of learning what you're not supposed to do is to do it once...

 

[Majickhat55]

It says on here they're updating it SOON, is that right?

I backed up my NAND when I went from AL9H to B9S that should be OK.



An extremely effective method of learning what you're not supposed to do is to do it once...

Lol they've been saying that since 11.2...... Soon indeed.

 

[morocco1]

Lol they've been saying that since 11.2...... Soon indeed.

Just thought of another couple of questions, if you can help...

1. Will I need to follow the 3ds.guide through to completion given that I've previously had Luma installed, and have an SD card with the latest version of Luma and all of my installed apps etc? Ideally I'd like to get back to where I was at, with things I'd installed like FBI, JKSM, HB Pokebank and GBA VC games available, rather than starting fresh and having to reinstall everything, lose save data etc... is there an obvious point where I can stop following the guide? i.e. once I've re-enabled B9S, will everything else just work as it should, the Luma boot.firm will load at boot, etc? The apps are still showing on the 3DS menu, but they give a message about redownloading from the store when I try opening them.

2. 3ds.guide is a bit vague on how to setup an Emunand - the most likely-looking section I've seen is https://3ds.guide/godmode9-usage but that implies formatting the card, can't see how that would help? Based on what I've been advised I'm looking to use my pre-11.2 NAND backup to create an Emunand, how would I go about that? Feel free to point me to a relevant guide rather than step by step instructions.

Cheers

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Yup you just need to get a compatible flashcard and you can get your B9S back. I'd recommend the R4i Gold RTS. It's only $20 and you can play NDS roms with it after you hack your console so it's not useless after the fact. http://www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?ProID=149

Using Gateway in SysNAND mode will remove CFW from an O3DS and brick a N3DS. It's only meant to be used with emuNAND lower than 11.2, if you decide to use it again later.

Not true anymore, with B9S it will just remove CFW.

Just thought of another couple of questions, if you can help...

1. Will I need to follow the 3ds.guide through to completion given that I've previously had Luma installed, and have an SD card with the latest version of Luma and all of my installed apps etc? Ideally I'd like to get back to where I was at, with things I'd installed like FBI, JKSM, HB Pokebank and GBA VC games available, rather than starting fresh and having to reinstall everything, lose save data etc... is there an obvious point where I can stop following the guide? i.e. once I've re-enabled B9S, will everything else just work as it should, the Luma boot.firm will load at boot, etc? The apps are still showing on the 3DS menu, but they give a message about redownloading from the store when I try opening them.

2. 3ds.guide is a bit vague on how to setup an Emunand - the most likely-looking section I've seen is https://3ds.guide/godmode9-usage but that implies formatting the card, can't see how that would help? Based on what I've been advised I'm looking to use my pre-11.2 NAND backup to create an Emunand, how would I go about that? Feel free to point me to a relevant guide rather than step by step instructions.

Cheers

All your homebrew and such should still be there once you have CFW again assuming you don't restore an older NAND backup. If you restore an older NAND backup you will have whatever you had when you made it (assuming all the files are still on your SD card)

Yes, you need to format the card to create an emuNAND. Once that is done you can restore your NAND backup to it with the emuNAND restore script in GM9.

 

[Shady Guy Jose]

Just thought of another couple of questions, if you can help...

1. Will I need to follow the 3ds.guide through to completion given that I've previously had Luma installed, and have an SD card with the latest version of Luma and all of my installed apps etc? Ideally I'd like to get back to where I was at, with things I'd installed like FBI, JKSM, HB Pokebank and GBA VC games available, rather than starting fresh and having to reinstall everything, lose save data etc... is there an obvious point where I can stop following the guide? i.e. once I've re-enabled B9S, will everything else just work as it should, the Luma boot.firm will load at boot, etc? The apps are still showing on the 3DS menu, but they give a message about redownloading from the store when I try opening them.

2. 3ds.guide is a bit vague on how to setup an Emunand - the most likely-looking section I've seen is https://3ds.guide/godmode9-usage but that implies formatting the card, can't see how that would help? Based on what I've been advised I'm looking to use my pre-11.2 NAND backup to create an Emunand, how would I go about that? Feel free to point me to a relevant guide rather than step by step instructions.

Cheers

Not true anymore, with B9S it will just remove CFW.

All your homebrew and such should still be there once you have CFW again assuming you don't restore an older NAND backup. If you restore an older NAND backup you will have whatever you had when you made it (assuming all the files are still on your SD card)

Yes, you need to format the card to create an emuNAND. Once that is done you can restore your NAND backup to it with the emuNAND restore script in GM9.

I'm assuming you know your way around GodMode9 enough to follow general instructions. You will need to format, as @The Real Jdbye said, by using GodMode9's "Format with EmuNAND (full size)", or similarly named, option. This will clone your SysNAND into a Gateway-style EmuNAND, but on 11.6. You will then have to restore all your files to the SD card and restore your pre-11.2 NAND backup to EmuNAND. Afterwards, you can use Yoshi's Wooly World, in cart or .3ds format, from your region, to update EmuNAND to 11.2. To do so, you have to disable Gateway's cart update protection by pressing a button combination on boot while booting into Gateway mode EmuNAND. It used to be D-Pad up, but I'm not sure. @Quantumcat ?

 

[morocco1]

I'm assuming you know your way around GodMode9 enough to follow general instructions. You will need to format, as @The Real Jdbye said, by using GodMode9's "Format with EmuNAND (full size)", or similarly named, option. This will clone your SysNAND into a Gateway-style EmuNAND, but on 11.6. You will then have to restore all your files to the SD card and restore your pre-11.2 NAND backup to EmuNAND. Afterwards, you can use Yoshi's Wooly World, in cart or .3ds format, from your region, to update EmuNAND to 11.2. To do so, you have to disable Gateway's cart update protection by pressing a button combination on boot while booting into Gateway mode EmuNAND. It used to be D-Pad up, but I'm not sure. @Quantumcat ?

This doesn't sound too painful. Hacking the 3DS has definitely come a long way since this type of question used to be answered with "yup, you're screwed".

Is there a guide for restoring an earlier NAND to EmuNAND or does GM9 just talk you through it? I got a few to choose from, do I use the one named "NAND" yeah? Do I even NEED all of these? Been holding onto all of them just in case, I got them all in the A9LH process.

 

[Shady Guy Jose]

This doesn't sound too painful. Hacking the 3DS has definitely come a long way since this type of question used to be answered with "yup, you're screwed".

Is there a guide for restoring an earlier NAND to EmuNAND or does GM9 just talk you through it? I got a few to choose from, do I use the one named "NAND" yeah? Do I even NEED all of these? Been holding onto all of them just in case, I got them all in the A9LH process.

View attachment 103107

You choose the one that has the desired version and content. Hell, try all of them (one at a time) and see which one suits you best I think GodMode9 walks you through it, but I'm not sure, since I've never had to do it myself (cloned my 11.2 SysNAND to EmuNAND before updating it).

 

[morocco1]

You choose the one that has the desired version and content. Hell, try all of them (one at the time) and see which one suits you best I think GodMode9 walks you through it, but I'm not sure, since I've never had to do it myself (cloned my 11.2 SysNAND to EmuNAND before updating it).

Well, as long as there is no "wrong" one, I'll start at the top and see what happens. I might even learn something for myself! Once I've got an 11.2 one, I think I'll back that up too in case of further accidents.