Hardware Misc 3DS hunting

[woolywoods]

I'm going to a few pawn/resell shops to see if I can find a 3DS for sale.

Other than looking for CFW and IPS screens, what else would you recommend looking out for? My budget is likely going to be 60~ so anything that could help me haggle the price down would be useful ^^

Also, any tests I can do to make sure none of the internal components are broken? (like wifi chip)

 

[Dudee15]

you want to watch out for the hinges. if the barcode on the bottom of the 3ds isnt present that may mean heavy use or water damage. also make sure wifi works.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

(L) and (R) buttons are known to cause trouble. Circle pad (internal) can be worn. Try touchscreen calibration to make sure touch panel has no bad spots. Just try all components:

• Buttons / Circle Pad
• Touch
• Cameras (inner/outer)
• SD slot
• Volume and 3D slider
• Game cart reader
• DS(i) mode (start DS game or DS version of Download Play)
• Mario 3D or Ocarina of Time 3D can be used to test gyro/motion controls
• Headphone jack
• WiFi and WiFi switch (old models only)

 

[Citizen_404]

I think the whole "IPS vs. TFT" screen thing is over-rated. If you are staring straight on at the screen, the TFT screens will be just as bright. It's only if you are looking at an angle that the image becomes less sharp. Having said that, make sure the screen is bright enough for you; everybody always seems to have the screen brightness jacked up to 5, the LCD bulb isn't going to last forever.

I definitely second what @KleinesSinchen said, check *all* the buttons and the card slots. You probably can't take things apart, but see if there is some kind of return policy, so you can get it home and then give it a quick look internally (don't screw around with anything and break it on your own).

I bought a used 3DS off eBay. It turned out there had been a soda spill that leaked into the thing; the only indication I had from the outside was stickiness of the ZL button that worked intermittantly. It was only when I took it apart that I could see that there was left over dried gunk inside. I cleaned that off with 91% isopropyl alcohol, but the ZL button still didn't work; I wound up having to replace it entirely (iFixit had the parts, thankfully).

Having said that, if all the buttons work and it reads games, and the screens are ok, you should be in good shape. Good luck!