Gaming damaged 3DS won't play DS games properly

[meliakh]

I dropped my 3DS a few days ago, it wasn't that high a fall and not hard either, and also it was encased in hard plastic case.
On the surface it didn't do much damage, everything works fine, SFIV multiplayer was good as always, but when I tried playing Pokemon White on it, sometimes the game won't load past the white start screen, and it always freezes when trying to Game Sync, and gets an error message when entering Union Room.

I know the cart works fine, tested on my old DS lite and it works like new. I can't access the DS settings on my 3DS as well, so I'm guessing the thing that handles DS software on the 3DS got damaged.. Is there any solution to this?

 

[BasedKiliK]

Send it in to Nintendo to get it serviced. Not much else you can do.

 

[bowser]

But don't tell them you dropped it

 

[meliakh]

Sadly it's not an option, as I live in Indonesia, which according to Nintendo, does not exist.

Has anyone else encountered this problem?

 

[bowser]

Maybe you can try a system format?

 

[Foxi4]

I don't see how dropping a system would affect DS compatibility in any way whatsoever - it's a matter of software, not hardware. If you damaged the MB, chances are the 3DS wouldn't even *boot*. As mentioned by bowser, try restoring the console to Factory Default settings and see what happens.

 

[meliakh]

One more thing, if I do that, would I lose my ambassador thing? And streetpass/mii plaza data?

 

[jceggbert5]

One more thing, if I do that, would I lose my ambassador thing? And streetpass/mii plaza data?

Sadly, yes you will.

 

[meliakh]

It didn't work, I formatted the system (ambassador status was not affected, by the way) and tried the Union Room, got in, and got booted out almost immediately

I guess the hardware is screwed up somehow.

 

[Foxi4]

It didn't work, I formatted the system (ambassador status was not affected, by the way) and tried the Union Room, got in, and got booted out almost immediately

I guess the hardware is screwed up somehow.

I already voiced out my opinion that it's pretty much impossible, but... yeah... do try a different game. Remember that the 3DS is only "backwards-compatible", it's not exactly a "DS" so there will always be a slight mismatch compared to the original hardware the game was intended to use. It's entirely possible that it may have gone haywire after an update.

As far as the Ambassador program is concerned, I think it "could" be restored if you e-mail Nintendo's Customer Support, afterall, they do keep records of Ambassadors.

 

[bowser]

Are you using a flashcart or a real DS game card? Did you try using another DS gamecard?

 

[meliakh]

I already voiced out my opinion that it's pretty much impossible, but... yeah... do try a different game. Remember that the 3DS is only "backwards-compatible", it's not exactly a "DS" so there will always be a slight mismatch compared to the original hardware the game was intended to use. It's entirely possible that it may have gone haywire after an update.

Are you using a flashcart or a real DS game card? Did you try using another DS gamecard?

I'm using real DS game card. I tried another DS game, Pokemon Soul Silver, this one can't even get past the Lugia screen. I guess it's conclusive that only the backward compatibility is affected.

As for the ambassador status, turns out it's linked to the eShop account and not the system, so unless you delete the account from eShop, system format won't remove the ambassador status.

 

[Skelletonike]

I've dropped my 3DS quite often and it has a few scratches on the corners but everything ran okay (well, even if it didnt, I still have 3 years insurance and warranty aswell =3), so I cant see how leet it fall would damage the DS compability, specially since the 3DS and DS games use the same slot... Meh... Have you tried checking inside the slot (the place where you put the games) if anything is broken/loose inside? Like a broken hinge or something...

 

[Janthran]

Sorry, If I'd seen this thread I could have stopped a bit of your worries about the eShop.

 

[chris888222]

Indonesia is in charge by Maxsoft, right?

Probably you need to send it to Singapore for servicing if so...

But Maxsoft is shit and they overprice. They charged me $60 for repairing my DS and it broke down shortly after.

 

[Thesolcity]

Are you sure its the 3DS and not the cartridge?

 

[chris888222]

Are you sure its the 3DS and not the cartridge?

Er...

I know the cart works fine, tested on my old DS lite and it works like new.

It could be a save problem. But isn't DS mode on 3DS a software issue and not a hardware issue??

 

[Thesolcity]

Yea AFAIK the DS bit is emulated with bits of the original firmware coded in. Only tiny amounts, though. Also sorry, I did not look at OP's post. It sounds like it may be a connection issue though. Push it in harder? That's what I do when my DSTWO acts up on the 3DS occasionally.

 

[meliakh]

I tried inserting, ejecting, then re-inserting the cart plenty of times and, but still no dice.

Have you tried checking inside the slot (the place where you put the games) if anything is broken/loose inside? Like a broken hinge or something...

I'm not sure I can tell the difference... Looked okay to my untrained eyes though. And I only peeked into the slot with a flashlight, I don't wanna cause more harm trying to disassemble the 3DS.

Indonesia is in charge by Maxsoft, right?

Probably you need to send it to Singapore for servicing if so...

But Maxsoft is shit and they overprice. They charged me $60 for repairing my DS and it broke down shortly after.

Not really, the games I get are imported independently, but no Maxsoft rep or such here.

I guess I'll just have to live with it then... Thanks, everyone

 

[Foxi4]

If you have any friends at all that have the same game that causes issues, I do suggest trying a different cartridge. It just has to be a software issue, there's no way in hell that hardware damage would cripple DS-Mode without rendering the 3DS a useless brick altogether.

Perhaps it's the access point that's the issue? Is it DS-Compatible (WEP or lower)? Connecting to one that isn't would result in an error in Union Room.