Note: This guide won't be actively maintained anymore due to superior alternatives cropping up. Everything in it should still be valid, but it's definitely not the best way of doing some things, and some things might not be clear and concise enough.
This guide only applies to 3DS system versions 4.0-10.3, and the CFW process only applies to system versions 4.0-9.2.
The general roadmap is: Browserhax & Menuhax > emuNAND prep > CakesFW > Unlinking. The last sections of the guide are optional and deal with important homebrew and MultiNAND creation, respectively. Downgrading is only necessary for 9.3+ systems, and Upgrading is entirely optional.
If a system firmware update has been released and you're on a firmware above 9.8 and below latest firmware, you need to set the blocker DNS before proceeding. You can read about this in the 'DNS Bypass' section of this guide.
BROWSERHAX:
1. Download the Homebrew Starter Kit from https://smealum.github.io/ninjhax2/starter.zip
2. Place the contents in the root of your SD card
3. Visit http://yls8.mtheall.com/3dsbrowserhax_auto.php and follow the instructions. Sliderhax.php requires you to zoom in and tap the rightmost end of the slider, the rest are automatic.
Repeat Step 3 as needed to open the Homebrew Menu.
MENUHAX (REQUIRES FIRMWARE VERSION ABOVE 9.0):
1. Open the Homebrew Menu.
2. Open the Menuhax_Manager app.
3. Install.
4. You're done.
CAUTION: Don't change your Home Menu theme after installing this, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Doing so will uninstall Menuhax and render it unusable. You can, however, install custom themes by dropping body_LZ.bin and bgm.bcstm into the menuhax_manager folder and selecting Install custom theme.
DNS Bypass:
System Versions 9.9 and above force you to update to use the Browser, as it checks with Nintendo's servers if the console is on the latest firmware to prevent exploitation. 10.3 is the last fully exploitable firmware, but it's not the latest, and as such requires the DNS block.
DON'T OPEN THE 3DS INTERNET BROWSER IF YOU'RE NOT ON THE LATEST FIRMWARE AND ARE ABOVE 9.8, YOU'LL RENDER IT COMPLETELY UNUSABLE. FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW BEFORE YOU TRY TO DO SO.
IF THE BROWSER NAGS YOU AFTER SETTING UP THE DNS, THAT MEANS YOU HAVEN'T USED THE BROWSER SINCE UPGRADING TO 9.9. Use a different entrypoint like Ninjhax, Smashhax or OoT3Dhax.
N3DS USERS: IF YOU ENTER THE BROWSER REALLY QUICK UPON TURNING THE CONSOLE ON, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO OUTRUN THE UPDATE NAG, BUT TRYING THE DNS FIRST IS STILL ADVISABLE.
To change your DNS settings to bypass this:
1. Open System Settings.
2. Go to Internet Settings > Connection Settings. Edit your main connection settings.
3. Set Auto-Obtain DNS to 'No' and enter 107.211.140.065 under both DNS slots.
4. Do this for all your other connections, if any.
DOWNGRADING/UPDATING:
FAIR WARNING: Even though this is mostly safe now, you're still advised to exercise caution, specially on N3DS systems.
NOTE: DELETE 000400102002CA00.cia FROM THE PACKAGE IF YOUR CONSOLE IS A JAPANESE N3DS.
INSTALLING CUSTOM FIRMWARE:
IF YOU'RE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS, REVIEW YOUR STEPS AND REDOWNLOAD THE REQUIRED FILES BECAUSE IT'S VERY LIKELY YOU DID SOMETHING WRONG
This guide only applies to 3DS system versions 4.0-10.3, and the CFW process only applies to system versions 4.0-9.2.
The general roadmap is: Browserhax & Menuhax > emuNAND prep > CakesFW > Unlinking. The last sections of the guide are optional and deal with important homebrew and MultiNAND creation, respectively. Downgrading is only necessary for 9.3+ systems, and Upgrading is entirely optional.
If a system firmware update has been released and you're on a firmware above 9.8 and below latest firmware, you need to set the blocker DNS before proceeding. You can read about this in the 'DNS Bypass' section of this guide.
BROWSERHAX:
1. Download the Homebrew Starter Kit from https://smealum.github.io/ninjhax2/starter.zip
2. Place the contents in the root of your SD card
3. Visit http://yls8.mtheall.com/3dsbrowserhax_auto.php and follow the instructions. Sliderhax.php requires you to zoom in and tap the rightmost end of the slider, the rest are automatic.
Repeat Step 3 as needed to open the Homebrew Menu.
MENUHAX (REQUIRES FIRMWARE VERSION ABOVE 9.0):
1. Open the Homebrew Menu.
2. Open the Menuhax_Manager app.
3. Install.
4. You're done.
OPTIONAL: Hit 'Setup a built-in Home Menu 'Basic' color theme' to use a different theme with Menuhax.
To activate: Hold L while starting up your 3DS to open the Homebrew Menu.CAUTION: Don't change your Home Menu theme after installing this, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Doing so will uninstall Menuhax and render it unusable. You can, however, install custom themes by dropping body_LZ.bin and bgm.bcstm into the menuhax_manager folder and selecting Install custom theme.
DNS Bypass:
System Versions 9.9 and above force you to update to use the Browser, as it checks with Nintendo's servers if the console is on the latest firmware to prevent exploitation. 10.3 is the last fully exploitable firmware, but it's not the latest, and as such requires the DNS block.
DON'T OPEN THE 3DS INTERNET BROWSER IF YOU'RE NOT ON THE LATEST FIRMWARE AND ARE ABOVE 9.8, YOU'LL RENDER IT COMPLETELY UNUSABLE. FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW BEFORE YOU TRY TO DO SO.
IF THE BROWSER NAGS YOU AFTER SETTING UP THE DNS, THAT MEANS YOU HAVEN'T USED THE BROWSER SINCE UPGRADING TO 9.9. Use a different entrypoint like Ninjhax, Smashhax or OoT3Dhax.
N3DS USERS: IF YOU ENTER THE BROWSER REALLY QUICK UPON TURNING THE CONSOLE ON, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO OUTRUN THE UPDATE NAG, BUT TRYING THE DNS FIRST IS STILL ADVISABLE.
To change your DNS settings to bypass this:
1. Open System Settings.
2. Go to Internet Settings > Connection Settings. Edit your main connection settings.
3. Set Auto-Obtain DNS to 'No' and enter 107.211.140.065 under both DNS slots.
4. Do this for all your other connections, if any.
DOWNGRADING/UPDATING:
FAIR WARNING: Even though this is mostly safe now, you're still advised to exercise caution, specially on N3DS systems.
NOTE: DELETE 000400102002CA00.cia FROM THE PACKAGE IF YOUR CONSOLE IS A JAPANESE N3DS.
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Extract sysUpdater to your /3ds/ folder.
2. Extract the updates/ folder to your SD card root.
3. Run sysUpdater from Menuhax/Browserhax and press Downgrade (9.3+ users)/Update (4.0-8.1 users).
4. Pray.
5. If all went well, you should now be on 9.2.0-20. If you're getting a black screen, you know the gist: You've got a brick. Try recovery (L+R+UP+A while turning the console on). If it doesn't work, restore your backup, and if you don't have one OR don't have a hardmod to restore it with, tough luck.
6. Reinstall Menuhax to reflect your new firmware version by following the installation instructions above again.
7. Follow the Setting up CFW guide.
If you're getting a black screen on boot, try restarting with the SD card out of the console and then insert it and change the theme to wipe Menuhax.
- sysUpdater + Libkhax build (Taken from this post)
- Having your 3DS charging during the process
- Update package: I can't help you with this.
O3DS 9.2.0-20U:
N3DS 9.2.0-20U:
These checksums may change over time. If that's the case, a quick search of the md5 sum you got should tell you whether or not the package is good or not.
MD5: 879f437d7c78f09ae565f79f5aa9c421
SHA-1: ccc272c495a84aa49f8db2da6072a79a73053e19
O3DS 9.2.0-20E:SHA-1: ccc272c495a84aa49f8db2da6072a79a73053e19
MD5: caec3e015bc065dd0ca512f219c8fc3c
SHA-1: 63f0e83892af0f43d159685b4d775e09360552e4
O3DS 9.2.0-20J:SHA-1: 63f0e83892af0f43d159685b4d775e09360552e4
MD5: a7c14f50e553d99d93efd3a8dd4f8b9d
SHA-1: 422af53b07c270d65bf443d09736f3d1c540641c
SHA-1: 422af53b07c270d65bf443d09736f3d1c540641c
N3DS 9.2.0-20U:
MD5: e5f40c3b155cfd12ef38be35d2e81d2e
SHA-1: 377c140377fb6cf31a0c032c4e1196cc521f87fe
N3DS 9.2.0-20E:SHA-1: 377c140377fb6cf31a0c032c4e1196cc521f87fe
MD5: 6dcca8fcbc9a28c82c2a4e5182f3acf8
SHA-1: e7c77bf205137167f1f1befa0c4db9d879a21a2e
N3DS 9.2.0-20J:SHA-1: e7c77bf205137167f1f1befa0c4db9d879a21a2e
MD5: f46677696ed4bf0e182de5a8168b7542
SHA-1: c9a1aaf4a4923fb5e065546da5c4a4da37aafdb2
SHA-1: c9a1aaf4a4923fb5e065546da5c4a4da37aafdb2
These checksums may change over time. If that's the case, a quick search of the md5 sum you got should tell you whether or not the package is good or not.
1. Extract sysUpdater to your /3ds/ folder.
2. Extract the updates/ folder to your SD card root.
3. Run sysUpdater from Menuhax/Browserhax and press Downgrade (9.3+ users)/Update (4.0-8.1 users).
4. Pray.
5. If all went well, you should now be on 9.2.0-20. If you're getting a black screen, you know the gist: You've got a brick. Try recovery (L+R+UP+A while turning the console on). If it doesn't work, restore your backup, and if you don't have one OR don't have a hardmod to restore it with, tough luck.
6. Reinstall Menuhax to reflect your new firmware version by following the installation instructions above again.
7. Follow the Setting up CFW guide.
If you're getting a black screen on boot, try restarting with the SD card out of the console and then insert it and change the theme to wipe Menuhax.
INSTALLING CUSTOM FIRMWARE:
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Place the cakes/ folder, slot0x25KeyX.bin, slot0x11Key96.bin and Cakes.dat in your SD card's root. Place firmware.bin and cetk in cakes/. Place 3DS/EmuNAND9 and Decrypt9WIP/ into the 3ds/ folder. Extract starter.zip to the SD card's root if not already present.
2. Open EmuNAND9 from the Homebrew Menu
2a. (Optional, but highly reccomended) EmuNAND Manager Options > Dump SysNAND to NAND.bin (In case you ever end up needing a hardmod)
3. Eject your SD card by pressing SELECT and physically ejecting
4. Back up all the contents of your SD card to your PC and place NAND.bin somewhere secure away from the backup
5. Insert your SD card back in the console and press B
6. Select Complete EmuNAND Setup and follow the instructions. THIS WILL FORMAT YOUR ENTIRE SD CARD.
7. Switch the console off and restore your SD card backup
8. Rename the Homebrew Menu's boot.3dsx to HBL8.3dsx and drop CTRBootManager's boot.3dsx and paste the boot.cfg in the spoilers above into your SD card root
9. (9.0-9.2 only) Menuhax should now lead you to the CTRBootManager screen. From here, you can launch Cakes or the Homebrew Menu.
10. Open Decrypt9WIP from the Homebrew Menu
11. EmuNAND options > Health&Safety Dump
12. Extract Universal Inject Generator anywhere on your computer
13. Drag hs.app from your SD card root and FBI.cia into the input/ folder
14. Run go.bat on Windows/go.sh on Linux/OSX
15. Rename FBI_inject_with_banner.app to hs.app and place it into the SD card root
16. Open Decrypt9WIP
17. EmuNAND options > Health&Safety Inject
18. Reboot.
19. Open CakesFW. (4.0-8.1 USERS USE THIS LINK: http://dukesrg.no-ip.org/3ds/rop?LoadROP.dat&Cakes.dat )
20. Select Patches > Enable all. Press START.
21. More options > Toggleable options > Enable autoboot. Press START. Press B.
22. Boot CFW.
23. You're done: You now have a linked EmuNAND.
If you're getting a boot loop while booting Cakes, emuNAND booting is triggering Menuhax due to the theme payload still being present. Try holding/not holding the button combination you set to not trigger Menuhax.
4.0-4.5 USERS: FBI requires 5.0 firmware MINIMUM to boot, so go to System Settings in emuNAND and perform a System Update. DON'T EXIT SYSTEM SETTINGS ONCE YOU'RE INSIDE, IT'LL KICK YOU OUT TO SYSNAND.
If you're getting a black screen while booting Cakes, try deleting config.dat, firmkey.bin and firmware_patched.bin from the cakes/ folder and repeat steps 21-24.
- Homebrew Menu Starter Kit
- CTRBootManager
- CakesFW (Use v128 as a fallback if the latest doesn't work)
- EmuNAND9
- Decrypt9
- Universal Inject Generator
- FBI
- slot0x25KeyX.bin: Can't help you with that, look it up.
- slot0x11key96.bin: See above.
- firmware.bin & cetk:
O3DS: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mid-kid/CakesForeveryWan/master/firmurl, Rename 00000049 to firmware.bin
N3DS: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mid-kid/CakesForeveryWan/master/firmurln3ds, Rename 0000001F to firmware.bin - Custom boot.cfg:
Code:// Boot menu configuration boot_config = { // Default timeout in secondes // If timeout = -1, disable autoboot timeout = 3; // Some devices (n3ds?) seems to have // some timing problems when using timeout=0 (autoboot). // You may increase this value to improve boot success rate. // Default delay (8) should be good for o3ds, 2 seems good for n3ds autobootfix = 8; // if timeout = 0 (autoboot), // hold this key to enter the menu // keycode list : https://goo.gl/4XLDIL recovery = 2; // SELECT // Default boot entry default = 0; // Boot menu entries (11 max) entries = ( { title = "CakesFW"; path = "/Cakes.dat"; offset = "0x12000"; }, { title = "HomeBrewMenu"; path = "/HBL8.3dsx"; } ); };
1. Place the cakes/ folder, slot0x25KeyX.bin, slot0x11Key96.bin and Cakes.dat in your SD card's root. Place firmware.bin and cetk in cakes/. Place 3DS/EmuNAND9 and Decrypt9WIP/ into the 3ds/ folder. Extract starter.zip to the SD card's root if not already present.
2. Open EmuNAND9 from the Homebrew Menu
2a. (Optional, but highly reccomended) EmuNAND Manager Options > Dump SysNAND to NAND.bin (In case you ever end up needing a hardmod)
3. Eject your SD card by pressing SELECT and physically ejecting
4. Back up all the contents of your SD card to your PC and place NAND.bin somewhere secure away from the backup
5. Insert your SD card back in the console and press B
6. Select Complete EmuNAND Setup and follow the instructions. THIS WILL FORMAT YOUR ENTIRE SD CARD.
7. Switch the console off and restore your SD card backup
8. Rename the Homebrew Menu's boot.3dsx to HBL8.3dsx and drop CTRBootManager's boot.3dsx and paste the boot.cfg in the spoilers above into your SD card root
9. (9.0-9.2 only) Menuhax should now lead you to the CTRBootManager screen. From here, you can launch Cakes or the Homebrew Menu.
10. Open Decrypt9WIP from the Homebrew Menu
11. EmuNAND options > Health&Safety Dump
12. Extract Universal Inject Generator anywhere on your computer
13. Drag hs.app from your SD card root and FBI.cia into the input/ folder
14. Run go.bat on Windows/go.sh on Linux/OSX
15. Rename FBI_inject_with_banner.app to hs.app and place it into the SD card root
16. Open Decrypt9WIP
17. EmuNAND options > Health&Safety Inject
18. Reboot.
19. Open CakesFW. (4.0-8.1 USERS USE THIS LINK: http://dukesrg.no-ip.org/3ds/rop?LoadROP.dat&Cakes.dat )
20. Select Patches > Enable all. Press START.
21. More options > Toggleable options > Enable autoboot. Press START. Press B.
22. Boot CFW.
23. You're done: You now have a linked EmuNAND.
If you're getting a boot loop while booting Cakes, emuNAND booting is triggering Menuhax due to the theme payload still being present. Try holding/not holding the button combination you set to not trigger Menuhax.
4.0-4.5 USERS: FBI requires 5.0 firmware MINIMUM to boot, so go to System Settings in emuNAND and perform a System Update. DON'T EXIT SYSTEM SETTINGS ONCE YOU'RE INSIDE, IT'LL KICK YOU OUT TO SYSNAND.
If you're getting a black screen while booting Cakes, try deleting config.dat, firmkey.bin and firmware_patched.bin from the cakes/ folder and repeat steps 21-24.
IF YOU'RE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS, REVIEW YOUR STEPS AND REDOWNLOAD THE REQUIRED FILES BECAUSE IT'S VERY LIKELY YOU DID SOMETHING WRONG
Here are some things you should know:
You will not be able to play DSiWare/GBA VC titles directly from EmuNAND (although you do have to install them to both NANDs anyway), but:
• It's a lot safer
• It makes SysNAND and EmuNAND act as completely different systems
• It fixes that obnoxious giftwrap glitch
• It allows you to change themes freely without changing it in SysNAND and ruining your Menuhax
As for which NAND to format, that's entirely up to you. The unformatted one will keep all the data of your old system, whereas the formatted one will be completely wiped and become a blank slate. This includes NNID, Friend Code, all games and DLC, etc.
Go with formatting SysNAND if:
• You'd like to transfer all your SysNAND content to EmuNAND
• You'd like to keep using your NNID in the eShop on EmuNAND
• You want to keep your Friend Code in EmuNAND
Go with formatting EmuNAND if:
• You'd like to keep all your SysNAND content in SysNAND
• You don't have an NNID linked, OR:
• You don't mind having to modify SysNAND to access the eShop on it
Your NNID, if any, will be transferred over to the unformatted NAND, and the process of transferring it back is convoluted. Transferring your Friend Code back and forth is impossible.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS PROCESS IS COMPLETELY IRREVERSIBLE.
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Put the TinyFormat folder inside the 3ds/ folder in the archive in your SD card's 3ds/ folder.
2. Boot up the NAND you'd like to format.
3. Open the Homebrew Menu through Browserhax.
4. Open TinyFormat.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions.
6. Reboot your formatted NAND.
7. Perform First Time Setup.
8. SysNAND and EmuNAND are now two seperate entities. As long as you're ABSOLUTELY SURE you're in EmuNAND, it's safe to run System Update. Since CakesFW doesn't have a version string patch, just check if Health & Safety is gone and FBI has taken its place. That should be the most immediate sign that you're in EmuNAND.
9. (SysNAND formats only.) Set up your entrypoints again so that you'll be able to return to EmuNAND.
You will not be able to play DSiWare/GBA VC titles directly from EmuNAND (although you do have to install them to both NANDs anyway), but:
• It's a lot safer
• It makes SysNAND and EmuNAND act as completely different systems
• It fixes that obnoxious giftwrap glitch
• It allows you to change themes freely without changing it in SysNAND and ruining your Menuhax
As for which NAND to format, that's entirely up to you. The unformatted one will keep all the data of your old system, whereas the formatted one will be completely wiped and become a blank slate. This includes NNID, Friend Code, all games and DLC, etc.
Go with formatting SysNAND if:
• You'd like to transfer all your SysNAND content to EmuNAND
• You'd like to keep using your NNID in the eShop on EmuNAND
• You want to keep your Friend Code in EmuNAND
Go with formatting EmuNAND if:
• You'd like to keep all your SysNAND content in SysNAND
• You don't have an NNID linked, OR:
• You don't mind having to modify SysNAND to access the eShop on it
Your NNID, if any, will be transferred over to the unformatted NAND, and the process of transferring it back is convoluted. Transferring your Friend Code back and forth is impossible.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS PROCESS IS COMPLETELY IRREVERSIBLE.
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Put the TinyFormat folder inside the 3ds/ folder in the archive in your SD card's 3ds/ folder.
2. Boot up the NAND you'd like to format.
3. Open the Homebrew Menu through Browserhax.
4. Open TinyFormat.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions.
6. Reboot your formatted NAND.
7. Perform First Time Setup.
8. SysNAND and EmuNAND are now two seperate entities. As long as you're ABSOLUTELY SURE you're in EmuNAND, it's safe to run System Update. Since CakesFW doesn't have a version string patch, just check if Health & Safety is gone and FBI has taken its place. That should be the most immediate sign that you're in EmuNAND.
9. (SysNAND formats only.) Set up your entrypoints again so that you'll be able to return to EmuNAND.
NOTE: You should install FBI.cia after creating a new emuNAND to prevent it getting wiped with by a system update.
NOTE 2: Exiting System Settings will kick you back into sysNAND, so be careful.
NOTE 3: Change your emuNAND theme after unlinking to erase Menuhax from it.
NOTE 4: As stated above, CakesFW doesn't have a version string patch, so just check if Health & Safety is gone and FBI has taken its place. That should be the most immediate sign that you're in EmuNAND.
Some software I reccomend:
NOTE 2: Exiting System Settings will kick you back into sysNAND, so be careful.
NOTE 3: Change your emuNAND theme after unlinking to erase Menuhax from it.
NOTE 4: As stated above, CakesFW doesn't have a version string patch, so just check if Health & Safety is gone and FBI has taken its place. That should be the most immediate sign that you're in EmuNAND.
Some software I reccomend:
- Rinnegatamante's CHMM
- NTR CFW
- FTBrony
- GYTB
- Yellows8's Homebrew Menu .CIA (Requires editing on the payload .bin to make it read HBL8.3dsx instead of boot.3dsx, simple find and replace, can be done even by Notepad++)
- microSD Management (Which actually works on O3DS too)
- PlayCoinSetter
- An exploitable version of the Internet Browser
- Flashcart Whitelist
- SaveDataFiler
As of ~Build 123, CakesFW has support for loading multiple emuNANDs, or multiNANDs, for short. This means you're not limited to just sysNAND and emuNAND, and can create up to 4 emuNANDs on one SD card. This isn't strictly necessary, but might be considered useful by some.
REQUIREMENTS:
2. Set the Nintendo 3DS Model to your console's model.
3. Extract NAND. Save emuNAND.bin to any folder.
4. Back up your SD card.
5. Select the NAND number/slot you want to inject to.
6. Inject emuNAND.bin. THIS WILL FORMAT YOUR ENTIRE SD CARD.
7. Restore your SD card backup.
This will create a multiNAND linked to your first emuNAND on your SD card. To select a different emuNAND, go to More options > Select emuNAND in the CakesFW menu, accessible by holding L whilst booting CakesFW. To unlink, simply follow the Unlinking NANDs guide again, running TinyFormat on the new emuNAND.
REQUIREMENTS:
- CakesFW v123 or above
- Multi emuNAND Creator
- A previously set up emuNAND
2. Set the Nintendo 3DS Model to your console's model.
3. Extract NAND. Save emuNAND.bin to any folder.
4. Back up your SD card.
5. Select the NAND number/slot you want to inject to.
6. Inject emuNAND.bin. THIS WILL FORMAT YOUR ENTIRE SD CARD.
7. Restore your SD card backup.
This will create a multiNAND linked to your first emuNAND on your SD card. To select a different emuNAND, go to More options > Select emuNAND in the CakesFW menu, accessible by holding L whilst booting CakesFW. To unlink, simply follow the Unlinking NANDs guide again, running TinyFormat on the new emuNAND.
To anyone noticing that a certain Pastebin guide looks an awful lot like this one: Yeah, I wrote that spinoff based off this very guide.
Last edited by Sgt. Lulz,