It appears that users are being banned from 3DS online services, en masse. There's no direct cause right now, and seemingly no linking factor. This post is meant as an announcement for users, to be wary, and that GBAtemp will keep you updated as soon as more info rolls in. If you have been banned, please post in the thread below, and we will try to keep tabs on the situation. To be extra sure, it can't hurt to turn off your 3DS's wireless capabilities, so you might as well do that for now.

Edit 1: it appears that e-Shop access isn't restricted if you are banned.

Edit 2: A caller to Nintendo reported that the company said this ban is due to "unauthorized software usage".

Edit 3: @LinkSoraZelda is collecting info. Contact him if you are banned.

Edit 4: Click and fill this out if you were BANNED.

Edit 5:

[11:28:19 PM] Clector: Curiously the page of that error in Nintendo Support website used to have this:Error Code: 002-0102 Situation: You receive the error code 002-0102 when attempting to connect online. What to Do: If you continue to experience this issue, please contact Nintendo by calling 1-800-255-3700. Representatives are available from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Pacific Time, 7 days a week.
[11:28:44 PM] Clector: Now it says this: What to Do: If you are experiencing this error code, your Nintendo 3DS family system has been banned due to unauthorized system modifications, play of unauthorized versions of one or more games, and/or connecting to the official game servers in violation of our terms of service. This ban is effective immediately and requests to remove the ban will not be processed.

Thanks to @Joom

Edit 6: Aurora Wright is taking another poll here

Edit 7: Not a lot is known but

There are bans happening, they are happening in all regions.
All models in the 3ds family seem to be candidates for banning.
There is no indication they will be anything other than permanent.
A game or DLC may end up being a cause but there is no one game or DLC that ties banned users together.
The cause or causes are as yet unknown, though it does seem to be related to modifications. Reports of unmodified consoles being banned are as yet unproven.
The banning is tied to something you can modify, thus you can unban. Doing it while the causes are unknown is likely only going to burn a working token though.
There are semi public tokens out there, Nintendo knows how to browse a forum as well as you so don't be surprised if they also get banned.
It does not seem to be limited to a given base firmware version, it does not seem to be limited to any one custom firmware type. There is some speculation that older hacking methods are not being hit as hard but nothing to confirm this yet.
The data collection could have happened this morning, or it could have been months in the making.
A simple check to see is checking your friends list, by itself it will not ban you.
Some are turning their wifi off. It is doubtful this will be of much use and being banned does not seem to come with any downsides that wifi being off will not also mimic.
You may have escaped a ban thus far but it could happen at any point. It could be that they stop in the future, it has happened on other consoles, but you would be living in hope rather than any particularly well founded logic.
The bans are done on the side of Nintendo's servers rather than your 3ds so there is also that.

If you hack your devices/games then their online functionality may be troubled. This has been known for decades, Nintendo seems to have finally caught up with that.

Please continue to share information with the thread or the links in previous edits.

Update 5/30

HOW TO HELP AVOID BANS (we think)​

If I was to guess from the information we have gathered since the ban wave, it seems likely that they are looking for TitleIDs that don't exist. Homebrew shows up in the activity log as the Download Play app, and fake CIA's show up as just ??????. That last one is what I'm guessing they are looking for.

If you are not banned yet or before you unban yourself, go into your friends list, choose settings, and turn off the option to "show friends what game you are playing." This will prevent you from playing games online with friends, so turn it back on when you wanna game with someone, but ALWAYS keep it off when running custom CIAs. Next, go into system settings -> internet settings -> spotpass, and turn off BOTH options. One is auto download software, the other sends system information to Nintendo. Also, make sure you don't have your favorite title set to something stupid like FBI or any other non-Nintendo CIA.

Its VERY likely that these options are what tipped off Nintendo, but we aren't 100% certain yet. The amount of banned people that had one of these options turned on was over 80% for each. If I was to assume that some of those people overlap, its very possible (but not confirmed) that 100% of banned people in the survey had at least one of those options turned on. I personally had all of them off and I have TONS of reasons for Nintendo to ban me.... yet I am not banned (yet).

Another bit of advice: Only run custom CIAs when offline, and after you close them, run a "legit" game like Smash Bros. or something before shutting down or going back online. This way your most recent title won't show up as a fake CIA

Current Theories as to what causes a ban
​

* SpotPass Settings: 8 users out of 46 users that were banned have SpotPass completely shut off, or SpotPass only (no friends list visibility)
* Firmware Version (Luma, Nintendo): Literally all reports ranged from 10.2+, I can get exact numbers for this if you'd like, but all firmwares were affected.
* Firmware Type (A9LH, B9S): 44 of the 126 B9S users that answered were banned, pattern was mirrored for A9LH users as well.
* Homebrew Titles such as FBI, HBL, Luma Updater, Themely, and freeShop: Literally about 98% of users both banned and unbanned had some combination of these applications installed. However the common ones were: FBI, HBL, LumaUpdater and NTR.
* Save Modification: Equal amounts of users on both sides have reported save modification in some form, either with PKSM or another save editor
* System Transfers: 188 users said that they had not previously system transfered, 61 of those users were banned; 16 users said they transferred from a hacked console, only three of them received a ban; 13 said they transferred from a stock system and likewise were banned. The rest of our sample did not answer this question.
* Activity Log Information: A majority of those who have not been banned have said they had NOT cleaned their activity logs. I can get exact numbers for this too on request.

This information is just what I've found. Like I said, there could be variables or things we haven't even checked for yet. But these are things that I feel should be disproven, at least with the current dataset we have.

• From the information that we've gathered from some people that have used a packet sniffer such as WireShark, the following data is sent to Nintendo's online gaming servers as soon as the 3DS connects to the internet:
  • Amount of time spent online (timer stops when either the system is disconnected from the internet, or connection drops out, then starts the timer again in a new session when it reconnects to the internet).
  • The game being played and amount of time spent on it during that session.
  • The console's unique hexadecimal ID used in the LocalFriendCodeSeedB, along with it's RSA-signed signature.
  • The console's serial number in which is broadcasted from the SoC and is hard coded in the SoC.
  • Friend Code generated on the Nintendo 3DS system, if one has been generated.
  • Internet connection status (either online or offline).
  • The Nintendo Network ID, if there is one linked to it.
  • Even if the sending of SpotPass Information is switched off, or even hiding your currently playing games. It does not prevent the system from sending currently playing information to Nintendo's online gaming servers, it only hides it from your friends in your friend list (like being invisible on the forum, while mods and admins can still see you). Why? Because even people without a Friend Code on their system have been getting banned too!

• The following data is NOT sent to Nintendo's online gaming servers:
  • The data from the Nintendo 3DS's Activity Log. Oddly enough, while Nintendo does explicitly state that they collect Activity Log data, they're actually referring to their own server's Activity Log, which always tracks every console's online activity, and keeps a record of them that is stored forever. And is only collected in increments of data through a timer and a currently playing list.
    
  • Games or apps that have not been played, regardless if they're legitimate or not. You only get tracked when you're online and using that game or app.
  • Using games or apps while offline. Even though it is stored on the 3DS console's Activity Log, that data is NOT sent to Nintendo's online gaming servers.
  • Custom Firmware. Though we can't rule out the possibility of them releasing a 3DS update in the future that adds such function to collect MD5 hashes of files and FIRM data and send them to Nintendo online gaming servers (which would also be updated in a maintenance).

• Things that people think what happens with consoles, but really doesn't:
  • "LocalFriendCodeSeedB is transferred to the system upon doing a system transfer". This is false, the LocalFriendCodeSeedB remains on the system and does not move to another system.
  • "The console generates a LocalFriendCodeSeedB upon first startup". Again, this is false, the LocalFriendCodeSeedB is made during the manufacturing process at Foxconn. It is generated at the factory, flashed to the NAND flash memory storage, then created as an account on Nintendo's online gaming server and Nintendo eShop server immediately when being manufactured. It is absolutely impossible to generate a LocalFriendCodeSeedB and be able to connect to Nintendo's online gaming server and/or Nintendo eShop server, even if you knew the RSA generation key for it. You'd end up with Error Code 002-0102 "This console's online services have been restricted by Nintendo" if you even tried (the error can either mean two things: The hexadecimal ID doesn't exist on the server, or the request to access the hexadecimal ID has been denied which in other words... banned). So a LocalFriendCodeSeedB generator will NEVER happen! Because it's not worth doing, if it can't connect.
  • Switching off "Currently Playing" information. Once again, this does not hide your online activity from Nintendo's online gaming server, it only hides it from your friends.
  • Switching off SpotPass. Nope, this too doesn't hide your online activity from Nintendo's online gaming server, it only opts-out of receiving SpotPass data, sorry.

So pretty much the bottom line is, if anyone has been using custom apps and/or titles not installed through Nintendo eShop while online in the past, guess what? You're screwed! And it is only a matter of time before your console's unique hexadecimal ID in the LocalFriendCodeSeedB is banned from Nintendo's online gaming server. This will mean, your console can't access the Friend List or play any online functions in games.

If you have been online while using custom apps and/or titles not installed through Nintendo eShop and haven't been banned yet, that's because Nintendo hasn't caught up to you yet. They're still going through each unique hexadecimal ID's Activity Log on their server, and by Activity Log, I mean the Activity Log on their server, not the 3DS console's activity log. And it will be only a matter of time before you're banned too.

Thanks to @Platinum Lucario @MadMageKefka and @ShadowEO !

 

[Deleted User]

Nintendo cannot tell the difference on their servers between a CIA and a cartridge.

This is false, as known by the fact that if you use a cart ROM you have to change headers otherwise ban. Plus, there's even a "type" section of the auth request that says eShop v. cart

 

[Deleted member 350372]

I got an error trying to protect myself for B9S!

uhh wat? Are you banned as well?

 

[jt_1258]

This is false, as known by the fact that if you use a cart ROM you have to change headers otherwise ban. Plus, there's even a "type" section of the auth request that says eShop v. cart

ban if you play with it online? like in said games online mode?

 

[windwakemeupinside]

Might as well say I haven't been banned on any of my systems save the one I used to play Pokemon SUMO all the way back when. No ban for CFW yet.

Though from what it looks like from the panic here, "yet" is the key word.

 

[Gitaroo]

So is the ban for the system or NNID too? Does that mean the same account I use for switch is blocked for any online play?

 

[petethepug]

Might as well say I haven't been banned on any of my systems save the one I used to play Pokemon SUMO all the way back when. No ban for CFW yet.

Though from what it looks like from the panic here, "yet" is the key word.

Same here except I have still been using mine actively from time to time.
No clue how I haven't been banned yet, and honestly I think these ban topics are starting to become pure speculation over any facts now...

I did go into system settings and turn off the obvious "send system information to Nintendo" (it was always off, did that when I first got it.) and months after the banwaves started, nothing yet.
Idk anymore

 

[windwakemeupinside]

So is the ban for the system or NNID too? Does that mean the same account I use for switch is blocked for any online play?

It's a ban on the system, not the NNID. Switch online play won't be affected by the 3ds online ban.

Same here except I have still been using mine actively from time to time.
No clue how I haven't been banned yet, and honestly I think these ban topics are starting to become pure speculation over any facts now...

I did go into system settings and turn off the obvious "send system information to Nintendo" (it was always off, did that when I first got it.) and months after the banwaves started, nothing yet.
Idk anymore

Yeah, honestly. It could be anything tipping them off. I'm sure some of the homebrew devs know but are keeping the way around it silent to not risk wrath from nintendo, though, which is fair.

 

[Osakasan]

Looks like my private seed didn't fall on this banwave. Nice.

For the record, i've been using legit cias and purchased 3D Sonic 2 on the Sonic sale a few weeks ago. If i ever used homebrew, i disconnected wifi.

 

[MasterJ360]

Well theres guides out there on how to hide homebrew apps from your activity log and even remove them. Like injecting the Homebrew channel into the Sound app. Ofcourse this requires Boot9Strap
So everytime you launch it, the activity log will think its the sound app instead. Also we should get accustomed to launching Homebrew apps through the Homebrew Channel instead of using CIA's so that they dont get registered into Nintendy's servers or our logs

 

[Deleted User]

My public seed seems to be safe right now since its different I'm assuming.Im guessing the ban was for a chaos seed that could of been banned for griefing or something else by one of the thousands of people using it,since the people who reported the ban sead they had public lfcsb's

I was banned again a few minutes ago. Since I changed my localfriendcodeseed_b everything was fine, but now it's exactly the same as it was the last time. I hope that doesn't mean a second banwave is coming...

yep. Can confirm public LFCS_B got banned. Did you use a saved private seed to unban yourself?

No, I also used the public one. Wouldn't have guessed ninty hits with another wave that soon...

EDIT: I mean, maybe it's not a wave but only the public one.

meaning they probably had the same seed.

 

[paperhammer]

Welp, shoot. I got banned. I'm not too bothered, since the only online game I actually touched was Mario Kart 7 and I'm planning on getting the New 2DS...

 

[Deleted User]

Welp, shoot. I got banned. I'm not too bothered, since the only online game I actually touched was Mario Kart 7 and I'm planning on getting the New 2DS...

More information would be helpful since the 2 people who also reported a ban sead they where rebanned (they where already banned but unbanned themselves,then got banned again)on a public seed.Where you also using a public lfcsb or where you never banned before?

 

[paperhammer]

More information would be helpful since the 2 people who also reported a ban sead they where rebanned (they where already banned but unbanned themselves,then got banned again)on a public seed.Where you also using a public lfcsb or where you never banned before?

Oh. Sorry about that. Yes, I unbanned myself using the public LFCSB after I had got banned the first time in May.

 

[Deleted User]

Oh. Sorry about that. Yes, I unbanned myself using the public LFCSB after I had got banned the first time in May.

Ah,then you probably had that same seed aswell.It was from the chaos site correct?

 

[Osakasan]

Could it be that they just banned the public seeds?

We should inform if we're used public or private seeds, just to narrow the pattern of this banwave.

 

[Deleted User]

Could it be that they just banned the public seeds?

We should inform if we're used public or private seeds, just to narrow the pattern of this banwave.

It seems to only be public right now.The question is if they are the same seeds because if they match then it's not a banwave when it's the same seed.

 

[Osakasan]

It seems to only be public right now.The question is if they are the same seeds because if they match then it's not a banwave when it's the same seed.

Just opened a poll for that

 

[Platinum Lucario]

Just FYI:

Error Code: 002-0102
Message:

This device's access to online services has been restricted by Nintendo.

For help, visit support.nintendo.com.

What does it mean?: LocalFriendCodeSeed_B Signature has been blocked by Nintendo's Friend Code verification servers. Since the signatures in LocalFriendCodeSeed_B are console-unique and never change, there's no way to make one that will match the server's one, even if you had the RSA key for it. The only way to evade this ban, is to use a different console's signature, and don't worry, you'll still get to keep your old Friend Code. This ban is what we call a "Friend Code signature ban", so you can still use the Nintendo eShop, use Miiverse or any other functions that use don't utilise the use of the Friend Code system.

Error Code: 022-2812
Message:

You cannot access Nintendo Network services using this system.

Please make a note of this error and visit support.nintendo.com.

What does it mean?: The entire SecureInfo_A, has been blocked from Nintendo's CDN servers and it's associated account has been terminated, meaning that the Nintendo 3DS console cannot connect to any of Nintendo's online services (Nintendo Network) at all. This ban can be applied to consoles without a NNID attached to it as well, but if a NNID is attached to the console, that Nintendo Network ID will be terminated as well. The only way to evade this ban, is to change the SecureInfo_A, delete any NNID data on the Nintendo 3DS system, replace the LocalFriendCodeSeed_B, and ensure that no NNID is linked to the system. But even then, doing a system transfer will reinstate the ban on the console it's transferred to, since this is actually a Nintendo 3DS account ban. This is without doubt, a full console ban, and is the worst you'd ever get from Nintendo's administrators. The Wii U's equivalent of this is Error Code 102-2812 ''Online services are unavailable on this console.".

Error Code: 002-0121
Message:

This device's access to online services has been restricted by Nintendo.

For help, visit support.nintendo.com.

What does it mean?: LocalFriendCodeSeed_B signature is unable to be validated by Nintendo Network's Friend Code server, due to the Nintendo 3DS account being terminated or doesn't exist at all. This error only shows up when attempting to access the Friend List. This error code is only associated with the 022-2812 error code. See above.


I can tell you, it's gonna very risky using CFW or any Homebrew software from this point on. My best advice is to never hack your good Nintendo 3DS console that you've worked so hard for all that progress. Because from this point on, I would suggest having a spare 3DS dedicated to hacking only, while the other one dedicated to being strictly no unauthorised software and/or system modifications. But if you absolutely need to do a backup of your NAND or something minor like that, pleeeeease make sure your console has it's Wi-Fi switched off, and use NTRBootHax (once it is released) to do your necessary tasks. Otherwise, you could end up losing all of your progress, and you'd be devastated to watch that happen to your system.

Nintendo's not going to play nice, and I'm sure the bans are going to get a lot worse than they are right now. I'm sure the administrators are fuming, and if NTRBootHax is released, they could go even further to the extreme and could end up banning Nintendo 3DS accounts (with their associated NNID) and all the users that have attempted to evade their bans (even with a private LocalFriendCodeSeed_B). Heck, they could even update their servers to validate the signatures against the Nintendo 3DS account's Friend Code and/or serial number.

 

[hurrz]

Just FYI:

Error Code: 002-0102
Message:
What does it mean?: LocalFriendCodeSeed_B Signature has been blocked by Nintendo's Friend Code verification servers. Since the signatures in LocalFriendCodeSeed_B are console-unique and never change, there's no way to make one that will match the server's one, even if you had the RSA key for it. The only way to evade this ban, is to use a different console's signature, and don't worry, you'll still get to keep your old Friend Code. This ban is what we call a "Friend Code signature ban", so you can still use the Nintendo eShop, use Miiverse or any other functions that use don't utilise the use of the Friend Code system.

Error Code: 022-2812
Message:
What does it mean?: The entire SecureInfo_A, has been blocked from Nintendo's CDN servers and it's associated account has been terminated, meaning that the Nintendo 3DS console cannot connect to any of Nintendo's online services (Nintendo Network) at all. This ban can be applied to consoles without a NNID attached to it as well, but if a NNID is attached to the console, that Nintendo Network ID will be terminated as well. The only way to evade this ban, is to change the SecureInfo_A, delete any NNID data on the Nintendo 3DS system, replace the LocalFriendCodeSeed_B, and ensure that no NNID is linked to the system. But even then, doing a system transfer will reinstate the ban on the console it's transferred to, since this is actually a Nintendo 3DS account ban. This is without doubt, a full console ban, and is the worst you'd ever get from Nintendo's administrators. The Wii U's equivalent of this is Error Code 102-2812 ''Online services are unavailable on this console.".

Error Code: 002-0121
Message:
What does it mean?: LocalFriendCodeSeed_B signature is unable to be validated by Nintendo Network's Friend Code server, due to the Nintendo 3DS account being terminated or doesn't exist at all. This error only shows up when attempting to access the Friend List. This error code is only associated with the 022-2812 error code. See above.


I can tell you, it's gonna very risky using CFW or any Homebrew software from this point on. My best advice is to never hack your good Nintendo 3DS console that you've worked so hard for all that progress. Because from this point on, I would suggest having a spare 3DS dedicated to hacking only, while the other one dedicated to being strictly no unauthorised software and/or system modifications. But if you absolutely need to do a backup of your NAND or something minor like that, pleeeeease make sure your console has it's Wi-Fi switched off, and use NTRBootHax (once it is released) to do your necessary tasks. Otherwise, you could end up losing all of your progress, and you'd be devastated to watch that happen to your system.

Nintendo's not going to play nice, and I'm sure the bans are going to get a lot worse than they are right now. I'm sure the administrators are fuming, and if NTRBootHax is released, they could go even further to the extreme and could end up banning Nintendo 3DS accounts (with their associated NNID) and all the users that have attempted to evade their bans (even with a private LocalFriendCodeSeed_B). Heck, they could even update their servers to validate the signatures against the Nintendo 3DS account's Friend Code and/or serial number.

Still worth hacking. A spare console is a good option though but you can still play offline when banned if I understood correctly.

By the way, I personally would appreciate a TL;DR next time! :-)

 

[Platinum Lucario]

Still worth hacking. A spare 3DS is a good option though but you can still play offline when banned if I understood correctly.

By the way, I personally would appreciate a TL;DR next time! :-)

Error Code: 002-0102
Means: "LocalFriendCodeSeed_B Signature is blocked or denied."

Error Code: 022-2812
Means: "Nintendo 3DS Account has been banned."

Error Code: 002-0121
Means: "LocalFriendCodeSeed_B Signature is unable to access the Nintendo 3DS Account."


Also, don't be surprised if Nintendo Network admins already knows that we're evading bans.