Hacking R4i on 3DS

[Houman Jafarnia]

I have recently obtained myself a 3DS and I want to update but I know I will lose my compatibility with my R4i if I do.

The one that I have is an R4i Gold Pro - Revolution 2013 and I know it's a clone of an actual R4i Gold
Website: http://www.r4i-gold.com/

But the thing is that most R4 cards all run on the same operating system don't they? So I'm curious as to why the updates aren't cross compatible and if there is a way to edit the update of another flash cart to allow it to work on mine and allow me to update without worry.

Although I'm not so sure if it even matters to update because all it does is add a backup service and bug fixes here and there. And I'm not so sure if there's any free software going around that I'm going to get from the online store or that if even a game in the future that I'm going to get is going to want to force me to update so I can play it.

 

[Rydian]

But the thing is that most R4 cards all run on the same operating system don't they?

Not exactly. There's ysmenu, moonshell with loaders, older hacked wood, hacked AKAIO, and one or two misc. custom things.

So I'm curious as to why the updates aren't cross compatible

Because the software you see that navigates and loads ROMs has nothing to do with DSi/3DS compatibility. The software you see is the kernel/OS/menu (often incorrectly called the firmware) while the DSi/3DS compatibility is done by the actual firmware.

and if there is a way to edit the update of another flash cart to allow it to work on mine and allow me to update without worry.

Every team encrypts their updates and adds in hardware checks. Nobody has ever hacked an update from one model to run on another.

At best, if what you have is a 1:1 hardware clone then an update from the original might work, but this is rare.

 

[Houman Jafarnia]

Not exactly. There's ysmenu, moonshell with loaders, older hacked wood, hacked AKAIO, and one or two misc. custom things.

Because the software you see that navigates and loads ROMs has nothing to do with DSi/3DS compatibility. The software you see is the kernel/OS/menu (often incorrectly called the firmware) while the DSi/3DS compatibility is done by the actual firmware.

Every team encrypts their updates and adds in hardware checks. Nobody has ever hacked an update from one model to run on another.

At best, if what you have is a 1:1 hardware clone then an update from the original might work, but this is rare.

Ouch, so this is all due to company warfare you could say and the only way to make this work is to somehow decrypt it and find a way to bypass its hardware check.

Well I know mine potentially will never get updated and they'll just end up making a new card for the new version to potentially rake in more money as they did that with the "old version" and "2013 version".

 

[Rydian]

Ouch, so this is all due to company warfare you could say and the only way to make this work is to somehow decrypt it and find a way to bypass its hardware check.

Correct, and most people find the option of buying a $15 flash cart from a different team to take way less time and effort.

Well I know mine potentially will never get updated and they'll just end up making a new card for the new version to potentially rake in more money as they did that with the "old version" and "2013 version".

Yup, this is why we push the DSTwo so heavily. It's never been blocked. People who got the first model on the DSi are still using it on the latest 3DS update, and it's often the first one to update, etc.

 

[Houman Jafarnia]

Correct, and most people find the option of buying a $15 flash cart from a different team to take way less time and effort.

Yup, this is why we push the DSTwo so heavily. It's never been blocked. People who got the first model on the DSi are still using it on the latest 3DS update, and it's often the first one to update, etc.

I wish I knew about this sooner but I still want to attempt at modding since I don't have the $40 to go out and buy another card although It sounds nice that it has GBA emulation and other awesome futures. Would you know where I could maybe assemble the tools or even the people to help me?

 

[Rydian]

Well, the only people who have shown interest in this are people that have no technical skills.

You can start by trying to run the update file in an emulator, perhaps with the flash cart emulation setting on. Open the debugger of whatever emulator it is and try to see what data it reads from which lines/registers during the cart check progress, then make some homebrew for the DS that reads the same data and writes it to a file on the MicroSD so you can see the responses your cart gives... then edit the program to check for those responses instead of the original, I suppose.

But of course this is assuming you've found how to write to that specific FPGA model that your cart is using, and that both carts are using the same size internal storage, etc. Mess up one thing, and you cart's bootloader will be incorrect and your cart won't start up anymore on any DS unit.

Just buy a new cart.

 

[Houman Jafarnia]

I think I may have found a compatible card only that the nds files don't run on it and freeze on the loading screen.
I also noticed that most cards that are updating to 6.0.0-11u are asked to cut a wire on the inside of the R4 cartridge, would that apply to my case on the fact that games don't load?

Edit: And yes I forgot to mention that the card that seems to be close to mine is the Wood R4
Website: http://www.r4ids.cn/

 

[NariIro]

I think I may have found a compatible card only that the nds files don't run on it and freeze on the loading screen.
I also noticed that most cards that are updating to 6.0.0-11u are asked to cut a wire on the inside of the R4 cartridge, would that apply to my case on the fact that games don't load?

Edit: And yes I forgot to mention that the card that seems to be close to mine is the Wood R4
Website: http://www.r4ids.cn/

That is no longer required as they are going to be releaseing a NEW version on the cart that doesnt require the USER to cut the wire, but as for the ones that have the older ones YES you still have to cut the wire OR just NOT update your 3ds.

 

[Houman Jafarnia]

So I found this decrypter for .dat files found on R4 firmwares, now I'm just curious as to what program I am to use to understand these decrypted files. I'm told that the "_DS_MENU.dat" is just a NDS file encrypted and launched upon using the R4 card.

 

[Rydian]

Like I said, the debugging function of an emulator will let you see.

 

[will1987]

Hello guys, I've just bought an R4i "RTS" 3DS, and I have a question...

What's the difference between R4i 3DS and R4i "RTS" 3DS?

Can you help me guys? thank you

 

[Yamagushi]

Hello guys, I've just bought an R4i "RTS" 3DS, and I have a question...

What's the difference between R4i 3DS and R4i "RTS" 3DS?

Can you help me guys? thank you

RTS is Real Time Saves. It just has the option to save anytime in a game and load up that exact spot, opposed to using the game's own save system.

 

[Rydian]

If they're both r4ids.cn and both revision C, then they just changed the sticker.

 

[will1987]

RTS is Real Time Saves. It just has the option to save anytime in a game and load up that exact spot, opposed to using the game's own save system.

Seriously? This is great! How can I do that (RTS)?

Thank you Yamagushi-san! ^^