I went to 3 of 4 targets in my area. Returned two to the same target, different cs representatives, and the third to a different target. When they asked "is there anything wrong with it?"', I just said "no, i just don't like the color".
You guys seem to be pretty lucky being able to take your time to inspect each console.. The employees seem to be like "what the he11 is this guy doing, they are all the same." with me lol
Lucky indeed. It was definitely a huge hassle going through all 20+ 3ds' boxes I looked at during BF at various stores, not to mention the returns. Some stores had them out in the open. Others had them behind glass But I tried to explained ahead time "I'm looking for a certain serial. If u don't mind, I'd like to choose the box I want". Employees weren't thrilled but I rather do that then have to return them again later. It will definitely take some luck. I'm just glad that we also have 3 Walmarts and the one I went to had several older consoles...and was willing to price match.
my friend picked up a red xl that was 2012 on the box and it was a 4.4 or 4.5. this makes his second 3ds xl he updated his yellow one because he wanted to play pokemon x and y and i told him him to wait but he clocked in about 200 hours on pokemon y and is going to pick up gateway sometime soon. My self i also have 2 3ds's my Aqua one at 4.4 and my Zelda Gold at 6.3 for updates and eshop games
I just got a 3DS XL from Wal-Mart by price matching Target. All the ones I checked had SW1270xxxx or below serial numbers. The one I picked up had 4.5.
Can you say which model/color 3DS XL you got and what your specific Nintendo Serial Number is (just the first 4 digits)? It should be on the back of your 3DS XL.
Since firmware 5.0.0 was released March 26, 2013, and we know the release of the various versions of the 3DS and the 3DS XL models/bundles...
In regards to North America:
It looks like the only solid bets for the 3DS XL being capable of coming with <= 4.5.0 are the Red/Black, Blue/Black, and Pink/White models along with the Pikachu bundle and the Pink/White 3DS XL in a bundle (with Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask or Style Savvy: Trendsetters).
The only solid bets for the regular 3DS being capable of coming with <= 4.5.0 are the Aqua Blue, Cosmo Black, Flame Red, Pearl Pink (bundled with Nintendogs + Cats), Midnight Purple, Heros of Ruin, The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and Fire Emblem Awakening models.
Seems like almost all regular 3DS's are capable while only a limited selection of 3DS XL's are.
The highest reported Nintendo Serial Number that came with 4.5.0:
For the Red/Black 3DS XL: SW1279xxxx x [DemiseScythe]
For the Blue/Black 3DS XL: SW1270xxxx x [moosehunter] (SW1335xxxx x reported > 4.5.0 [tlee22])
For the Pink/White 3DS XL: SW1272xxxx x [Gara]
(It can also be found on the back of the 3DS itself)
There are possible contradictions in this data from RickyEarl (says Blue/Black w/ SW1231xxxx x+ had 6.1.0) and tlee22 (says Red/Black w/ SW1275xxxx x had 6.1.0).
tl;dr When buying a 3DS XL, look for one with Nintendo Serial Number of SW12xxxxxx x or lower. The lower the serial number the older the unit (which for our purposes is better).
Can you say which model/color 3DS XL you got and what your specific Nintendo Serial Number is (just the first 4 digits)? It should be on the back of your 3DS XL.
So I went to target. Got a 3DS XL that I was handed (Couldn't Pick what I wanted). After I got home I noticed the FW was 6.1. I then read this forum and someone mentioned to avoid SW13+ numbers in a Serial. I went back to Target and they were sold out. I then went to Wal-Mart and they did not have the 3DS XL on sale but had a ton of them. I then asked the clerk to pick one, and got one that was SW10 number. I purchased it at a full price of 199.99. Opened it up in the car so I would be disappointed and the battery was dead. I right then assumed this thing is ancient if the battery died. Anyways got home, charged it up, and it was 4.2!!! I was pretty excited. I went in the garage, heat gunned it a bit, used a razor, lifted the serial, swapped them, took it back to Wal-Mart. I did it very carefully, in fact the person at customer support said "Oh you didn't even open it!!" Whoops
Anyways. I found out that SW13 is a no go. When you purchase, make sure your serial does not start with SW13. Just my 2 cents
If it helps anyone I just picked up a Pink/White 3DS XL from Wal-Mart and it was 4.5 firmware. It had 2012 on the back and the serial started with SW1272. I price matched the Target ad with no issue.
My experience: Bought and returned 2 blue and 1 red 3ds xl's from several targets during Black Friday. Took the lowest serial remaining every time and had no luck. All the targets i went to had blues with serial sw1335xx and reds with 1275xx or above by the time I got there. All three i opened had fw 6.1x (FYI, they all had copyright 2012 also). I Got tired of going to targets so I went to A few other stores to see if they had any. Best buy had similarly high numbers. Saw that sears had a blue with serial sw1079xx, then I went to Walmart and they had a bunch of blues that were in the sw12xx range and reds that were in the sw11xx range. After reading about other ppls lcuk with these lower numbers, I ended up picking one of the reds, sw1174x, at Walmart because I got a price match for the 149$ price...opened it in the car and it came with fw 4.4x, Finally!!
Short story, there are no guarantees but there's a good chance with reds that are sw11xx or under and blues sw12xx or under. Also, its best to go to stores that wouldnt be most ppls first stop for buying consoles, this was a "smaller" Walmart than most. Sears' probably dont sell many either. And for those who were curious, the targets I went to had no problems with me returning open boxes and I had to do a little convincing with the price match at Walmart because they said "no, it's too late" at first. Hope that helps.
So I went to target. Got a 3DS XL that I was handed (Couldn't Pick what I wanted). After I got home I noticed the FW was 6.1. I then read this forum and someone mentioned to avoid SW13+ numbers in a Serial. I went back to Target and they were sold out. I then went to Wal-Mart and they did not have the 3DS XL on sale but had a ton of them. I then asked the clerk to pick one, and got one that was SW10 number. I purchased it at a full price of 199.99. Opened it up in the car so I would be disappointed and the battery was dead. I right then assumed this thing is ancient if the battery died. Anyways got home, charged it up, and it was 4.2!!! I was pretty excited. I went in the garage, heat gunned it a bit, used a razor, lifted the serial, swapped them, took it back to Wal-Mart. I did it very carefully, in fact the person at customer support said "Oh you didn't even open it!!" Whoops
Anyways. I found out that SW13 is a no go. When you purchase, make sure your serial does not start with SW13. Just my 2 cents
The XL i picked up at walmart last night, already had 6.1 on it. Decided to take it back and try my luck at a zelda bundle at target.. no luck on that.
i settled for another black xl with sw40 series numbers =( The guy who opened the display at target was a bit annoyed when i asked to check all the boxes. He said they where "all from the same batch"..
My advice in dealing with that situation is to say something like, "I heard on the internet that 2012 (c) systems have a superior manufacturing process that yields less washed out screen colors compared to newer ones. Kotaku did a story on it.". That'll usually good enough to get them off your back. Its not like they'll pull out their iphone and check your BS claim while they're on the clock. Its extremely unlikely anyway.
i just looked on the dutch ebay, and asked every seller which firmware their 3ds got. i got a few people who responded and from there on i bought a 3DS with the right firware (and a lot of games which i selled again).
Mine had the seals intact since I got to pick it off a basket of them out in the open. Also the first one to get to them on black friday at my store which usually keeps them in the case so no one can snoop around. A lot of people are repacking updated system into old serial boxes by switching the labels, was common with people buying 360 and returning 360 systems with the rings of death the day after. As you can see from the above post, there is now a SW10 with a 6.1 system inside. Those looking to buy a system should make sure the packaging is undamaged and the seals are intact and single. Most stores will just stick another one over returned systems to seal them. The longer people wait, the less chance of finding untampered systems. I would be careful with market place sellers as amazon unless the seller is trusted. I can imagine people will try to dump unhackable 3ds on there.
I remember the old days when the PSP3000 came out, I returned mine and bought Daxter silver 2000 bundle at $50 over the price of a new 3000 just to have CFW on it. Box was a bit damaged/bent but still sealed and definitely it had the correct factory firmware.
I went in the garage, heat gunned it a bit, used a razor, lifted the serial, swapped them, took it back to Wal-Mart. I did it very carefully, in fact the person at customer support said "Oh you didn't even open it!!" Whoops
if you head to target in person there is a really good chance you will get a lower FW serial number. if you order online you gamble. if you order from nintendo, not only is it not new and could have scratches or other small issues, it will most certainly be updated to 6.1. there are a lot of reports that state that repaired units are being returned with a higher firmware. it stands to reason they would update refurbished units as well.
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