Hacking 3DS unbricking progress

[bkifft]

just a small addendum to the thread i've forgotten before: SD and (e)MMC are specced to work between 2.7V and 3.6V always. some devices support dropping to lower voltage in order to save energy (especially on mobile devices running on batteries/accumulator) but that's not mandatory.

the init procedure up till the point where voltage is negotiated is to be done at 3.3V per specification (and that is signal as well as "energy transfer" voltage).

 

[samljer]

Worst thing what they can do is transform the NAND into a ROM, by setting the permanent write protect to 1, but then if their code has bugs again like now and bricks a legit user, then the consoled is dead, and all what they can do is replace the NAND chip. Reflashing this specific eMMC chip looks imposible without special devices (like the ones used by chinese sellers to fake the SD card size), so they cant really do anything if we block the posibility to lock the nand using password.

Wouldnt that also block any future updates from nintendo being possible?

 

[gamesquest1]

Wouldnt that also block any future updates from nintendo being possible?

well it would stop writing to the nand just changing any of the flags afaik....plus if you want flash cards or homebrew you wouldnt actually want any updates from nintendo XD

 

[profi200]

If this bit is set, the 3DS is f***ed. A NAND replace doesn't work (not only because of the epoxy under the chip).

 

[samljer]

If this bit is set, the 3DS is f***ed. A NAND replace doesn't work (not only because of the epoxy under the chip).

yeah, epoxy is no joke lol.

 

[Nightwish]

well it would stop writing to the nand just changing any of the flags afaik....plus if you want flash cards or homebrew you wouldnt actually want any updates from nintendo XD

Theoretically, setting it to RO would both stop updates and GW bricks, so you be free to use whatever EmuNAND flashcard and homebrew that you wanted forever.
I'd never be the guinea pig, but it might work.

 

[gamesquest1]

wonder if anyone would want to be XD

actually we should tell the clone makers to test it....they have the most to gain from it if it works

just to see what happened i set my emunand SD to write protected with the lil switch, still worked fine but i suppose its a whole different story switching the nand to read only.....also for some reason the emunand still wrote the steps counter, so it seems the 3ds with emunand will ignore the write protect setting on the SD but still gave me the "sd card is write protected" message

 

[kyogre123]

Guys, I have a question.
What exactly does the bricker code does to the NAND? Does it only blocks the ability to be written? Is there a way (even if complicated) to read the data of the NAND even if it's secured in order to dump the NAND?

 

[AngryRussianKid]

Hope for you, masters of unbrick

 

[R4iFanboi]

Also, this might be last chance for GW to have some of its lost reputation back; If they release a solution for everyone to unbrick their 3DS.

Sooner or later, a fix will be found and then you will have a choice.

Pay $35 for a flashcard and have unbricking methods in hand.

or,

Pay $70 for a flashcard and have unbricking methods in hand.

The ball is in your court GW team, play it wisely!


In all honesty, GW team is all set to pull a runner. The GW maximum sales have been reached. If in future new exploits are found, they will make a new card, new name, new website, new emails, new proxies, new underpants, new everything.

 

[gamesquest1]

Guys, I have a question.
What exactly does the bricker code does to the NAND? Does it only blocks the ability to be written? Is there a way (even if complicated) to read the data of the NAND even if it's secured in order to dump the NAND?

it actually locks the nand, no reading, no writing, there's a theory that the password might be 0 lol but also might be per console specific key that would be impossible to brute force to unlock

 

[mlc]

Thanks so much for making some progress on this! Even if it ends up being difficult for someone without soldering experience and the right hardware, at least we'll have a hope of salvaging some of these hackable models. Presumably there will be a full hack at some point in the future, but it would be nice to keep as many 4.1-4.5's operational as possible.

I haven't even bothered to get a 3DS flash cart yet (mostly due to multirom, and Gateway's recent actions), but I quickly bought a compatible DS flashcart after getting my 3DSXL and I spend far more time playing with that. Although that's partially due to having a big backlog of DS games that I still wish to finish. (and I tired of carrying around 20 DS games a looong time ago... also I can't risk losing gems like TWEWY)

Although we're lucky that the 3DS doesn't "need" hacks as much as the Vita, as it seems pretty clear that the 3DS will become Nintendo's flagship for this generation. (the Vita is hardly competition at all, and obviously "real" gamers will see the benefits of a handheld over a phone or tablet)

 

[jochem77]

Today i will try to force erase the nand using arduino and the code from kriztian1997. First i will solder 5 wires to my 3ds. The other end i put in a breadboard, so i don' t have to resolder wires to the 3ds. This way i can connect the arduino to erase the nand and after that i can connect the microsd adapter to flash the nand.
Question: is it true that i don't need the 3.3v? Or do i have to turn the 3ds on to give the nand power?

 

[krisztian1997]

Today i will try to force erase the nand using arduino and the code from kriztian1997. First i will solder 5 wires to my 3ds. The other end i put in a breadboard, so i don' t have to resolder wires to the 3ds. This way i can connect the arduino to erase the nand and after that i can connect the microsd adapter to flash the nand.
Question: is it true that i don't need the 3.3v? Or do i have to turn the 3ds on to give the nand power?
View attachment 6106

WAIT, dont forget to lower the voltage to 3v3 from the arduino or you will fry your eMMC

 

[jochem77]

WAIT, dont forget to lower the voltage to 3v3 from the arduino or you will fry your eMMC

I know. I build a voltage divider on my breadboard like i did when testing on a sd card.

 

[krisztian1997]

I know. I build a voltage divider on my breadboard like i did when testing on a sd card.

Connect the GND from arduino to the GND from 3ds and then you can power up your console and use that as power for the NAND

 

[DarkKnigh_t]

good luck with the attempt fingers crossed

 

[AngryRussianKid]

Is it possible to unbrick 3DS without taking the motherboard outside? I mean the future. Can GW team release tutorial how to fix console.

 

[gamesquest1]

Goodluck

Is it possible to unbrick 3DS without taking the motherboard outside? I mean the future. Can GW team release tutorial how to fix console.

I'm sure if this all works as planned people will start offering a unbricking service, for people who aren't confident soldering, it will also require an arduino to Unbricking aswell, so probs would be best for most people to ship to someone local who has everything required

 

[krisztian1997]

Is it possible to unbrick 3DS without taking the motherboard outside? I mean the future. Can GW team release tutorial how to fix console.

Not really, as I mentioned before it would be possible to create a bottom case what you can put on after unscrewing the original battery case and bottom case and unbrick and flash the nand backup back, but not sure if anyone will create that, I searched last night for 3ds bottom cases but I cant find anything sold in bigger quantities, the pogo pins and the arduino chip would be easy to get in bigger quantities, but not the bottom cases.