Hacking Creating a North American, non-XL New 3DS

[Wowfunhappy]

As we all know, the normal-sized New 3DS isn't being released in America. As a result, I've imported a system from Europe, but because it's region-locked, I won't be able to do a system transfer and use my old eShop games. I'm not personally interested in piracy.

I, like many others, am hoping to eventually turn my imported EU N3DS into an American one. Once the region has been changed, I don't care about Gateway support. I want to change Sysnand's region, update the console past the point of Gateway compatibility, and use it like a normal North American unit.

None of this is possible yet since the Gateway team hasn't added New 3DS support, but I thought it would make sense to have a thread dedicated to exploring this possibility in the future. There's already been some discussion in Cearp's existing region changing thread, but I didn't want to keep hijacking his topic.

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Edited:

I've posted a detailed guide in the tutorials section. You can find it here.

 

[Apache Thunder]

As long as you have xorpads for both nands, you should be able to swap them. XL and normal size 3DSes use the same hardware (just larger/smaller). So firmware on them are cross compatible. However the same is not true if you attempt to transfer old 3DS firmware to n3DS or try transferring NAND from 3DS to 2DS or visa versa.

 

[Apache Thunder]

Well if the store doesn't attempt to power it up and test it, then I suppose you could return it. (unless they are really stupid and decide that seeing the console boot up in Japanese is "normal". )

Also I don't think the new decrypter for spiderhax exploit supports NAND xorpad generation yet. So for now, you can't decrypt n3DS NAND images yet. (and no, you can't downgrade n3DS to 4.x firmware for the older version that can)

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Well if the store doesn't attempt to power it up and test it, then I suppose you could return it. (unless they are really stupid and decide that seeing the console boot up in Japanese is "normal". )

But why would I need to change the XL's region at all? I could just leave it as-is after dumping its nand.

 

[Apache Thunder]

The issue is, you will be copying over your console ID/Serial. I wouldn't recommend simply sending the XL you dumped back to the store. In the future someone else will buy it and Nintendo might ban that serial when they see that two of them are online at the same time. There's a whole lot of problems (mostly relating to eShop/NNID access) if you allow more then one console to use the same console ID/serial at the same time.

You might get banned even faster then you would for using public headers. The console serial/ID becomes shared or public if you allow more then one console to share that ID. I don't think you want to be the first one banned for using spoofed console IDs.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

I wouldn't recommend simply sending the XL you dumped back to the store. In the future someone else will buy it and Nintendo might ban that serial when they see that two of them are online at the same time. There's a whole lot of problems (mostly relating to eShop/NNID access) if you allow more then one console to use the same console ID/serial at the same time.

I see. Well, that would definitely hurt my wallet, but I'd still be willing to do it. I hope someone finds a way to generate NAND Xorpads—we all know it's just a matter of time before the Gateway is updated, but it sounds like getting Xorpads could be a real sticking point...

 

[thorasgar]

Simple solution, just brick the console before you return it.

Of course make sure to swap the serial # stickers, but then I think you should be good. Just say the console was faulty, and when you got it, it wouldn't turn on.... Of course, this isn't a moral solution, but hey, it's something.

Can you create quick and easy bricking guide?

 

[boomie0123]

Yeah removing the serial code stickers/swapping them before returning them would be advised. If the store RMAs the console back to Nintendo and they see that it has the wrong NAND on it, they would see your serial stickers still on it and...well not good things will happen to that serial's ability to use online services...

See, there's a funny thing that happened...

I had a JPN N3DS XL and just bought a US N3DS XL, I was doing a motherboard swap, and put the JPN motherboard in the US N3DSXL and returned it. Forgot to remove the stickers on it when I did, so... could they potentially ban the US N3DS XL just because I forgot to swap the stickers? I still want to use the US motherboard to get the NAND Xorpads to do the region swap of a JPN N3DS, so yeah.

Can you create quick and easy bricking guide?

1.) Open up console

2) Snap motherboard in half

3) Close console

Nailed it.

 

[thorasgar]

1.) Open up console

2) Snap motherboard in half

3) Close console

Nailed it.

I can't stop laughing.

I suppose the is the N3DS waterproof test would work as well. Lol

 

[Apache Thunder]

See, there's a funny thing that happened...

I had a JPN N3DS XL and just bought a US N3DS XL, I was doing a motherboard swap, and put the JPN motherboard in the US N3DSXL and returned it. Forgot to remove the stickers on it when I did, so... could they potentially ban the US N3DS XL just because I forgot to swap the stickers? I still want to use the US motherboard to get the NAND Xorpads to do the region swap of a JPN N3DS, so yeah.

Well the only issue would be them trying to register that serial on Club Nintendo. But a lot of customers don't do this. Hell I'm pretty sure they never did with the 3DS XL I bought from my local pawn shop. 2015, and the thing was still on 4.3 firmware!

 

[Wowfunhappy]

I had a JPN N3DS XL and just bought a US N3DS XL, I was doing a motherboard swap, and put the JPN motherboard in the US N3DSXL

Wait, so you actually switched motherboards! Could this be done between a N3DS and a N3DS XL?

 

[boomie0123]

Well the only issue would be them trying to register that serial on Club Nintendo. But a lot of customers don't do this. Hell I'm pretty sure they never did with the 3DS XL I bought from my local pawn shop. 2015, and the thing was still on 4.3 firmware!

Joke is on them, because Club Nintendo is getting discontinued in June.

Either way, when I returned it, I purposely left a few of the ribbons unplugged so it wouldn't boot. That way they can send it back and get the insurance money back for a "faulty" console.

 

[Apache Thunder]

Can you create quick and easy bricking guide?

All you'd really have to do is flash the wrong NAND to it without fixing the encryption. Boom. Insta brick! Or zero out the contents of the NAND.BIN file. I don't think Gateway menu even checks that file to see if it's correct. (It will however verify gateway.db packages, so don't attempt to use the downgrade feature to intentionally brick.

You can also just update console's firmware using a game rom instead of a legit copy of a game. I bricked my original 3DS trying to update firmware to 8.1 from a 7.2 sysnand. (You have to hold D-Pad Up/down. when Gateway mode boots up to disable firmware version spoofing. I forget if it was D-Pad up or D-Pad down)

Or you can just power off the console while it's in the middle of writing a NAND image back to NAND using Gateway's menu.

Joke is on them, because Club Nintendo is getting discontinued in June.

Either way, when I returned it, I purposely left a few of the ribbons unplugged so it wouldn't boot. That way they can send it back and get the insurance money back for a "faulty" console.

Well, Club Nintendo is getting replaced by something else supposedly, so registering serial codes would just occur on what ever service they replace Club Nintendo with.

 

[boomie0123]

Wait, so you actually switched motherboards! Could this be done between a N3DS and a N3DS XL?

Not without EXTENSIVE knowledge of how circuits and motherboard work. The N3DS XL's is just physically bigger, and wouldn't fit inside of a N3DS without trimming it down and modifying the connections.

 

[Nathan Drake]

Well the only issue would be them trying to register that serial on Club Nintendo. But a lot of customers don't do this. Hell I'm pretty sure they never did with the 3DS XL I bought from my local pawn shop. 2015, and the thing was still on 4.3 firmware!

Except Club Nintendo has stopped including codes in anything released past late January since Club Nintendo shuts down around the end of June, so registering on Club Nintendo would be a moot point. Besides that, damn y'all, you're talking about straight up scamming a store and that's not cool. How loose do your morals have to be to think that just about anything you're all suggesting would be okay? Not to mention I'm pretty sure some of these suggestions are borderline illegal, if not actually so.

 

[guitarheroknight]

Joke is on them, because Club Nintendo is getting discontinued in June.

Either way, when I returned it, I purposely left a few of the ribbons unplugged so it wouldn't boot. That way they can send it back and get the insurance money back for a "faulty" console.

Good guy boomie.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Not without EXTENSIVE knowledge of how circuits and motherboard work. The N3DS XL's is just physically bigger, and wouldn't fit inside of a N3DS without trimming it down and modifying the connections.

That's a shame. So it sounds like the only thing we'll really need to wait for (aside from Gateway) is 9.x Nand Xorpad generation.

 

[SomecallmeBerto]

Good guy boomie.

XD terrible

 

[gamesquest1]

Wait, so you actually switched motherboards! Could this be done between a N3DS and a N3DS XL?

XL to XL (LL)
super easy you can doi it right now solution
1) desolder nand and CPU from US n3DS XL
2) desolder nand & CPU from JPN/EU n3DS
3) swap and resolder

ok i lied that's not so easy, but still i *think* it would work

 

[ewin00]

so i guess asian version wont have regular n3ds too