Spoiler

This cart is an Acekard 2i clone that shares the same bootloader with the AK2i, even the physical connection issues are the exact same as the AK2i ones (faulty connection, wobbling cart). You can use the official Acekard bootloader updaters with it and they work just fine. I read it online a few months ago that this flashcart was actually made by the same people that made the Acekard 2i, and that the only reason AKAIO doesn't work on it is that @Normmatt implemented some code that checks if it's running on a clone. Even though AKAIO doesn't support clones, there is a leaked version that was made for this cart, which I believe is version 1.4.x, and there is also an official AKAIO release, 1.8.1a, made for this cart that could be found in the official website of the clone cart. To quote:

the r4 ultra was made by acekard and the original menu was coded by acekard. the r4 ultra is a rebranded ak2i. norm did indeed make akaio 1.8.1 work on it, by the request of team acekard. any reasons other than that are none of the business of the general public. its up to norm to give reasons. i'll just confirm that it is official.

-another world

It's more of a Clone made by The Acekard Team.
It uses pretty much uses very similar hardware.

However, if you tried to swap the AKAIO loaders with more recent ones, they wouldn't work.

So, today I was trying to make a loader for my flashcart so that I could run it on my old DSi, that is on firmware 1.4.5, using the newly released HaxxStation exploit. While I was using Decrypt9 to dump the flashcart, I noticed a menu called "NDS Flashcart Options". I messed around with the options, and when I tried to "Restore AK2i bootrom", the cart was not properly recognized anymore, even though I was restoring my own backup of the cart's flash.

Spoiler

Before giving up on the cart and throwing it away, I asked online for a dump of a legit Acekard 2i made using Decrypt9, to see if that could revive the cart. And to my surprise, the results were better than expected. Not only the cart was brought back to life, it was now being recognized as an official Acekard 2i, both by the official firmware and by AKAIO.

Spoiler

After years of trying to use more modern firmwares with this cart, I could finally convert it into the cart it is cloned from, by pure accident. Had I not bricked the cart I would have never find this out.

Download link for "ak2i_flash.bin":
https://mega.nz/#!EoBAwQJY!4ec5DO8bAeKLjAS1UIjue7NqfW7KseRhpLPgulAbEto

Keep in mind that this file is for carts that are detected as HW=81 in Decrypt9 or in Acekard's updater. If you have a legit Acekard 2i detected as HW=44, please post your flash file in the thread.

You just have to put this file in your 3DS's SD Card's root, and run Decrypt9 using A9LH or boot9strp to restore the legit Acekard 2i's flash into your clone. You can now use the latest AKAIO and treat it like a legit Acekard 2i.

Thanks to @YourLocalMudkip for providing the Acekard 2i flash file.

 

[proflayton123]

I have 3 flashcarts on hand.. R4 original, R4i GOLD RTS, and R4isdhc GOLD Pro.. any dice?

 

[CMDreamer]

Only decrypt9, it was only added for testing the old ntrcardhax and d0k3 mentioned there were no plans to include it in godmode9.

I've recently updated to GodMode9, Boot9Strap and Luma 8.0, can I still use Decrypt9 on my O3DSXL? And if so, how?
Might be able to try with some card I've lying around somewhere.

Edit, according to this:

https://github.com/d0k3/Decrypt9WIP/pull/178

I can, thanks anyway.

 

[gnmmarechal]

hmm, I don't think I own one of these, I do own an R4 Ultra, though.

 

[some1ne]

Well that's a nice find. I wonder if it works because decrypt9 doesn't check for clones and just blind flashes the ak2i bootrom, or if this is one of the few ak2i clones that was actually really close. I'd be interested in seeing if the ak2i ds-mode updaters would now work on your card, or if they'd complain.


I don't know where my hw44 card is at, I'll take a look around tomorrow. Sadly the 44 is the older one with the smaller bootrom that doesn't have very many updates.

The thing is, those ak2i ds-mode updaters have always worked, as I said in the OP, but the cart was still recognized as an R4i Ultra. I believe that decrypt9 writes to the entire flash as opposed to just the upgradeable area, that's why this works.

 

[pandavova]

inb4 someone buys a R4i Ultra to use it as a "Unbrick" Card

 

[rileysrjay]

Any chance of this working with powersaves in the future for those of us who don't have access to an already hacked 3ds? Also is the r4i gold rts card supported through this method?

 

[some1ne]

inb4 someone buys a R4i Ultra to use it as a "Unbrick" Card

That could work.

Any chance of this working with powersaves in the future for those of us who don't have access to an already hacked 3ds? Also is the r4i gold rts card supported through this method?

I'm not sure if PowerSaves is able to have such a low-level access to the flashcart as decrypt9 has. In case it is, you'd need some code to be able to flash it properly.
About the R4i Gold RTS, I don't know about it, but I believe it wouldn't work with this method.

 

[NeoSlyde]

How about this

 

[PewnyPL]

View attachment 89650 How about this

TTDS clones

 

[RedBlueGreen]

What's the 2016 R4 Gold RTS a clone of?

 

[sp3off]

I have a R4 rebranded "Revolution for DS" and in the back it says "R4i-SDHC", does it works ?

[offtopic] seems like it's a joke, but nah, i really have this card [/offtopic]

 

[Retinal_FAILURE]

What about an ACE3DS PLUS?

 

[sp3off]

I have a R4 rebranded "Revolution for DS" and in the back it says "R4i-SDHC", does it works ?

[offtopic] seems like it's a joke, but nah, i really have this card [/offtopic]

nvm, that r4 isn't recognised anymore by my 3DS, so it isn't bootable anymore.

 

[PrincessLillie]

Had I not bricked the cart I would have never find this out.

Bricks were finally helpful!
Nice.

 

[driverdis]

Now that the Acekard flashcart is long dead, is there any reason why Normmatt hasn't released 1.9.0 with the clone checks removed?

Nowadays, almost all Acekards sold are clones and that will only get worse.

 

[some1ne]

Now that the Acekard flashcart is long dead, is there any reason why Normmatt hasn't released 1.9.0 with the clone checks removed?

Nowadays, almost all Acekards sold are clones and that will only get worse.

I'd also like to know about that. If anyone can get in contact with him, I would appreciate it.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

It would be funny to dump a NDS action replay and then inject it into a flash cart to use, cause is impossible to use on New 3ds due to the shape and size being lot bulky and unable to fit in the new slot.

 

[Smiths]

Now that the Acekard flashcart is long dead, is there any reason why Normmatt hasn't released 1.9.0 with the clone checks removed?

Nowadays, almost all Acekards sold are clones and that will only get worse.

I'd also like to know about that. If anyone can get in contact with him, I would appreciate it.

Norm is under probation for "livestock-related" crimes in his native land of New Zealand. He is barred from touching Nintendo DS hardware as part of his parole (don't ask,but let's just say a DSXL was used in committing the crime with the sheep).

We still have the AKAIO source obviously and the clone routine is still in there, but since I turned State's Witness in the proceedings, I cannot do anything with the source until the conditions of Normmatt's parole are reached.

 

[CreAtor135]

How about this?

 

[driverdis]

Norm is under probation for "livestock-related" crimes in his native land of New Zealand. He is barred from touching Nintendo DS hardware as part of his parole (don't ask,but let's just say a DSXL was used in committing the crime with the sheep).

We still have the AKAIO source obviously and the clone routine is still in there, but since I turned State's Witness in the proceedings, I cannot do anything with the source until the conditions of Normmatt's parole are reached.

So, why would the AKAIO source code be part of this? Software/programs have nothing to do with DS hardware itself so AKAIO should be free to work on and release without messing with the parole conditions whatever they are. Is there a timeframe you can share for when the conditions can be met so everyone here can have an idea on how long it will be before AKAIO without checks can be worked on/released or is it more likely that it will never be released with the clone checks removed?