Much to the dismay of pirates everywhere, It appears that Nintendo is finally rolling out the infrastructure changes to their Content Delivery Network to put an end to apps like freeShop, Villain3DS, TikDevil, and FunKeyCIA, among others.

For those of you that missed out, in the recent 11.8.0-41 update for the Nintendo 3DS, several changes to how the NIM service handles downloading Nintendo 3DS software from the eShop were made. The main change involves sending an encrypted copy of the user's game ticket to their server for authentication. If the server finds the ticket is invalid, or no ticket is provided, the server could deny you access to the content files you are trying to retrieve.

Looks like 11.8.0 backports the Switch's aauth ideas to 3ds -- network comms now send an encrypted(?) copy of app ticket to the server.

They may not act on it immediately, but like on Switch this lets N perfectly detect pirate accesses vs normal ones, and ban however they like.

— Michael (@SciresM) July 31, 2018

​

This level of granular per-title validation will effectively put an end to any software that relies on the open availability of content files on the Nintendo CDN to function, including freeShop, CIAngel, TikDevil, and even PC based clients such as Villain3DS, PlaiCDN, and FunKeyCIA to name a few.

However, up until earlier today, the server wasn't denying anyone downloads at all. However, multiple reputable sources have stated that the changes have begun to roll out and that it is unlikely that any workarounds will be found.

Because this followup round of changes is server side, this effects all firmware and all devices trying to download from the Nintendo CDN. Staying on 11.7 or below will not make freeShop continue to work, and before you ask, yes, software you already pirated is safe. (for now, anyway.)

Nintendo has finally put in place the server-side change to finish what 11.8.0 started. FreeShop and other 3DS piracy apps are now dead (probably forever).

— Devon Maloney (@plailect) August 9, 2018

At this time, it seems only various first-party Nintendo titles are affected, but it's probable that these changes will begin rolling out to all 3DS titles on the Nintendo CDN over time.

As of approximately 1 AM EST, August 22, 2018, the Nintendo CDN has applied this ticket validation method to over 2800 titles on their network.

Source and Ongoing Discussion
Related 3DBrew Page

Spoiler: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Will Staying on 11.7 help in any substantial way?
A: Not really. The bulk of the changes made are server side, meaning that they apply to all firmware, all platforms, everything trying to download 3DS content from the Nintendo CDN. I don't recommend updating on principle but that choice is yours to make.

Q: Do I have to delete the games I downloaded from freeShop to avoid being banned?
A: No. This ticket check is done only when downloading titles through the NIM Service on the 3DS. Not when launching games. Not when going online in games. Not when downloading or installing games through other means.

Q: What uses the NIM service to download from the Nintendo CDN?
A: The Official 3DS eShop, Official 3DS eShop Sleep Mode Downloads, and freeShop Sleep Mode Downloads. That last one is the only wild card here. We don't know what Nintendo might do if you upload an invalid game ticket to them through NIM. They could possibly use this ban you, but as of now, it doesn't seem like they are.

Q: Will there be a workaround for this in the future?
A: Almost certainly not. Don't count on it.

Q: Can you still download non-first-party 3DS games?
A: No, as of August 22, 2018, nearly all titles are requiring valid tickets to download. A complete list of titles that are blocked is available courtesy of @DMSalesman, here.

Q: Does any of this apply to Wii U content on the Nintendo CDN?
A: No. Nintendo hasn't updated the Wii U with any of this security, which they would have to do to implement this.

 

[sblast3]

No, it won't happen... the cdn requires a legitimate ticket that you would get after purchasing a game in the eShop. The ticket is signed by Nintendo and unique to your NNID and console. This is a server-side change, and therefore system version won't change anything.

Doesn't this mean FreeShop can still be used for our legitimate purchases? Also, can we still extract our keys and use them on the PC for FunKeyCIA?

 

[Ryccardo]

Doesn't this mean FreeShop can still be used for our legitimate purchases? Also, can we still extract our keys and use them on the PC for FunKeyCIA?

No, unless all of the following conditions are satisfied:
1- you already have a signed ticket installed for that title
2- you use freeshop's Spotpass background download feature
3- you are on 11.8+

In that case yes, Freeshop behaves as simply an alternate GUI for the eShop/NIM


You can certainly backup your enctitlekeys, but FunkeyCIA won't work, since it doesn't send a ticket

 

[nolimits59]

i'm wondering what will happen to legit Cias that should be redownloable, they don't have that ticket so...

 

[Ryccardo]

i'm wondering what will happen to legit Cias that should be redownloable, they don't have that ticket so...

Legit implies that they have a signed ticket, so if said ticket is actually what's installed on your console, they will be redownloadable on-(11.8)-console

 

[nolimits59]

Legit implies that they have a signed ticket, so if said ticket is actually what's installed on your console, they will be redownloadable on-(11.8)-console

Ho, i though it was another ticket (a new one created when you buy the game) that was used for that new server sided check. Then yeah.

 

[trigao]

plus, come on guys... it not the end of the world, gosh, we just back to the good ol'days where you have to dig the internet
i mean, wii, ds, ps3, x360, psp was like that and a single shit was not given

we just become spoiled by the convenience that freeshop bring to us

 

[ROMANREIGNS599]

We shouldnt be so worried about online either
Its a matter of time to nintendo turn off the 3ds servers
I mean, the 3ds will not have any new pkm game, mario kart or any "important" game to play online

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Well, if no one buy it
Will not be in freeshop either
The games only appear there IF have de title key

No but how do you even download free DLC for a game?

 

[trigao]

No but how do you even download free DLC for a game?

man, like any other game, wait someone buy, dump, and you can download the .cia e install via fbi, i think you came too late to the scene
before freeshop we had many option to download every kind stuff for 3ds

how do you download DLC for wii, x360 and ps3 back then?

 

[ROMANREIGNS599]

man, like any other game, wait someone buy, dump, and you can download the .cia e install via fbi, i think you came to late to the scene
before freeshop we had many option to download every kind stuff for 3ds

how do you download DLC for wii, x360 and ps3 back then?

So there are DLC cias?

 

[trigao]

So there are DLC cias?

yes.... even game updates you can get .cia and install manually

 

[MegaGenesis]

Sad, i came too late to this scene, took me too long to made my mind and CFW my 3DS, so i only enjoyed FS for a few days, still got many of what i wanted. Now i'm stockpilling what i can in CIA files (even updates and DLCs) offline for the future, you'll never know, specially those update files when Nint decides to shutdown eShop.
But i can't say i'm not used to this, used to this all the time with NDS games for my R4.

On the topic of "lazy pirates" i have to agree. IMO what is killing (i.e Nint doing what they can to stop us) the homebrew/hack/emulation scene is the fact all this became super mainstream by the past few years. Can't do anything without some youtuber making a video tutorial about it and showing to the masses. No surprise Nint would took notice. There's a reason why so many full rom sets on forums are still up and easy to download after so many years.

I think we should go underground again.

 

[codezer0]

Makes me glad that I was able to get WarioWare Gold before these shenanigans started. Even so, the stupidity of doing this this late is excessive. After all, what does it cost Nintendo to host these files, anyway? So they save, what, ten dollars or so on their bandwidth bill a month? It's also not like said downloads were wasting space on *their* systems; any expansions in content available were going to require added storage for them anyway.

I just fail to see what this accomplishes. If a game is popular enough, there will be a way to get it. Or there will just be a replacement made that breaks their encryption and is able to download it from their network anyway.

I would not be surprised in the least, if the developers of Freeshop aren't already working on a way that defeats this kind of security model. Watch it be something especially dumb, too.

 

[GilgameshArcher]

Thanks that I already download all I wanted before that, hehe

 

[RattletraPM]

I just fail to see what this accomplishes. If a game is popular enough, there will be a way to get it. Or there will just be a replacement made that breaks their encryption and is able to download it from their network anyway.

Bandwidth aside, I can see a few other reasons for them to do it:

• The 3DS is still a huge moneymaker for Nintendo, even this close to EOL. But having a method this easy to pirate games could scare both investors and, most of all, developers away. Sure, there's still a lot of security flaws and hacking it has never been this easy, but as many others have said in this thread Freeshop simply shouldn't have existed - pirating games by downloading them from Nintendo's own CDN was a huge embarrassment for the company. They might not be able to patch bootrom bugs but by pushing this update they've proven that they can still do something about piracy on the console.
• Going on from the point above, they've effectively killed the easiest way to pirate games on the 3DS. This might not seem much to the more technically inclined persons but your average joe is going to feel it, badly. Before all you had to do is to scan a QR code and push a button, now there's a lot more steps to do which again, it might not be difficult for you, but I really can't count how many people still don't know how to use torrents in 2018 and worst of all, they don't want to learn because "it's too difficult". Ease of use is one hell of a strong point and it shouldn't be underestimated. Stubborn pirates will still be there, sure, but with this move they've cut access to easy piracy to a lot more people than you'd imagine.
• Lastly, they've already tried to take down Freeshop and failed spectacularly. Now they've cut the problem right at its root cause. If people start to use shared tickets they can blacklist them, if there's a server exploit it won't take much now for it to be patched as the infrastructure is there. In other words, there will be a group of people who'll try to bring Freeshop back (even if other members said it's impossible), but I don't expect them to succeed.

 

[Rahkeesh]

If people start to use shared tickets they can blacklist them, if there's a server exploit it won't take much now for it to be patched as the infrastructure is there. In other words, there will be a group of people who'll try to bring Freeshop back (even if other members said it's impossible), but I don't expect them to succeed.

Switch is still doing this. If anyone bothers to update 3DS homebrew (doubtful) it would work well enough, until Nintendo further ups their game.

 

[SirNapkin1334]

don't fanboy for them they where caught red handed using a rom dump from the 90s they are hypocrites and liars

So? They have every right to do so and most people don’t give a damn, the game plays fine - why fix something that doesn’t need fixing?

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Makes me glad that I was able to get WarioWare Gold before these shenanigans started. Even so, the stupidity of doing this this late is excessive. After all, what does it cost Nintendo to host these files, anyway? So they save, what, ten dollars or so on their bandwidth bill a month? It's also not like said downloads were wasting space on *their* systems; any expansions in content available were going to require added storage for them anyway.

I just fail to see what this accomplishes. If a game is popular enough, there will be a way to get it. Or there will just be a replacement made that breaks their encryption and is able to download it from their network anyway.

I would not be surprised in the least, if the developers of Freeshop aren't already working on a way that defeats this kind of security model. Watch it be something especially dumb, too.

To stop the moron / lazy pirates, that’ll probably cut away 10-15% of piracy.

Edit: ninja’d by @RattletraPM

 

[TankedThomas]

It was inevitable after the recent changes, but still a shame. As I've said previously I used it to download out-of-region updates because Nintendo gives zero fucks about making sure all UK/Europe games and AU/NZ games play nice with updates even though the games are technically the same region (some, such as the Yo-kai Watch games, have different region coding though, just to fuck with us). Hopefully people upload the updates elsewhere.

I'm surprised it took Nintendo this long to figure out how to patch it up though, but it's a shame that I won't have easy access to things like updates again. If you want to pirate games, well, there are plenty of ways to still easily do that. Random game updates for games people don't care much about, however, are not as common (especially if you're one of those people in the UK or Europe who imported Yo-kai Watch or YW2 - have fun trying to find the ANZ updates online without freeShop).

The other disappointment is that even though it was technically pirating, freeShop helped preserve some of the games that were technically still online but not readily available in most, if not all, regional eShops, and gave people access to games they otherwise couldn't get on their 3DS (for example, I'm still annoyed that we never got Ikachan over here (though I seem to remember it coming out but it certainly isn't available in European territories any more) - I know it's free on PC but I wanted to buy it on 3DS and yet it's not possible).

don't fanboy for them they where caught red handed using a rom dump from the 90s they are hypocrites and liars

They're definitely hypocrites and liars (then again, so are their competitors), but they're technically allowed to do this. It's just shitty in some respects, primarily the one you mentioned, where those games were archived by others and Nintendo pirated their own games because they apparently no longer had access to the original copies (which makes zero sense to me whatsoever, but we know they pirated at least a few of their own games and sold those pirated copies, so... there's a reason for it out there somewhere).

 

[SirNapkin1334]

I have been receiving mixed and confusing answers on this question - can I use my personally dumped CIAs online? Key word: personally dumped, coming from one of MY cartridges.

 

[RattletraPM]

I have been receiving mixed and confusing answers on this question - can I use my personally dumped CIAs online? Key word: personally dumped, coming from one of MY cartridges.

Right now Ninty seems to check for valid titlekeys only when downloading from the CDN (via the NIM service), so yes, you're fine.

Sources: astronautlevel / various users on reddit

Switch is still doing this. If anyone bothers to update 3DS homebrew (doubtful) it would work well enough, until Nintendo further ups their game.

I don't have a Switch (yet!) so I didn't know that's what's being used there. So yeah, it might indeed work, but with CIA installs via FBI and stuff I too doubt someone will make a proper app like that.

 

[Kioku]

It never ceases to amaze me how entitled the pirates feel in these situations.