Hacking Getting warranty service on a 3DS with custom FW

[themanuel]

I bought a refurbished 3DS this summer from Nintendo themselves through eBay, and proceeded to mod it using the hacks3ds guide. It now turned out that the sd card slot is not holding the card. I can get around it with tape and a piece of plastic but would prefer to have it repaired under the warranty.
If I restore my original nand backup, is there a chance that they will identify the DS as hacked and not fix it or even ban me?

 

[Glyptofane]

I bought a refurbished 3DS this summer from Nintendo themselves through eBay, and proceeded to mod it using the hacks3ds guide. It now turned out that the sd card slot is not holding the card. I can get around it with tape and a piece of plastic but would prefer to have it repaired under the warranty.
If I restore my original nand backup, is there a chance that they will identify the DS as hacked and not fix it or even ban me?

Does the slot want to constantly eject the card? I have one that broke like this. It actually happened when a cheap and brittle microSD adapter broke inside the slot while trying to eject it one day. Anyway, there's a little spring loaded latch inside the slot. You can probably find it with a flashlight. You need to depress this with a small knife or other such object. You can then insert and remove the card with your fingers, but in my case, it still won't lock in place. It's usually fine as long as the little slot cover flap stays down.

 

[themanuel]

Sorry, I should have specified but mine is a 3DS XL which uses microSD, and has no cover flap. You have to remove the back plate to get to the card slot. The card won't stay locked down. I put a piece of tape on the card to increase the friction, and have a piece of credit card type plastic to help block it from springing out..
If there is any risk of screwing my hard modding work, I'll just wing it.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I bought a refurbished 3DS this summer from Nintendo themselves through eBay, and proceeded to mod it using the hacks3ds guide. It now turned out that the sd card slot is not holding the card. I can get around it with tape and a piece of plastic but would prefer to have it repaired under the warranty.
If I restore my original nand backup, is there a chance that they will identify the DS as hacked and not fix it or even ban me?

If your NAND backup is from before you installed any CIAs it should be fine.
CIAs leave traces, you can delete the installed tickets with FBI, but I'm not sure if that's enough. Nintendo can be pretty thorough in their search for hacks when it comes to warranty repairs. Then again, sometimes it seems like they don't check at all, so you might get lucky.
Is the console even under warranty from Nintendo though? I don't think Nintendo has an eBay page. You might have to go through the seller that sold it to you.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

If your NAND backup is from before you installed any CIAs it should be fine.
CIAs leave traces, you can delete the installed tickets with FBI, but I'm not sure if that's enough. Nintendo can be pretty thorough in their search for hacks when it comes to warranty repairs. Then again, sometimes it seems like they don't check at all, so you might get lucky.
Is the console even under warranty from Nintendo though? I don't think Nintendo has an eBay page. You might have to go through the seller that sold it to you.

No need for thorough checking. Searching for the essentials backup GodMode9 puts on the NAND (for very good reason!) is enough to tell the system has run "unauthorized" software. Takes a few seconds to find out.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

No need for thorough checking. Searching for the essentials backup GodMode9 puts on the NAND (for very good reason!) is enough to tell the system has run "unauthorized" software. Takes a few seconds to find out.

Not too difficult to remove though. But good point, I hadn't even considered that.

 

[lAkdaOpeKA]

I know this is not the answer you're looking for, however, you might consider replacing the slot yourself.
On the New 3DS XL, it's very easy to replace, all you need to do is buy the piece (there are plenty spare parts on eBay, just make sure it's for the New 3DS XL because it's different than the New 3DS one), remove a few screws and just swap the part. Imho it's not worth the hassle of removing every possible trace of modding, waiting a few days weeks, and then have to redo everything.
Here's something that could help. It's not a guide, but it still lists all the steps to take it apart. Just make sure you don't pull the back piece directly up to avoid breaking the ribbons for the side buttons.

 

[ChibiMofo]

I don't think Nintendo has an eBay page. You might have to go through the seller that sold it to you.

Not only does Nintendo have an eBay page, but you can still buy a "refurbished" (but really its new but in a different white box) New 3DS XL from them with warranty:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Ninten...846406?hash=item1a72f59386:g:W1sAAOSwGzNdtlcH

"The New Nintendo 3DS XL™ is available as an Authentic Nintendo Refurbished Product only from Nintendo, and it comes with our standard one year warranty. Although it may have minor cosmetic blemishes, it is guaranteed to be fully functional. We think you will find the standards for Authentic Nintendo Refurbished Products are VERY high."

Got mine in November. Couldn't be happier with it as it even plays many PS1 games now too.

I assume this is how the OP got theirs.

 

[lAkdaOpeKA]

Got mine in November. Couldn't be happier with it as it even plays many PS1 games now too.

I know this is OT, but is retroarch actually capable of playing PS1 games on N3DS now? Or is it still not full speed?

 

[ChibiMofo]

I know this is OT, but is retroarch actually capable of playing PS1 games on N3DS now? Or is it still not full speed?

Yes, a recent major emulation update for PS1 has brought the joy of PS1 gaming to N3DS! There's a thread on this site for more details...
https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-ps1-forwarder-creator.550175/

 

[themanuel]

Thank you all for your feedback. I really appreciate it. I had not noticed I had replies because the alerts stopped.

At any rate, I'm getting by with the jury rigging I mentioned above, but I am very interested now in replacing the port. I did not know it was just screwed to the board and connected with a ribbon cable and header. I had assumed it was soldered.

This is great news and I'll certainly tackle it. Thanks to zacchi4k for pointing that out and everybody else for your input.

 

[lAkdaOpeKA]

Thank you all for your feedback. I really appreciate it. I had not noticed I had replies because the alerts stopped.

At any rate, I'm getting by with the jury rigging I mentioned above, but I am very interested now in replacing the port. I did not know it was just screwed to the board and connected with a ribbon cable and header. I had assumed it was soldered.

This is great news and I'll certainly tackle it. Thanks to zacchi4k for pointing that out and everybody else for your input.

One thing I just remembered: while everything online says the New 3DS and New 3DS XL only use Philips #0/#00 screws, my own console actually uses tri-wing screws to hold the mSD slot. So I recommend you take the back cover off and check what screws your console has

 

[themanuel]

One thing I just remembered: while everything online says the New 3DS and New 3DS XL only use Philips #0/#00 screws, my own console actually uses tri-wing screws to hold the mSD slot. So I recommend you take the back cover off and check what screws your console has

Well, I guess either way it is an easy screw off and on job. As long as it is not soldering, I should be fine.

 

[lAkdaOpeKA]

Well, I guess either way it is an easy screw off and on job. As long as it is not soldering, I should be fine.

Be sure to let us know how it goes

 

[Mythical]

I would just replace the part. As long as you're careful it's an easy fix as far as I know and pretty cheap. Just make sure not to open anything to quickly or you could break some ribbons

 

[themanuel]

Be sure to let us know how it goes

Will do. I ordered the part and it should arrive on Friday.

I would just replace the part. As long as you're careful it's an easy fix as far as I know and pretty cheap. Just make sure not to open anything to quickly or you could break some ribbons

Sadly, I have firsthand experience with this problem because I broke the camera ribbon cable in my son's 2DS, as I was opening it to fix a stuck volume slider. I will take my time with the 3DS.

 

[Deleted-236924]

Note, if you're going to do something like this. Once you're about to put the screws back in, turn them backwards once or twice first. Wait until you feel a 'click' and the screw looks straight, before screwing back in.

It's not always perfect, but this helps re-align the threads on the screw with the threads inside the screw holes. Otherwise you risk stripping the threads in the plastic which can be a nightmare.

 

[themanuel]

Note, if you're going to do something like this. Once you're about to put the screws back in, turn them backwards once or twice first. Wait until you feel a 'click' and the screw looks straight, before screwing back in.

It's not always perfect, but this helps re-align the threads on the screw with the threads inside the screw holes. Otherwise you risk stripping the threads in the plastic which can be a nightmare.

Good advice. I'll keep it in mind.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Good advice. I'll keep it in mind.

Also do not screw the screws in tight or with any force as that strips plastic threads very easily.

 

[themanuel]

Well, I ended up chickening out at the last moment. I had the replacement part from eBay, which seemed to be of slightly different construction than the one on my 3DS, and held the card in nicely. I followed the iFixIt guide go take the console apart, just enough to see the main board and the SD card reader module. However, after realizing how small the ribbon cable is, I could not assure myself that after removing the old reader, I would be able to push that tiny, delicate and flexible back thing into the connector, so I just reassembled the 3DS and went back to tape and a piece of credit card to keep the card in.

If it ain't too broke, don't break it more while trying to fix it :-)