Tutorial  Updated

How to convert an R4i Ultra (r4ultra.com) clone into a legit Acekard 2i using a hacked 3DS

upload_2017-6-10_4-17-40.png
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:
Another World said:
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
Click to expand...
Crystal the Glaceon said:
It's more of a Clone made by The Acekard Team.
It uses pretty much uses very similar hardware.
Click to expand...

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.
upload_2017-6-10_4-26-35.png

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.
Cl84sjh.png

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.
 
Last edited by some1ne,
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Axorve

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My aK2I :

1502630632-20170813-151208.jpg

1502630639-20170813-151216.jpg


Perfectly detected by ntboor, but not on decrypt9. Can dump flash with ntboor but not injecting/restore flash.
 
nastys

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I have an R4i Ultra HW=81 like yours. It shows up as "ハローキテイ パンダスポーツスジアム DORASU" (rōmaji: "harōkitei pandasupōtsusujiamu DORASU").
If you ever want to restore the original bootrom, here is my dump:
https://mega.nz/#!gx4kETBD!7ykQ0yXsfNTII3rxNIU1FA-JQu2DIg42D4K6geIYdlA

After flashing the bootrom you provided it still shows up as the same Hello Kitty game, but now akAIO 1.9.0 works without any patches!
Also, the loading screen has changed.
 
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After using ak2i_ntrcardhax_flasher_dsi.nds to install ntrboot, I restored the Ak2i flash again but this time it still shows up as "Acekard 2i www.acekard.com" instead of that Japanese Hello Kitty game. Is there a way to restore the old game icon?

EDIT: after updating the bootloader using the official program, it now shows up as "PIPPA FUNNELL UBISOFT" and it takes a bit more time to boot the kernel. I guess this means this kind of backup does not include the bootloader.
 
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