Hacking Best 3DS/DS cart option with minimal clone probability?

[Kadin]

I'm not 100% convinced my Acekard 2i is in fact a clone as I'm running AKAIO v1.8.8 HW:81 but I bought it from gameplayfun.com which is now no more. One other odd thing is the akMenu shows Release 1.8.7, not sure if it should say 1.8.8.

Anyhow, I'd like to invest in another cart that isn't so hard to find a legit version. Apparently I didn't research enough and now know there are a ton of clones out there for this Acekard 2i.

 

[s4mid4re]

The akaio devs just forgot to update their 1.8.7 thing to 1.8.8. It isn't a bug or anything to worry about. If your ak2i has an HWID81 and can update to the latest bootstrap with acekard team's official updater, I doubt its illegitimacy.

I don't really know about other carts that are semi-perfectly legit, although I can make some recommendations. The DSTwo is a little pricy ($30~50 depending on the retailer), but it has many functions and has great compatibility to games. If you want wood r4, you can get a r4i Gold 3ds (from http://r4ids.cn; make sure you get the one from there, as there are some clones that have 'Gold' and '3ds' in their name).

 

[Kadin]

The akaio devs just forgot to update their 1.8.7 thing to 1.8.8. It isn't a bug or anything to worry about. If your ak2i has an HWID81 and can update to the latest bootstrap with acekard team's official updater, I doubt its illegitimacy.

I don't really know about other carts that are semi-perfectly legit, although I can make some recommendations. The DSTwo is a little pricy ($30~50 depending on the retailer), but it has many functions and has great compatibility to games. If you want wood r4, you can get a r4i Gold 3ds (from http://r4ids.cn; make sure you get the one from there, as there are some clones that have 'Gold' and '3ds' in their name).

Thank you for the response. I'm not sure what the official acekard updater is. I just ran the wifiupdate from the Start Menu on my cart via my DS and it updated the loader and a new wifi plugin, although I didn't see any visual change with either. What's the method you're referring to?

 

[s4mid4re]

The bootstrap update updates the flashcart to make it work on a dsi/3ds firmware that blocks flashcarts. If you can run them and they work, I doubt your ak2i is fake. If your ak2i is working on a the latest/a recent 3ds firmware, it was updated to work on it using the updater.

 

[Kadin]

The bootstrap update updates the flashcart to make it work on a dsi/3ds firmware that blocks flashcarts. If you can run them and they work, I doubt your ak2i is fake. If your ak2i is working on a the latest/a recent 3ds firmware, it was updated to work on it using the updater.

Ok cool. Well I might just ride it out from here but at the first sign of any incompatibility, I might look into the DSTwo. That was the other one I was considering. Again, thx for the input.

 

[alphamule]

Any cart with a lot of added hardware is likely not going to be cloned much if at all? I'm thinking of the ones that have coprocessors on board to run GBA emulators and such. The price of developing a clone has to be made up for by volume. Just because someone can make a clone, doesn't mean it's worth their while. Of course, there's the issue of factories making 'extras' to consider.

Note: I'm thinking of clones=functioning (almost?) the same, not just some piece of plastic that doesn't work but looks real.

 

[pyromaniac123]

It's not that the team behind akaio forgot to update it, they just didn't change the background.

 

[exangel]

Any cart with a lot of added hardware is likely not going to be cloned much if at all? I'm thinking of the ones that have coprocessors on board to run GBA emulators and such. The price of developing a clone has to be made up for by volume. Just because someone can make a clone, doesn't mean it's worth their while. Of course, there's the issue of factories making 'extras' to consider.

Note: I'm thinking of clones=functioning (almost?) the same, not just some piece of plastic that doesn't work but looks real.

For this type of product, the term "clone" is used pretty loosely, and typically indicates that the product merely clones packaging and trade name. They usually clone/adapt the hardware of unrelated flash carts though.

I've never heard of a Supercard DStwo clone though.

Anyway, though I personally like to collect carts and I try them all out, I do agree that if compatibility and authenticity is your #1 concern, DStwo's the best cart to get.