Hacking Can we use gateway blue card to play DS game in a9lh Luma?

[johan23]

If we can how? My brother has an unused gateway blue card but I am not sure if i can actually use it to play DS games or not in my a9lh.

 

[nero99]

You'll have to install their blue card fix.cia to use it. But you'd be better off buying a r4isdhc dual core 2016 for like $15. Works on all 3ds update versions with no patching required.

 

[johan23]

Is there any reason why I should not use that blue card? Since that is an unused one I can just use it if it was possible.

 

[Temarile]

Yes you can use the blue card just fine, I'm using mine too and I too have Luma3DS with A9LH.

 

[johan23]

Thanks, do you have any guide how to use it? I am new to this gateway card.

 

[Temarile]

Have you done any modifications to something called TWL_FIRM? If not, skip part 1 and go to part 2. If you don't know for sure, start at part 1.

Part 1: To use the Gateway Blue card we need an unpatched TWL_FIRM, otherwise it interferes with the patches Luma3DS uses.
As per Luma3DS wiki:

There have been some reports of pre-patched AGB/TWL FIRMs interfering with Luma3DS' built-in patching. Follow these steps to restore the unpatched Nintendo FIRMs:

1. Get the NAND FIRMs package from here
2. From the package, copy O3DS AGB.cia and O3DS TWL.cia (if you have an Old 3DS), or N3DS AGB.cia and N3DS TWL.cia (if you have a New 3DS) to the SD card
3. Open your favorite cia installer (the guide has been tested successfully with FBI 2.1).
4. Install the .cia files you copied in step 2
5. Luma3DS should now be functioning normally

Part 2: Preparing the Gateway Blue card for use

1. Download the 3.7.1 Ultra zip from the Gateway website here: http://www.gateway-3ds.com/downloads/
2. Insert your micro SD card for the blue card into your computer. Make sure the card is formatted to FAT32.
3. Unzip it and inside you'll find a folder called "Blue Card (R4i). Copy the "_rpg" folder and the _DSMENU.dat over to the SD card for your Blue Card. You don't need the others.
4. Copy any .nds file you'd like to the root of the SD card. (Or create a folder called "games", whatever you like.
5. Put the SD card in your Gateway Blue card and insert it into your 3DS.

Sometimes the 3DS may not recognise the Blue card immediately. I have found you need to push the card a bit further into the slot and then it will work. Confirmed working as I'm using my Gateway Blue card to play Dragon Quest at the moment on my A9LH Luma3DS N3DS

 

[johan23]

Thanks Temarile for that guide. Can finally start playing DS games now on my 3DS. Thanks a lot.

 

[Osmosis]

This should be bumped for users who skip the TWL part of the Plailect guide.

 

[Jiro2]

You'll have to install their blue card fix.cia to use it.

No, you do not. Luma unblocks DS cards.

 

[FreakPrism]

Not to revive and old thread but just wanted to say that I followed the 3ds.guide today and all went well. Wanted to play a NDS game and just plugged in my Gateway blue card and it worked without doing anything special. I am running Luma 6.6.

 

[The Catboy]

Not to revive and old thread but just wanted to say that I followed the 3ds.guide today and all went well. Wanted to play a NDS game and just plugged in my Gateway blue card and it worked without doing anything special. I am running Luma 6.6.

GG, TWL patching is part of every CFW now. NAND patching is a thing of the past

 

[FreakPrism]

Is a cart still required to play NDS games via Luma or can they be installed via cia somehow?

 

[Imacaredformy2ds]

Is a cart still required to play NDS games via Luma or can they be installed via cia somehow?

Flash card is your best option atm
There's also TWLoader but that's still in like pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha
Very few games work

 

[netovsk]

I wouldn't bother having nothing but the best when it comes down to DS flashcarts. Save games or getting stuck halfway through the game is worth more than twenty or thirty dollars.

Gateway blue card is meant to do its job (mset) and not much else.

 

[emuashui]

... is it safe, no bricking code in the gw blue card? Though i already hv 3ds a9lh-ed.

 

[Searinox]

... is it safe, no bricking code in the gw blue card? Though i already hv 3ds a9lh-ed.

Brick code never ever ever existed on the blue card, only the red card related launcher.dat and it was only for a while until they shot themselves in the foot with it by causing a community uproar. The blue card is an Ace3DS clone that can run a modded version of, I think it was AKAIO? You don't need to worry even though Nintendo blocked the card with update 6.2 because Luma unblocks it by itself. You don't need to patch anything.

The firmware for GW blue card has been posted here. https://gbatemp.net/threads/analysis-on-the-gateway-3ds-blue-cart-updateable.357103/ Get the _DSMENU.DAT and game.dldi files from the thread and replace the ones provided by Gateway. Bonus, get yourself an up-to-date copy of usrcheat.dat too. It should be 13MB and as always enjoy your new DS flashcart.

I think an ancient scare thread on Maxconsole that keeps popping up in Google search results from the time of GW bricks is keeping this idea coming back like a zombie.

 

[emuashui]

Brick code never ever ever existed on the blue card, only the red card related launcher.dat and it was only for a while until they shot themselves in the foot with it by causing a community uproar. The blue card is an Ace3DS clone that can run a modded version of ...
The firmware for GW blue card has been posted here. https://gbatemp.net/threads/analysis-on-the-gateway-3ds-blue-cart-updateable.357103/ Get the _DSMENU.DAT and game.dldi files from the thread and replace the ones provided by Gateway. Bonus, get yourself an up-to-date copy of usrcheat.dat too. It should be 13MB and as always enjoy your new DS flashcart.

i see, seems only launcher.dat in GW red card is unsafe, likewise i may consider remove the file gw_installer.nds in GW blue card and then i can play safely with the "OS" files posted above, thanks.

 

[Searinox]

gw_installer.nds can be removed, it is only ever useful for installing the MSET exploit. If you have A9LH installed you don't care about it at all.

 

[MrJey]

Man also got scared using Gateway blue (man never used the Red one ever!).

Reading this gave man more confidence in the blue card.

Man got Freeshop running perfect and got allot of games on it. It would be a waste if it got thrashed by doing something stupid.

Man needs to be very cautious when modifying software.

 

[AshleeCoffee]

Have you done any modifications to something called TWL_FIRM? If not, skip part 1 and go to part 2. If you don't know for sure, start at part 1

...

Thanks for posting this! I have been content with .3ds and .cia files for a few years now and have completely forgot about the gateway setup process. I've been very scared to venture using the Blue Card. Your Part 1 "Get the NAND FIRMs package from here" link was broken, so I cautiously skipped to part 2. It was a success, and now I can play DS games. Much appreciation!