A summary of where things are as of 2/9/15, late morning.
This has been confirmed to not be specifically aimed at any particular region. USA, EUR, and JPN all have had at least one reported banning in their region, many of them multiple reports.
IF You've gotten banned, please fill out the following form (thanks to MrJason005 for the template) and post in the thread. We are trying to collect as much information as possible to map out the mysteries.
Code:
What flashcard were you using (Gateway or Sky3DS):
What game were you playing:
What was your sysNAND firmware version when playing:
What was your emuNAND firmware version when playing:
Were you using a .CIA or a .3DZ:
If you were using a .3DZ file, what type of header were you using:
If you were using a .3DZ file, was the header public or private:
Can you visit other online Nintendo services such as eShop and Miiverse:
Does that ban apply to just that game or every online game you try:
Additional info:
Q: What's going on?
A: People using Sky3DS and Gateway cards under particular circumstances have been banned. It seems as though the bans started being doled out Wednesday, February 4th 2015, seemingly following the 9.5 update. Both users of cards have been reporting the issue, but not all users of cards have yet been banned.
Q: Wait, banned? How do they know?
A: Users in multiple countries have been getting error 002-0102, which normally means an internet connectivity problem. However, after contacting Nintendo, multiple users have confirmed that the CS says its a ban. They offer no further information at this time, and can not overturn it. As of now, there is no solid evidence that it is a NNID ban, and most conjecture/circumstance points to a MAC/SN ban. Users that are banned can still enter the eShop and purchase games, and download updates. They can not go online within any game or use their friends list. They also can not use ANY application that requires online connectivity, including Pokemon Bank, YouTube, and Netflix. However, the Web Browser DOES still work.
Q: How can I tell if I've been banned?
A: If you go to your friend's list, and you are connected to a valid internet-connected wireless network, you will still have a connection error on your screen and everyone will be listed as offline. Furthermore, if you try to use any game's multiplayer functionality, you will get similar messages.
Q: So how is Nintendo detecting these cards and banning people?
A: There is no solid evidence yet, but a lot of the reports have been from people going online in-game using either Sky3DS with the default template or pre-patched .3dz files with Gateway. Both of those actions initiates an online connection using what's known as a public header. Each 3DS game has a header, which is similar to an old-fashioned cd-key for PC games. Only one person should be able to be online with each header for each game, so if there are two or more people using the same game with the same header, that shows that at least one person is spoofing or pirating.
This has yet to be confirmed but seems the most likely situation, with Nintendo possibly including a new check in 9.5 for duplicate online header events. People using private headers with both cards, as well as .cia files (which remove the header entirely), have not yet reported banning. Someone has reported being banned using 9.4 emuNAND so it does not seem to be explicitly tethered to the 9.5 update, though it may still have been implemented on Nintendo's side around the same time.
Q: So what do I need to do to avoid being banned?
A: Safest bet? Don't use either hack card at all for now. If you still want to use the Gateway or Sky3DS, it is highly recommended to use your own private header for a game, or just don't go online at all with the games on your hack card. As of this point in time, people using cia files have not reported confirmed bans. However, due to how cia's work, it may not be safe to use those as well. As with all these things, you assume your own risk for anything you do to your device. These are helpful suggestions.
So, with that out of the way, I'd like to hear some feedback from the people who've already been banned.
1)
Does this ban affect each and every game with an online mode? For example, if you've been banned, are you still able to get onto the YouTube app? Or Pokemon Bank? Any and all additional insight into this will flush out the extend of ban reach. Dayfid and shamzie have confirmed that Pokemon Bank, YouTube and Netflix all do not work after banning. Web Browser does work after banning. Thanks for the info.
2) Has anyone who's already been banned tried using a different or new 3DS with the same Nintendo Network ID that was on the banned console? There's a lot of rumors being thrown around but I've yet to see a post (maybe my old, tired eyes missed it over the last 54 pages) of someone who's tried getting onto a completely different console from one being banned using the same NNID.
3) Has anyone been banned who HASN'T gone online since patch 9.5 came out with a hacked card? It would be really nice to know if this was something that was done just in the latest update, and if people who haven't used online mode since then are "safe" or not. I'm not wondering if someone's gone online using an older firmware getting banned, I'm wondering if it's only happened if you've gone online with public headers since 2/4.
So far, common games played involving a banned console are:
Pokemon (any 3DS version)
Super Smash Bros
Mario Kart 7
Some others that were played online, but only single instances:
Bravely Default
Tomodachi Life
Fantasy Life
My wife and I both have Sky3DS. I haven't gone online since 9.5 was applied to my system (I only go online for Pokemon Bank, MK7, and Wondertrading at this point), and I don't believe she's been either outside of some SpotPass stuff for a few games. We have been using Sky3DS templates with no mods (she had her games applied using the 1/28 file, mine were using the 2/4 file). Right now, neither of us are banned. I will report if and when we are, but we both are going to continue using the cards WITHOUT online modes at all from here on out. This will hopefully add some more evidence to whether or not it is based on a backlog of history, and whether or not it is applied with just the 9.5 update.
