Hardware [HELP] Need to send in a N3DSXL for repair, how screwed am I? (CWF'd)

[kingawsume]

Top screen busted, and now it won't even boot, with or without the micro SD (I suspect there's a fault in the ribbon cable causing a short). Attempted to repair, stripped a screw.

Nintendo requires a populated SD slot, but I don't have a spare to use. Is there a way to back-up my CFW to PC, and just send it in that way? Can I just buy a new microSD, stick it in, and send it in that way?

 

[IC_]

If you put any other empty SD card inside the CFW will still be on the console itself, I would send the 3DS to some third party independent repair shop instead

 

[Kwyjor]

Nintendo requires a populated SD slot

When I sent mine in, they explicitly told me to take out the SD card and the stylus. Are you saying that you didn't install Luma to your NAND, such that it wasn't booting without an SD card inserted?

Is there a way to back-up my CFW to PC

b9s is definitely installed to your NAND. If you ever wanted to start over with a fresh SD card, all you would really need is boot.firm (Luma) and boot.3dsx (the Homebrew Launcher), which you can easily download.

Nintendo might not repair your unit if they find CFW installed on it, though.

 

[kingawsume]

When I sent mine in, they explicitly told me to take out the SD card and the stylus. Are you saying that you didn't install Luma to your NAND, such that it wasn't booting without an SD card inserted?

My email says, quote: "If you are sending a Nintendo 3DS Family system, you must include the SD or microSD card, leaving it in the system." And it was booting without an SD inserted, that's how I deleted the few DSiware HB apps I had, but it no longer boots at all, not even into recovery mode. My hope is that Nintendo whacks in a new screen and doesn't look deeper than that. Unless they have a reason to suspect that it's had software tampering, I don't think they'll go looking for any.

 

[Kwyjor]

My email says, quote: "If you are sending a Nintendo 3DS Family system, you must include the SD or microSD card, leaving it in the system."

Huh. Well, it was a few years ago that I sent mine in. I guess things have changed in the meantime. Noted.