Tutorial
Updated
How to Create a North American, non-XL New 3DS
As we all know, Nintendo of America decided not to release the normal-sized New 3DS in America. Luckily, it's possible to turn a European or Japanese New 3DS into an American one.
It WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE TO CONNECT TO THE ESHOP OR PERFORM A SYSTEM TRANSFER on your region-changed system. In every other respect, however, your region-changed system will act exactly like an American one. There is a way to temporarily fix the eShop, but it is not covered in this guide.
THIS PROCESS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DAMAGE YOUR SYSTEM, and I take zero responsibility for any damaged 3DS's. Read EVERY step carefully, and stop and ask for help if you're unsure about something. This guide WILL work if you follow ever instruction, but accidentally skipping a step will have consequences. If something does go wrong, there are a couple of GBATemp users who will be able to fix your system for a small fee, so don't worry too much.
While I stress the need to read every instruction carefully, particularly dangerous steps are marked with a ⚠ symbol. Go slowly and take your time during these sections.
REQUIREMENTS:
In order to create a Non-XL, North American New 3DS, the following items are REQUIRED. Make sure that you have everything before proceeding.
1) A Japanese or European non-XL New 3DS running firmware ≤ 9.2. This is becoming increasingly tricky, as newer systems come with updates preinstalled out of the box. Buy from stores with good return policies. To make returns easier, consider asking someone who lives in Europe or Japan to purchase the system on your behalf. Remember that this will only become more difficult as time passes.
2) A "donor" North American Old 3DS with firmware ≤ 9.2, which you don't mind never using again once you're finished with it.
3) Two copies of the video game "Cubic Ninja"—one North American copy, and one from the same region as your New 3DS.
4) A Windows computer, a WiFi network, general computer skills, and patience.
OVERVIEW:
Before we begin in earnest, I'd like to give a general explanation as to how 3DS region changes work. You can skip this section if you like, but I think that understanding what we're about to do may make the steps themselves easier to follow. To established experts in this subject: yes, I know, I've overly-simplified a couple of concepts; bear with me!
Generally speaking, there are two steps to changing a 3DS's region: (1) Install the North American software and uninstall the original region's software, and (2) Give the system a North American serial number.
The first step should be fairly self-explanatory: European and Japanese 3DS's run slightly different software than 3DS's sold in the Americas. There are a number of different ways to install the American software, but in this guide, we're going to hijack the 3DS's built-in system update function to install the wrong region's software.
The second step bears more explanation. As you are probably aware, every 3DS sold anywhere in the world contains a unique serial number. You can find it written on the bottom of Old 3DS's, and underneath the top cover plate of New 3DS's. What you may not know is that 3DS's also store their serial numbers digitally, in a file inside their internal memory called SecureInfo_A.
SecureInfo_A files are encrypted and signed by Nintendo. They cannot be modified, and they cannot be recreated, but they can be replaced. In this guide, we're going to take the North American Old 3DS's SecureInfo file and transpose it onto a European or Japanese New 3DS. Afterwards, it is good practice to never use the donor system again. Two 3DS's with the same serial number are guaranteed to raise red flags with Nintendo, and that has the potential to create problems for everyone. For the benefit of all of us, please act responsibly.
ALRIGHT, LET'S DO THIS!
01) Download and extract THIS zip file.
02) Locate the folder titled "Copy contents to root of SD Card." Copy everything inside of it to the root of your "Donor" Old 3DS's SD card.
03) Insert the SD card into your Old 3DS, and turn the system on.
04) Press the L and R buttons to activate the camera, and touch the QR code icon. Scan THIS QR code, and press A twice to open the web browser. After a few more seconds, you should see a screen with "rxTools" written in the lower righthand corner. If, instead, you receive a message titled "an error has occurred", open the 3DS's web browser, clear your cookies and cache, return to the home menu, and try again.
05) Press A to continue passed the warning screen, and navigate to "Dumping Options" → "Dump NAND Files" → "SecureInfo_A". Hold down the power button to turn off your 3DS.
06) Put your 3DS's SD card back into your computer. Open the rxTools folder, and copy the file called "SecureInfo_A" into the folder called "Copy contents to root of SD Card". Afterwards, eject the SD card and put it somewhere for safekeeping—we will not use it again.
07) Now, take out your New 3DS, and make sure that it's turned off. While holding down the L, R, A, and D-Pad ↑ buttons, press and release the power button. Continue holding down the first four buttons until the screen turns on. Your 3DS will ask to connect to the internet and update the system. Press "Cancel". Your 3DS will turn back off.
08) Copy everything inside of the folder titled "Copy contents to root of SD Card" onto your New 3DS's microSD card. Afterwards, insert the microSD card into your New 3DS.
09) Turn on your New 3DS and open System Setting, then go to "Internet Settings" → "Connection Settings". If you've already set up an internet connection, skip to the next step. Otherwise, select "New Connection" → "Manual Setup" and search for an access point. Select your wifi network, and make sure that the connection test is successful.
10) Select the connection that corresponds to your home's wifi network, and navigate to "Change Settings" → IP Address. Change "Auto-Obtain IP Address" to "No", and hit "Detailed Setup". Change "IP Address" to "192.168.001.222", change "Subnet Mask" to "255.255.255.000", and change "Gateway" to "192.168.1.1". Go to "Okay" → "Set Up" → "Detailed Setup". Change "Primary DNS" to "8.8.8.8" and tap "Okay" → "Save" → "Test". If the connection test is successful, skip to step 12. Otherwise, continue to the next step.
11) Your wifi network is probably using a nonstandard IP configuration. This is easy to fix, but outside the scope of this guide. Take a look at Nintendo's official instructions, and write down the IP address that you enter into your 3DS. Later in this guide—when you are asked to copy and paste some text into a program on your computer—you will need to replace the standard IP address—"192.168.001.222"—with the address that you've written down. Don't forget!
12) Insert your Japanese/European copy of Cubic Ninja into your New 3DS, launch the game, and press A to go to the main menu. Hold down the L, R, X, and Y buttons simultaneously until a message pops up. Press "Yes" twice, and then press "OK".
13) Navigate to "Create" → "QR Code" → "Scan QR Code". Scan THIS QR code if you're using a European New 3DS, and THIS QR code if you're using a Japanese New 3DS. If your 3DS freezes, or the screen stays black for more than ten seconds, reboot the console and try this step again. Proceed to the next step once a menu has appeared.
14) Use the D-Pad to select the option "Backup System NAND", and press A. Press A again to confirm, and wait for the process to complete.
15) Hold down the power button to turn off your 3DS, eject the microSD card, and insert it into your computer. Move the file called "NAND.bin" into the "Working" folder that you downloaded and rename it to "New3DSVanilla.bin". Make two copies of this file. Copy one to an external hard-drive, and upload the other to a cloud service such as Google Drive. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, LOSE THIS FILE. EVER. It is your lifeline should something go wrong.
16) Put your microSD card back into your New 3DS, turn it on, and launch Cubic Ninja. Press A to go to the main menu, and then hold down the L, R, X, and Y buttons simultaneously until a message pops up. Press "Yes" twice, and then press "OK".
17) Navigate to "Create" → "QR Code" → "Scan QR Code". Scan THIS QR code if you're using a European New 3DS, and THIS QR code if you're using a Japanese New 3DS. Press A when prompted, and wait for your system to return the the home menu.
18) ⚠ If your 3DS's firmware is 9.0 or greater, skip to step 22. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.†
19) Launch Cubic Ninja again, press A, and navigate to "Create" → "QR Code". If your 3DS freezes, reboot the console and try this step again. Proceed to the next step once your 3DS has returned to the home menu.
20) ⚠ Leave your 3DS open, switch to your computer, and open "NTR Client". Copy and paste THIS‡ text into the small box at the bottom, and press enter. Make sure that the last line of the large upper box says "finishedfinishedfinished", then close NTRClient and continue to the next step.
21) ⚠ Open "System Settings", and navigate to "Other Settings" → "System Update". Press "OK", then "I Accept", and wait for the update to complete. Finally, press "OK" to reboot the system.
22) Once again, launch Cubic Ninja again, press A, and navigate to "Create" → "QR Code". If your 3DS freezes, reboot the console and try this step again. Proceed to the next step once your 3DS has returned to the home menu.
23) ⚠ Leave your 3DS open, switch to your computer, and open "NTR Client". Copy and paste THIS‡ text into the small box at the bottom, and press enter. Make sure that the last line of the large upper box says "finishedfinishedfinished", then close NTRClient and continue to the next step.
24) ⚠ Open "System Settings", and navigate to "Other Settings" → "System Update". Press "OK", then "I Accept", and wait for the update to complete. Finally, press "OK" to reboot the system.
25) Open Cubic Ninja, and press A to go to the main menu. Hold down the L, R, X, and Y buttons simultaneously until a message pops up. Press "Yes" twice, and then press "OK". Navigate to "Create" → "QR Code" → "Scan QR Code", and switch to your computer for the next step.
26) On your computer, go to smealum.net/ninjhax and scroll down to the "Get Ninjhax" section. Enter your New 3DS's firmware and hit submit. Use your 3DS to scan the QR code that appears. Press A to install the exploit to your savegame, then press A again to launch the exploit.
27) Tap the application called 3DSSwapConsole. If the application crashes, reboot your 3DS, re-open Cubic Ninja, navigate to "Create" -> "QR Code", and try this step again. Otherwise, press the A button when prompted, and then reboot your console.
28) Your 3DS will no longer recognize a non-American copy of Cubic Ninja, so eject the current copy and insert your North American copy instead. Launch the game, navigate to "Create" → "QR Code" → "Scan QR Code", and scan THIS QR code. Press A to install the exploit, then press A again to launch it.
29) This time, open the application called "FBI". Press L to switch to NAND, then press R twice to switch to Delete Title mode. You should see a list of titles on the bottom screen.
30) ⚠ If you're using a Japanese New 3DS, locate and delete every title that ends with a "J". If you're using a European New 3DS, do the same for every title that ends with a "P".
31) Press start to return to the homebrew launcher, then press start again, and finally A to return to the home menu.
32) Open System Settings again, navigate to "Other Settings" → "Format System Memory", and follow the onscreen instructions until the 3DS reboots.
You are now holding in your hands a North American, small New 3DS. Feel free to update to the latest firmware, although be aware that this will make the region change permanent unless you get NAND mod installed. Happy gaming!
FOOTNOTES:
† Just to be absolutely clear, you should only skip those steps which you are explicitly told to skip. So, people with 3DS's running 9.0 firmware or higher should complete steps 22–24, while people with 8.1 3DS's should complete steps 19–21 AND 22–24.
‡ The text used in steps 20 and 23 is NOT the same. It is essential that you do NOT get the two confused!
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Cell9, the KARL3DS Developers, YifanLu, Smealum, Oishikatta, Steveice10, Yellows8, Roxas75, Cearp, and Gamequest01, without whom this guide would not be possible.
Additional thanks to SpongeFreak52 and others for editing help.
This guide was created out of love for the small New 3DS, and a desire for more people to experience it. Thanks to Nintendo for creating such a wonderful device!
It WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE TO CONNECT TO THE ESHOP OR PERFORM A SYSTEM TRANSFER on your region-changed system. In every other respect, however, your region-changed system will act exactly like an American one. There is a way to temporarily fix the eShop, but it is not covered in this guide.
THIS PROCESS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DAMAGE YOUR SYSTEM, and I take zero responsibility for any damaged 3DS's. Read EVERY step carefully, and stop and ask for help if you're unsure about something. This guide WILL work if you follow ever instruction, but accidentally skipping a step will have consequences. If something does go wrong, there are a couple of GBATemp users who will be able to fix your system for a small fee, so don't worry too much.
While I stress the need to read every instruction carefully, particularly dangerous steps are marked with a ⚠ symbol. Go slowly and take your time during these sections.
REQUIREMENTS:
In order to create a Non-XL, North American New 3DS, the following items are REQUIRED. Make sure that you have everything before proceeding.
1) A Japanese or European non-XL New 3DS running firmware ≤ 9.2. This is becoming increasingly tricky, as newer systems come with updates preinstalled out of the box. Buy from stores with good return policies. To make returns easier, consider asking someone who lives in Europe or Japan to purchase the system on your behalf. Remember that this will only become more difficult as time passes.
2) A "donor" North American Old 3DS with firmware ≤ 9.2, which you don't mind never using again once you're finished with it.
3) Two copies of the video game "Cubic Ninja"—one North American copy, and one from the same region as your New 3DS.
4) A Windows computer, a WiFi network, general computer skills, and patience.
OVERVIEW:
Before we begin in earnest, I'd like to give a general explanation as to how 3DS region changes work. You can skip this section if you like, but I think that understanding what we're about to do may make the steps themselves easier to follow. To established experts in this subject: yes, I know, I've overly-simplified a couple of concepts; bear with me!
Generally speaking, there are two steps to changing a 3DS's region: (1) Install the North American software and uninstall the original region's software, and (2) Give the system a North American serial number.
The first step should be fairly self-explanatory: European and Japanese 3DS's run slightly different software than 3DS's sold in the Americas. There are a number of different ways to install the American software, but in this guide, we're going to hijack the 3DS's built-in system update function to install the wrong region's software.
The second step bears more explanation. As you are probably aware, every 3DS sold anywhere in the world contains a unique serial number. You can find it written on the bottom of Old 3DS's, and underneath the top cover plate of New 3DS's. What you may not know is that 3DS's also store their serial numbers digitally, in a file inside their internal memory called SecureInfo_A.
SecureInfo_A files are encrypted and signed by Nintendo. They cannot be modified, and they cannot be recreated, but they can be replaced. In this guide, we're going to take the North American Old 3DS's SecureInfo file and transpose it onto a European or Japanese New 3DS. Afterwards, it is good practice to never use the donor system again. Two 3DS's with the same serial number are guaranteed to raise red flags with Nintendo, and that has the potential to create problems for everyone. For the benefit of all of us, please act responsibly.
ALRIGHT, LET'S DO THIS!
01) Download and extract THIS zip file.
02) Locate the folder titled "Copy contents to root of SD Card." Copy everything inside of it to the root of your "Donor" Old 3DS's SD card.
03) Insert the SD card into your Old 3DS, and turn the system on.
04) Press the L and R buttons to activate the camera, and touch the QR code icon. Scan THIS QR code, and press A twice to open the web browser. After a few more seconds, you should see a screen with "rxTools" written in the lower righthand corner. If, instead, you receive a message titled "an error has occurred", open the 3DS's web browser, clear your cookies and cache, return to the home menu, and try again.
05) Press A to continue passed the warning screen, and navigate to "Dumping Options" → "Dump NAND Files" → "SecureInfo_A". Hold down the power button to turn off your 3DS.
06) Put your 3DS's SD card back into your computer. Open the rxTools folder, and copy the file called "SecureInfo_A" into the folder called "Copy contents to root of SD Card". Afterwards, eject the SD card and put it somewhere for safekeeping—we will not use it again.
07) Now, take out your New 3DS, and make sure that it's turned off. While holding down the L, R, A, and D-Pad ↑ buttons, press and release the power button. Continue holding down the first four buttons until the screen turns on. Your 3DS will ask to connect to the internet and update the system. Press "Cancel". Your 3DS will turn back off.
08) Copy everything inside of the folder titled "Copy contents to root of SD Card" onto your New 3DS's microSD card. Afterwards, insert the microSD card into your New 3DS.
09) Turn on your New 3DS and open System Setting, then go to "Internet Settings" → "Connection Settings". If you've already set up an internet connection, skip to the next step. Otherwise, select "New Connection" → "Manual Setup" and search for an access point. Select your wifi network, and make sure that the connection test is successful.
10) Select the connection that corresponds to your home's wifi network, and navigate to "Change Settings" → IP Address. Change "Auto-Obtain IP Address" to "No", and hit "Detailed Setup". Change "IP Address" to "192.168.001.222", change "Subnet Mask" to "255.255.255.000", and change "Gateway" to "192.168.1.1". Go to "Okay" → "Set Up" → "Detailed Setup". Change "Primary DNS" to "8.8.8.8" and tap "Okay" → "Save" → "Test". If the connection test is successful, skip to step 12. Otherwise, continue to the next step.
11) Your wifi network is probably using a nonstandard IP configuration. This is easy to fix, but outside the scope of this guide. Take a look at Nintendo's official instructions, and write down the IP address that you enter into your 3DS. Later in this guide—when you are asked to copy and paste some text into a program on your computer—you will need to replace the standard IP address—"192.168.001.222"—with the address that you've written down. Don't forget!
12) Insert your Japanese/European copy of Cubic Ninja into your New 3DS, launch the game, and press A to go to the main menu. Hold down the L, R, X, and Y buttons simultaneously until a message pops up. Press "Yes" twice, and then press "OK".
13) Navigate to "Create" → "QR Code" → "Scan QR Code". Scan THIS QR code if you're using a European New 3DS, and THIS QR code if you're using a Japanese New 3DS. If your 3DS freezes, or the screen stays black for more than ten seconds, reboot the console and try this step again. Proceed to the next step once a menu has appeared.
14) Use the D-Pad to select the option "Backup System NAND", and press A. Press A again to confirm, and wait for the process to complete.
15) Hold down the power button to turn off your 3DS, eject the microSD card, and insert it into your computer. Move the file called "NAND.bin" into the "Working" folder that you downloaded and rename it to "New3DSVanilla.bin". Make two copies of this file. Copy one to an external hard-drive, and upload the other to a cloud service such as Google Drive. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, LOSE THIS FILE. EVER. It is your lifeline should something go wrong.
16) Put your microSD card back into your New 3DS, turn it on, and launch Cubic Ninja. Press A to go to the main menu, and then hold down the L, R, X, and Y buttons simultaneously until a message pops up. Press "Yes" twice, and then press "OK".
17) Navigate to "Create" → "QR Code" → "Scan QR Code". Scan THIS QR code if you're using a European New 3DS, and THIS QR code if you're using a Japanese New 3DS. Press A when prompted, and wait for your system to return the the home menu.
18) ⚠ If your 3DS's firmware is 9.0 or greater, skip to step 22. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.†
19) Launch Cubic Ninja again, press A, and navigate to "Create" → "QR Code". If your 3DS freezes, reboot the console and try this step again. Proceed to the next step once your 3DS has returned to the home menu.
20) ⚠ Leave your 3DS open, switch to your computer, and open "NTR Client". Copy and paste THIS‡ text into the small box at the bottom, and press enter. Make sure that the last line of the large upper box says "finishedfinishedfinished", then close NTRClient and continue to the next step.
21) ⚠ Open "System Settings", and navigate to "Other Settings" → "System Update". Press "OK", then "I Accept", and wait for the update to complete. Finally, press "OK" to reboot the system.
22) Once again, launch Cubic Ninja again, press A, and navigate to "Create" → "QR Code". If your 3DS freezes, reboot the console and try this step again. Proceed to the next step once your 3DS has returned to the home menu.
23) ⚠ Leave your 3DS open, switch to your computer, and open "NTR Client". Copy and paste THIS‡ text into the small box at the bottom, and press enter. Make sure that the last line of the large upper box says "finishedfinishedfinished", then close NTRClient and continue to the next step.
24) ⚠ Open "System Settings", and navigate to "Other Settings" → "System Update". Press "OK", then "I Accept", and wait for the update to complete. Finally, press "OK" to reboot the system.
25) Open Cubic Ninja, and press A to go to the main menu. Hold down the L, R, X, and Y buttons simultaneously until a message pops up. Press "Yes" twice, and then press "OK". Navigate to "Create" → "QR Code" → "Scan QR Code", and switch to your computer for the next step.
26) On your computer, go to smealum.net/ninjhax and scroll down to the "Get Ninjhax" section. Enter your New 3DS's firmware and hit submit. Use your 3DS to scan the QR code that appears. Press A to install the exploit to your savegame, then press A again to launch the exploit.
27) Tap the application called 3DSSwapConsole. If the application crashes, reboot your 3DS, re-open Cubic Ninja, navigate to "Create" -> "QR Code", and try this step again. Otherwise, press the A button when prompted, and then reboot your console.
28) Your 3DS will no longer recognize a non-American copy of Cubic Ninja, so eject the current copy and insert your North American copy instead. Launch the game, navigate to "Create" → "QR Code" → "Scan QR Code", and scan THIS QR code. Press A to install the exploit, then press A again to launch it.
29) This time, open the application called "FBI". Press L to switch to NAND, then press R twice to switch to Delete Title mode. You should see a list of titles on the bottom screen.
30) ⚠ If you're using a Japanese New 3DS, locate and delete every title that ends with a "J". If you're using a European New 3DS, do the same for every title that ends with a "P".
31) Press start to return to the homebrew launcher, then press start again, and finally A to return to the home menu.
32) Open System Settings again, navigate to "Other Settings" → "Format System Memory", and follow the onscreen instructions until the 3DS reboots.
You are now holding in your hands a North American, small New 3DS. Feel free to update to the latest firmware, although be aware that this will make the region change permanent unless you get NAND mod installed. Happy gaming!
FOOTNOTES:
† Just to be absolutely clear, you should only skip those steps which you are explicitly told to skip. So, people with 3DS's running 9.0 firmware or higher should complete steps 22–24, while people with 8.1 3DS's should complete steps 19–21 AND 22–24.
‡ The text used in steps 20 and 23 is NOT the same. It is essential that you do NOT get the two confused!
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Cell9, the KARL3DS Developers, YifanLu, Smealum, Oishikatta, Steveice10, Yellows8, Roxas75, Cearp, and Gamequest01, without whom this guide would not be possible.
Additional thanks to SpongeFreak52 and others for editing help.
This guide was created out of love for the small New 3DS, and a desire for more people to experience it. Thanks to Nintendo for creating such a wonderful device!
Last edited by Wowfunhappy,
