*BRICK RISK*


DO A CFW BACKUP BEFORE CONTINUING, NOTHING SHOULD GO WRONG BUT IT IS BETTER TO BE SAFE RATHER THAN SORRY. (Nothing went wrong for me, but still)


ONLY UPDATE IN LUMA CFW MODE!!!!! UPDATING IN SAFE MODE COULD BRICK YOUR 3DS!!!!!!

Having Fastboot3DS is recommended but not required. Watch this video here to install it.

Note: use the 2 links linked here for Fastboot3ds and open firm installer, as his versions in his description are a bit outdated. Fastboot3DS: https://github.com/derrekr/fastboot3DS/releases
OpenFirmInstaller: https://github.com/d0k3/OpenFirmInstaller/releases

Read the readme file for use of these applications.

How to:

First go to the guide linked here to uninstall CFW, we will not be uninstalling CFW but we will be using some of the same steps as in that guide. Read through the guide until you get to the part where it tells you to boot the .firm file. Instead of booting it decrypt it to gm9/out. You no longer need to follow the linked guide.

Here is the guide: https://3ds.hacks.guide/uninstall-cfw

Then use gm9 to copy the file from the gm9/out folder to the Luma/payloads folder for simplicity sake, and in case you do not feel like using Fastboot3DS. As you can still boot this firm file without Fastboot3DS.

Then rename this file to something like "Safemode.firm" for organizational reasons.

If you are using Fastboot3DS then create a new boot profile from the "Boot setup" menu using the "Safemode.firm" file as the payload that will be booted with your chosen combo. Then hold the power button to shut down your 3DS after you have saved this profile.

Then when you reboot your 3DS with the set button combo (if you are using Fastboot3DS) or with the Luma Chainloader menu (via the start button), then when you are at the system menu you will be in safemode!

Limitations of "Safemode" :

Any ilegit CIAs will fail to run but legit CIAs should run just fine, the same goes for Homebrew (In the sense that none of it will run without CFW.). If you try to run any of these apps you will get an error message on your screen about redownloading the app from the eShop, and when you restart your 3DS back into safemode you will see that those apps icons have disappeared. This worried me for a minute because I thought the app had been deleted and my save data had been erased, but when I rebooted my 3DS normally the icons reappeared as new apps on my 3DS and all my save data was exactly how I left it. So do not worry too much if that happens to you. They will be resorted though.

CFW will be disabled meaning no Homebrew functionality, and any flashcards that were permanently blocked on the 3ds will be blocked again, due to CFW being the program that actually handled unblocking them. This is nothing to worry about, as when you reboot your 3DS into CFW instead of into safemode all this functionality will be restored.


Who needs this?:
This would be good for people who are worried about Nintendo banning them from online play therefore they do not use internet when using CFW. Through this method though, it should be safe to do online play. If you install an app from the eShop in this mode it will run just fine even when booting back into CFW.


I want Homebrew functionality in this mode:

Just follow the guide linked here. You do not need to brute force the moveable.sed file however, as you have access to Godmode9 so you can just make a backup of it from there. Once you have the Homebrew Launcher you can use any 3DS Homebrew, with of course some restrictions as you do not have CFW at the moment. But things like the limited version of CTGP7 should work fine.

Google how to use pichaxx on the 3ds.

How does this work?:
From what I understand, the .firm file that we are booting in this process is the stock firm file that ships with every 3DS. So when we boot it, we are basically booting back into stock firmware. This means that when Nintendo's anti-CFW checks scan your console they do not find any remnants of CFW at all on your console, as you are using the stock firm file created by them (Nintendo).

Credits:
sthetix for the Fastboot3DS tutorial

Jack Sorrell for the Homebrew video

Plailect for the chunck of his guide I used.

Fastboot is made by profi200

OpenFirmInstaller is made by d0k3


If you have any questions please ask them in the comments.

 

[lone_wolf323]

Ok I'm sorry. I got banned and I found out about a possible solution OK? so I wrote about it OK?

Not overly. Both of those videos you linked have caused a lot of people to come here cause they left out vital information which they think their consoles became bricked.

 

[LinusRG]

Not overly. Both of those videos you linked have caused a lot of people to come here cause they left out vital information which they think their consoles became bricked.

I did not kno that. I personaly used the fastboot video to get fastboot on my 3ds, but if you think I should remove them, give me a link to a better alternative.

 

[lone_wolf323]

I did not kno that. I personaly used the fastboot video to get fastboot on my 3ds, but if you think I should remove them, give me a link to a better alternative.

The only one people here with recommend is https://3ds.hacks.guide/ . There are no video ones that will be said, they all become outdated and most usually have missing info or files.

 

[peteruk]

I think LinusRG wrote this with the best of intentions. It's true that video guides can become outdated very quickly and can cause more problems and we should always stick to 'the guide'.

However, instead of being negative, we should encourage LinusRG to make his project in a different way.

His intentions were good.

 

[E1ite007]

I think LinusRG wrote this with the best of intentions. It's true that video guides can become outdated very quickly and can cause more problems and we should always stick to 'the guide'.

However, instead of being negative, we should encourage LinusRG to make his project in a different way.

His intentions were good.

I don't doubt about @LinusRG intentions in the slightest, but isn't his first thread and has been here since 2017 according his account.

 

[LinusRG]

I don't doubt about @LinusRG intentions in the slightest, but isn't his first thread and has been here since 2017 according his account.

Who the hell cares. I switched to reddit for a while as I thought it would be more convenient.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I think LinusRG wrote this with the best of intentions. It's true that video guides can become outdated very quickly and can cause more problems and we should always stick to 'the guide'.

However, instead of being negative, we should encourage LinusRG to make his project in a different way.

His intentions were good.

Thank you. When I was making this I thought, "hey maybe if people boot into stock firmware they can avoid being banned as Nintendo would have a lot of trouble finding the CFW in that state."

 

[PabloMK7]

DO NOT FOLLOW THIS GUIDE, YOU COULD END UP WITH A BRICKED SYSTEM!!!!!

Now to elaborate, even if you don't press the "Update" option in your 3ds, there is a chance that the 3ds will detect the firm0 partition outdated and will install the default firmware .firm to the firm0 partition (a.k.a. where b9s is stored) deleting b9s/fastboot. This happens 100% of the time if you launch a 3DS download play game, but may happen in some other situations as well. The only way to recover CFW would be to follow the guide again, but if for some reason the user has a modified system title that only works with CFW, they will be bricked unless they use ntrboot to install CFW again.
You should edit the OP saying this risk is present.

I know it was a ban. I tried running MK7 online without CTGP7 and it would not allow me into the course.

This is not a ban, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get into the online menu at all. The only thing Nintendo is able to detect (this doesn't mean they are detecting it) is people using an unused online region. However due to a bug even people without CFW can join this region, so they can't take the risk of banning everyone in this region as they would ban a lot of people with legit consoles. Also, a small group of beta testers were playing in this region for months before ctww was made public, and so far (1 year after) no bans have been reported.

 

[LinusRG]

DO NOT FOLLOW THIS GUIDE, YOU COULD END UP WITH A BRICKED SYSTEM!!!!!

Now to elaborate, even if you don't press the "Update" option in your 3ds, there is a chance that the 3ds will detect the firm0 partition outdated and will install the default firmware .firm to the firm0 partition (a.k.a. where b9s is stored) deleting b9s/fastboot. This happens 100% of the time if you launch a 3DS download play game, but may happen in some other situations as well. The only way to recover CFW would be to follow the guide again, but if for some reason the user has a modified system title that only works with CFW, they will be bricked unless they use ntrboot to install CFW again.
You should edit the OP saying this risk is present.


This is not a ban, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get into the online menu at all. The only thing Nintendo is able to detect (this doesn't mean they are detecting it) is people using an unused online region. However due to a bug even people without CFW can join this region, so they can't take the risk of banning everyone in this region as they would ban a lot of people with legit consoles. Also, a small group of beta testers were playing in this region for months before ctww was made public, and so far (1 year after) no bans have been reported.

The 3ds isn't even getting more updates anyways. Haven't you noticed that Nintendo used to release a 3ds firmware alongside a switch firmware? Well, 3 switch versions have been released since then and no 3ds updates. Besides yah obviously don't update in this mode.

 

[PabloMK7]

The 3ds isn't even getting more updates anyways. Haven't you noticed that Nintendo used to release a 3ds firmware alongside a switch firmware? Well, 3 switch versions have been released since then and no 3ds updates. Besides yah obviously don't update in this mode.

You are getting it wrong. The 3ds tries to install the stock firmware into firm0, even if the console is offline and/or the console is in the latest version.
It is okay to launch the firmware to test if it's working, as pointed out in the cfw uninstall guide. But not for continued use.
Again, I'd recommend putting the notice in the OP if you don't want to end up with the same reputation as some youtubers got for bricking people consoles on accident.

 

[LinusRG]

You are getting it wrong. The 3ds tries to install the stock firmware into firm0, even if the console is offline and/or the console is in the latest version.

I did not know that. So then what is the firm 2 slot used for?

 

[PabloMK7]

I did not know that. So then what is the firm 2 slot used for?

If the firm0 is corrupted, firm1 is used instead.

 

[LinusRG]

If the firm0 is corrupted, firm1 is used instead.

So in theory what would happen if the stock payload was in firm1 and b9s was in firm 2?

 

[PabloMK7]

So in theory what would happen if the stock payload was in firm1 and b9s was in firm 2?

There is no firm2, unless you are referring to firm0 and firm1. As far as I know, both partitions have the same contents.

 

[LinusRG]

There is no firm2, unless you are referring to firm0 and firm1. As far as I know, both partitions have the same contents.

Also does luma 3ds have to patch the kernel each time it starts?

 

[PabloMK7]

Also does luma 3ds have to patch the kernel each time it starts?

Luma patches the kernel and adds extra functionality to it.

 

[LinusRG]

Luma patches the kernel and adds extra functionality to it.

And does boot9strap boot luma and luma boots that unnamed firm file? If so why just not modify that .firm file straight up to make booting even faster?

 

[The Real Jdbye]

This is not safe at all. There's no FIRM protection in place when booting like this, and if the console is updated B9S will be wiped. Moreover, if there was any risk of installed CIAs being detected by Nintendo (there isn't), that risk doesn't go away from booting stock OFW, they are still there. The system just detects the invalid signatures and refuses to launch them, which makes it more suspicious as normally the system thinks all is fine. There is a reason Luma3DS doesn't already have an OFW mode, because it's pointless and unsafe.

 

[The Catboy]

Neat guide but not gonna lie, it’s really pointless. Nintendo hasn’t banned CFW users outside of that one ban wave (and we are still not sure if CFW caused that.) Outside of that one day, Nintendo hasn’t banned anyone outside of cheating, playing popular games like Pokémon before release, and abuse of Miiverse. There are no risk playing games online while running a CFW nor even a risk of using CIA games. Not to mention your guide actually makes the system less safe by disabling all of the protections through CFW, like the FIRM protection.

I think LinusRG wrote this with the best of intentions. It's true that video guides can become outdated very quickly and can cause more problems and we should always stick to 'the guide'.

However, instead of being negative, we should encourage LinusRG to make his project in a different way.

His intentions were good.

His intentions may have been good but his guide is still harmful and a result of ignorance, which needs to be pointed out. Using the advice in this guide could risk removing a CFW or worse, bricking a system and all because the OP doesn't realize that CFW doesn't get you banned. People following this guide most likely don't realize that they are putting their system in harm's way by doing this because they are trusting this will make their system safer and less likely to get banned.

 

[E1ite007]

I GET THE FUCKING MESSAGE THAT HAS BEEN SAID AT LEAST 5 TIMES ALREADY!!! IF YOU WANT ME TO REMOVE IT I WILL. JESUS.

Relax dude...

 

[The Catboy]

I GET THE FUCKING MESSAGE THAT HAS BEEN SAID AT LEAST 5 TIMES ALREADY!!! IF YOU WANT ME TO REMOVE IT I WILL. JESUS.

Chill dude, I am not here to be confrontational. I am just chiming in as a trusted user of the 3DS hacking community.