Hardware N2DS wireless disabled in DS Mode only (but fully functional in 3DS games)

[JGSM]

Hey guys.
I just found out that Download Play for NDS titles and all wireless functions on NDS games don't work at all in my N2DS.
When I choose Nintendo DS on the Download Play menu, it takes me to that typical NDS screen, but it won't start looking for titles to download.
I have an Old 2DS on which I tried the same thing to compare the behavior of both systems, so I know for a fact that my N2DS is acting up for some reason, but I don't know why.

Strangely enough, 3DS Download Play works perfectly on my N2DS.
Any clues on how to solve this issue?

Update: on 3DS system settings there is a separate menu for setting up NDS wireless connections. Even on that menu the 3DS is not able to search for networks to connect to, and the system freezes up, forcing me to push the home button to go back to the 3DS home screen. Weird.

Thanks!

 

[Kwyjor]

Did your N2DS work properly in the past? Is it hacked at all? Did you hack it using Frogtool?

Largely irrelevant blather I started writing:

Spoiler

The DS Internet settings are configured separately from your 3DS Internet settings. There is a separate button for it in the 3DS System Settings app. Unless your wifi access point is using WEP (or is completely unsecured), there is no way you will be able to use it with DS games. However, WEP is not very secure at all and it is inadvisable to leave a router in WEP mode. (Using a MAC whitelist can help.) But that's probably not what you're referring to.

 

[JGSM]

Did your N2DS work properly in the past? Is it hacked at all? Did you hack it using Frogtool?

Largely irrelevant blather I started writing:

Spoiler

The DS Internet settings are configured separately from your 3DS Internet settings. There is a separate button for it in the 3DS System Settings app. Unless your wifi access point is using WEP (or is completely unsecured), there is no way you will be able to use it with DS games. However, WEP is not very secure at all and it is inadvisable to leave a router in WEP mode. (Using a MAC whitelist can help.) But that's probably not what you're referring to.

I got it pre-owned for cheap because the power button doesn't always work and the previous owner couldn't clear the parental controls. I already got around that, formatted the system, and installed Luma following a tutorial from a website (one that offers that kind of tutorial for many different systems). Before installing Luma I hadn't tested the DS mode wireless so I don't know if this started only after I installed Luma. Don't know what Frogtool is, sorry.

Update: read about Frogtool. That's an outdated method, right? I didn't use it. It was an easier one. Also, even after erasing all wireless connections on 3DS mode and resetting parental controls, the DS mode still crashes when it tries to search for a network, or even search for a nearby DS for Download Play.

 

[Kwyjor]

Please try to be precise. First you said:

When I choose Nintendo DS on the Download Play menu, it takes me to that typical NDS screen, but it won't start looking for titles to download.

And now you say:

the DS mode still crashes when it tries to search for a network, or even search for a nearby DS for Download Play.

So what exactly does it do?

In any case, as you may have read, earlier hacking methods require modifying the DS Internet Settings and DS Download Play apps, so the previous owner might have done something wrong.

Do you have any regular DS games on hand? Do they work properly? If your DS mode is broken entirely, then TWLfix is the solution. But it is not clear from your description if that is the case.

 

[JGSM]

Please try to be precise. First you said:

And now you say:
So what exactly does it do?

In any case, as you may have read, earlier hacking methods require modifying the DS Internet Settings and DS Download Play apps, so the previous owner might have done something wrong.

Do you have any regular DS games on hand? Do they work properly? If your DS mode is broken entirely, then TWLfix is the solution. But it is not clear from your description if that is the case.

DS games work fine. I have a Spiderman 3 cartridge, which has a multiplayer mode. I also have Twilight Menu/nds boostrap, and it works fine as well.

What exactly happens is:
One 3DS main menu, I tap Download Play and choose Nintendo DS. On DS Download Play, the top screen shows the clock and calendar running alright. The bottom screen displays that typical "DS BIOS" background, but it does not show the text box that should say "searching for download content". There is only the "Go back" button on the touchscreen, which is "responsive" in the sense that I can tap it and it responds to my tapping, but it does not do anything else. To leave that DS Donwload Play screen I have to press the Home button and close the DS mode, which takes me back to the 3DS home screen.

If I go to System Settings --> Internet Settings --> Nintendo DS Connections, it goes to DS mode and I can browse these settings in DS mode until I tap any button that activates the search for a wireless connection (either the "Search for an Access Point" or the "AOSS" button). When I tap to search for a connection, the DS mode freezes. Both screens keep showing the images they were showing just before the crash (top screen with 3 "buttons", bottom screen all white), and I have to press the home button to go back to the 3DS home menu. It's not the whole system that is crashing, just the DS mode. Leaving DS mode and going back to the 3DS home menu is totally doable.

I have tried multiplayer mode in Spiderman 3, Mario Kart DS and Advance Wars Dual Strike. Never worked even once. Spiderman supposedly keeps searching for another DS device to start the match, but never finds anything (I had my Old 2DS running the game as well and trying to find a match host). Mario Kart says there is an error and takes me back to the game main menu, Advance Wars shows an error screen that says I have to reboot the device. I guess each game has its own way of handling a malfunction in the wireless connection.

And just for the record, Download Play works fine on 3DS games, as well as web browsing. I tested multiplayer with Mario Tennis 3DS. Worked like a charm. It is really just the DS mode that is acting up.

 

[Kwyjor]

Thank you for that complete explanation.

I suppose TWLfix might still be worth a try, though it seems a little extreme and I would be interested in whether anyone else has a better idea. But then, it's not like there are many other options – as you say, it seems unlikely that the wifi hardware could be physically failing.

 

[JGSM]

Thank you for that complete explanation.

I suppose TWLfix might still be worth a try, though it seems a little extreme and I would be interested in whether anyone else has a better idea. But then, it's not like there are many other options – as you say, it seems unlikely that the wifi hardware could be physically failing.

Thanks!
Well, I tried TWLfix, did the system update, rebooted the system, tried DS Download Play. No good. Tried DS Wireless Connection Settings, also no good. I guess I'm stuck with this issue... It's not such a big deal, but I was really hoping to play Advance Wars Dual Strike on multiplayer mode...

 

[Kwyjor]

By any chance, does removing the SD card make any difference? (That would be very weird, but the SD card is a rather common point of failure.)

 

[JGSM]

By any chance, does removing the SD card make any difference? (That would be very weird, but the SD card is a rather common point of failure.)

Nope... makes no difference.
I wonder if the Twilight menu and Nds bootstrap messed something up in the DS mode "firmware"... Not sure if I should format the console and reinstall everything again (which would be a little annoying, but not the end of the world)...

 

[Kwyjor]

I wonder if the Twilight menu and Nds bootstrap messed something up in the DS mode "firmware"...

While there are ample tales of DS-mode functionality getting messed up using old CFW installation methods (and particularly by the uninstallation process), nothing quite like this has been reported before and I doubt TWiLight Menu or nds-bootstrap is at fault.

At this point I would sooner suspect a physical problem in the wifi module, as it has been known to cause problems and you did say that there's something wrong with the power button. But further diagnosis of that would probably require opening up the system.

In any case, you already formatted the console once and I doubt formatting it again is going to make any difference.

 

[JGSM]

While there are ample tales of DS-mode functionality getting messed up using old CFW installation methods (and particularly by the uninstallation process), nothing quite like this has been reported before and I doubt TWiLight Menu or nds-bootstrap is at fault.

At this point I would sooner suspect a physical problem in the wifi module, as it has been known to cause problems and you did say that there's something wrong with the power button. But further diagnosis of that would probably require opening up the system.

In any case, you already formatted the console once and I doubt formatting it again is going to make any difference.

I recently solved the power button issue. I opened up the system and dusted it off around the power button, although it already looked clean anyway. For some reason that solved the problem. Now the only real issue is the DS wireless connection. A hardware malfunction seems to be the only explanation, but I'm really confused by the fact that there is absolutely no issue at all with wireless in 3DS games, web browsing and game updates...

I guess I'll just have to live with it. But thanks for all the advice!

 

[ghjfdtg]

Sounds like a variant of the DS mode brick where read-only, WiFi related settings in NVRAM got corrupted. The cause is unknown and unfortunately this is not fixable without a backup of these settings and good soldering skills. I think @TurdPooCharger was the first who discovered this.

 

[JGSM]

Sounds like a variant of the DS mode brick where read-only, WiFi related settings in NVRAM got corrupted. The cause is unknown and unfortunately this is not fixable without a backup of these settings and good soldering skills. I think @TurdPooCharger was the first who discovered this.

So I was lucky enough to get a N2DS with this rare unfixable issue, huh... Oh, well... Regardless, thanks for the info!

 

[ghjfdtg]

Your case s unique in that you can still boot into DS mode while the few others get stuck on white screens. But this really sounds like corrupted WiFi settings/configuration. 3DS mode was also unaffected on these other systems.

 

[phoenixugur]

I have the same problem. Have you find any solution?

 

[phoenixugur]

I found my problem. It was corrosion on the wi-fi card socked.