Nintendo begins banning pirates from 3DS online service

Costello

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As reported by multiple users, particularly Sky3DS flashcart owners, Nintendo has started banning users who play pirated games from their online service. Read the following for more information:

TheMustardKing said:
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.

Q: 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?
A: 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.

Q: Has anyone been banned who HASN'T gone online since patch 9.5 came out with a hacked card?
A: 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

Source: GBAtemp
Thanks TheMustardKing for the FAQ
 

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VinsCool

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I mean did they really think they could get away with going online with pirated shit?
Has the history of J-Tagged Xbox's and CFW PS3's taught us nothing?

Sounds like everyone with a flashcard just needs to flip that internet switch off and pray.

Most online servces nintendo provided in the past hasn't had piracy verification, which mean anyone with a dump of a game and backup loading/linkers could play online just fine. Great move nintendo :)
 

Wisenheimer

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I hope that Nintendo takes a soft-handed approach and just bans people using cheats or playing pirated games online, unlike Sony, which bans anyone even suspected of altering their system in any manner.

It is one thing for Nintendo to lose potential sales of games due to pirates. It is quite another thing for Nintendo to subsidize pirates by paying for their online play.

So far, they seem to be going after only the most blatant abusers: people playing pirated games online and cheaters.
 

Tjessx

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If they just use their own headers, they're fine.
I've used public headers, (I own every game i've ever downloaded), and haven't played online since begin february, and haven't been banned.

Is it possible to change your NNID?
 

Bladexdsl

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nintendo....
big-brother-watching-you1.png


seriously though everyone knows if you use a flash card, mod chip or even soft mod and use online there is always a risk your going to get caught. if you want to play online without fear buy the damn game!
 
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dannyboy941

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xD this Ban is to easy to bypass, i just use a Webbrowser Exploit from a ROP file on a EMU nand with a costum NNID and MAC/UD adress from header/ram loading of arm11 that what you already know. And proxy i use after that.
 

DjoeN

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If they just use their own headers, they're fine.
I've used public headers, (I own every game i've ever downloaded), and haven't played online since begin february, and haven't been banned.

Is it possible to change your NNID?

Same here, i have a sky3ds and gateway, but every game on my sky3ds i own myself and dumped it myself, so i use my own headers to.
It's just the ease of having 1 cart in the console instead of taking 30+ games with me.
 

Joe88

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I would probably actually care if there was something worthwhile to play online
it should be easy to bypass if all they are doing to banning the mac address, so you should be able to spoof it in emunand
 
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