Hacking Old US 3DS with firmware 2.2.0-0U in Australia

Squirrel

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Hi,

I'm in Australia and have an old US 3DS with its original firmware (2.2.0-0U). This firmware has never been updated and does not have a browser (button is there, but system says the browser will be available once I update the system). I also have the following (US) 3DS game cartridges:
- Zelda Ocarina of Time
- Rayman 3D
- Super Mario 3D Land
- I can't recall whether this cartridge forced me to upgrade (part of) the firmware many years ago. When I go into settings the version however shows 2.2.0-0U.
- Ridge Racer 3D
- R4 3DS (www.r4i-sdhc.com)

I would like to play Australian games but the 3DS region lock prevents me from doing that. I therefore looked at homebrew, but it seems I'm kind of stuck:
- Pretty much all homebrew hacks seem to work from firmware 4 or higher.
- I've looked at Soundhax, but this didn't work.
- I've looked at boot9strap (MSET), but this only seems to work on 4.x and 6.x
- Having no browser leaves me without another possible entry point.
- Lots of references to Cubic Ninja as entry point, but I don't have this game. And getting this game would be difficult/expensive since I'm in Australia but would need a US version of this game (something that applies to any other cartridges as well of course until the 3DS is region free).

I considered upgrading to the latest official firmware (the device supports system updates over wifi) and waiting until a hack is available for the old 3DS. If I understood correctly however this upgrade would block my R4 card, so that's not a very enticing option. I can also imagine that more work is done on the new 3DS than the old 3DS, so maybe I would have to wait a long time. Waiting with upgrading until this old 3DS hack would be available leaves me however with the risk that, by that time, Nintendo has released newer firmware again, already blocking this new hack.

So what to do? Is there a way to upgrade this 3DS to a vulnerable firmware version that doesn't require other US game cartridges? Or should I just upgrade to the latest firmware and sit it out? Other options? Suggestions are most welcome.

Cheers,
Squirrel
 

c4388354

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If you had or can borrow a Sky3DS (Blue Button or Orange Button) you could write a USA Rom that contained the 4.5.0 update and update your 3DS with that
then you can use the MSET exploit with your flashcard to install Boot9Strap.
 
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Quantumcat

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you will want to cart update to 4.x so you can use MSET. borrow a game cart if you can or go to a game store and see if they will let you test out a used game first to make sure it works (that happens to have A 4.x update on it.)

http://www.eurasia.nu/wiki/index.ph...es_in_the_4.1_-_4.5_range#Forced_game_updates
Borrowing a game cart isn't possible since game shops don't sell US region games.

@Squirrel i have a copy of Paper Mario Sticker Star (US region) I can sell you. $10 plus postage. It will update you to 4.3.
 

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Do you have an old ds phat/lite?

You could flash an exploited save to zelda with that (with a little cutting, heh). You would still need to find a game 9.0-11.2 to update your system to a compatible firmware.
 
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Bu2d85

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Just throwing stuff out there now, but what about OOT hax?

https://gbatemp.net/threads/tutorial-how-to-install-oot3dhax.396339/

I'm not sure if it will work on 2.2. Maybe someone else knows.

EDIT: After reading this a little more it seems like if you have a friend with a modded 3DS or an old school DS laying around you're all set. If you can't install B9S directly you can update to 4.2 and use the MSET exploit. There should still be some 4.2 downgrade packs (that you will use to upgrade) on the internets somewhere.

Or just buy that game from Quantumcat.

EDIT 2: Didn't see this.
Do you have an old ds phat/lite?

You could flash an exploited save to zelda with that (with a little cutting, heh). You would still need to find a game 9.0-11.2 to update your system to a compatible firmware.
 
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Squirrel

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Super Mario 3D Land (Rev01) has 4.3. Ocarina of Time (Rev01) also has 4.3.

@Squirrel, do any of these cartridges try to install an update? My guess is you've already played them without being prompted for an update, and none of them are Rev01.

Hi Lacius,

Don't know whether they are Rev01 or not. It's been years since I played them, hence I also don't recall whether Mario Land asked me to update. It seems I'm still at 2.2 however, so it is what it is...

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

Just throwing stuff out there now, but what about OOT hax?

https://gbatemp.net/threads/tutorial-how-to-install-oot3dhax.396339/

I'm not sure if it will work on 2.2. Maybe someone else knows.

Unfortunately this doesn't work. Step 3 required a working hax I don't get that far...

EDIT: After reading this a little more it seems like if you have a friend with a modded 3DS or an old school DS laying around you're all set. If you can't install B9S directly you can update to 4.2 and use the MSET exploit. There should still be some 4.2 downgrade packs (that you will use to upgrade) on the internets somewhere.

Or just buy that game from Quantumcat.

EDIT 2: Didn't see this.

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

Do you have an old ds phat/lite?

You could flash an exploited save to zelda with that (with a little cutting, heh). You would still need to find a game 9.0-11.2 to update your system to a compatible firmware.

Nice solution. :-) Unfortunately I don't have a DS so can't give this a go...

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

Borrowing a game cart isn't possible since game shops don't sell US region games.

@Squirrel i have a copy of Paper Mario Sticker Star (US region) I can sell you. $10 plus postage. It will update you to 4.3.

@Quantumcat Sounds great, thanks. Will contact you directly once I figure out how to PM on this site...
 

Bu2d85

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You need to have 10 posts before you can pm. So.... post away, maybe there other things on this site that interest you.

Unfortunately I'm 32 years old and I primarily use my phone for this site and 9gag.

EDIT: And.... I'm drunk.
 
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Quantumcat

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Hi Lacius,

Don't know whether they are Rev01 or not. It's been years since I played them, hence I also don't recall whether Mario Land asked me to update. It seems I'm still at 2.2 however, so it is what it is...

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



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



Nice solution. :-) Unfortunately I don't have a DS so can't give this a go...

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



@Quantumcat Sounds great, thanks. Will contact you directly once I figure out how to PM on this site...
Sent you a message!
 

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A short update:

I've received the game from @Quantumcat mentioned above today and was able to smoothly update the 3DS firmware to version 4.3.0-0U. Many thanks @Quantumcat!

Unfortunately I don't seem to be out of the woods yet. I've tried to MSET the 3DS but unfortunately the 3DS no longer recognises my R4 card. Since it doesn't recognise the R4 card anymore I'm not able to run the SafeB9SInstaller.nds game which would install Luma3DS. I'm also not able to use the browser hack since my 3DS still doesn't have a browser, despite the upgrade to 4.3.

Formatting and reinstalling the kernel didn't helpA bit more research showed that I probably should have updated the R4's firmware (not kernel software, I already upgraded that) before updating the 3DS itself. I guess hindsight is always 20/20, but this clearly wasn't obvious to me before the update. I have the impression that my only option is to update the R4 card firmware through another older device (DS for example) after which I hopefully can use the updated R4 card to 'unlock' my own 3DS.

Happy to hear suggestions if there are other options of course!

Cheers
 

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You could try visiting a Cash Converters with a 3DS charger cord and portable battery, and ask to have a go of any DSi they have for sale (my experience is their consoles always have dead batteries). If they don't have a DSi they may still have a DS that they'd be willing to charge behind the counter for you for a while so you can try it out (they did this for me when I was hunting for a 3.18 or below PS Vita). This way you can get the R4 updated. Good luck!!
 

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