Hacking R4-Advance Owners report

[BurlyEd]

I ordered 2 R4-Advance's ($14.12 ea + postage) from VolumeRate on Mon Jul 28, 2008 and I received them today.
The box and bundle (USB adapter, R4 padded box and lanyard) looks exactly like the last gen R4 team product.
Except that the box says "R4 ADVANCE" and the url printed on the box is "http://www.r4ds-a.com/".
There is no manual and no CD, although the back of the box says there is. The same lie was on the R4 Team boxes.
The R4A cartridge is easily distinguishable from an R4 team product as is has "R4-Advance" clearly printed on the label and above the copper contacts on the other side.

First I tried a 2GB v1.18 chip from my last R4 Team R4. It did not boot.
Next I tried an English-1.19 download from the R4 III site on a Transcend 4GB Class 6 card. It did not boot either.
Then I tried an English-1.19 download from the R4-Advance site on the 4GB TF. Perfect!

I have owned and used: M3 simply (spring broke), R4 (spring broke), another R4 (spring still works), another R4 (no spring),
M3 Real (fell apart), AK2 (same shitty clips as M3R), DSTT (no problems, but slow and does not update the save file date),
SCDS1 (triple booted to DSTT menu so I can use Narin's usercheats), and EDGE (My Favorite!). I would rate them in exactly the
same order as I bought them and as listed above.

Based on a 20 minute evaluation I would rate the R4A above the DSTT, but definitely below the EDGE and probably below Supercard.
It is what I thought I wanted - an R4 that takes a MicroSDHC card.

I have tested several NDS games, Lameboy, MP3's, DPG's, Narin's latest USRCHEAT.DAT file. R4A construction seems top notch.
There is no need to worry about the old R4 team's threatened bricker release as the R4A only runs on software from the R4A site.

Summary: the R4A works. It is NOT A CLONE. It is NOT A FAKE. It is available.
I will test them more, but I consider an EDGE at $23.59 with free shipping from Deal Extreme to be a better value and a safer buy.
R4A would be my second choice - maybe - depending on how further experience turns out.
I have ordered more EDGEs, not more R4As.

 

[Tanas]

Yeah, but that just isnt going it happen.

 

[Ryupower]

i think that
R4-Advance IS A CLONE of the R4

most card that have
_system_
_DS_MENU.DAT
_DS_MSHL.NDS
in the root of the MS are CLONES of the R4

 

[Minox]

i think that
R4-Advance IS A CLONE of the R4

most card that have
_system_
_DS_MENU.DAT
_DS_MSHL.NDS
in the root of the MS are CLONES of the R4

It is a clone, stop thinking about it.

 

[BurlyEd]

clone –verb (used with object)
- to produce a copy or imitation of.

R4a is not a copy or imitation of anything!
It is a unique flash card that clearly distinguishes itself from any other flash card including the (ex) R4 and R4 III.

It is NOT a CLONE or Imitation. R4 is DEAD. R4 ADVANCED now exists.

I find it amusing when people argue with eye-witnesses. I have an R4A. You have opinions.

Experience > Opinions

Experience >> Uninformed Opinions

 

[Narin]

I just did a comparison on the firmware from their site, its just a hex edited version of the R4 firmware. Its a clone.

 

[kobykaan]

UMMMMM the RETAIL REAL R4 comes with A DISK!!!

maby does not have the LATEST kernel on it but IT HAS A DISK

....and you wont get it to play any games different to those that currently play on kernel 1.18 of the proper R4 kernel despite the so called updates it still does not fix the games that have save issues such as HULK etc that throw up a save error!

only time they will get a proper fix is when R4 team IF EVER release a 1.19 update!

as all the R4 CLONES ripped off the R4 firmware/hardware/website only the domain and the image is changed the rest is word for word just about! can you not see that?? they stole it all and badged it as their own!

ONLY good thing outta it is the SDHC compatability and thats not as good as it should be due to being a rushed job

how can you possibly ever rate it over TTDS when TTDS has released fixes for HULK etc ... and the HULK fix was released within 24 hrs of me reporting it on the NEO TTDS forum! yet so far R4/M3 SIMPLY or any other R4 clone will still not load it without the ARM7 fix!

its also wrong to say ITS NOT A FAKE ... read the code in the R4 KERNEL it tells you its THE R4 KERNEL! they ripped it off how can that be something thats NOT FAKE! its THEFT OF CODE because they are too lame to write their own!

and 20 minutes is not considered a proper evaluation!

you cannot possibly test every game worth playing in 20 minutes!

or play a game to a suitable point that you know its going to play through to the end!


edit: to add here that Narin also confirms the R4 KERNEL EDIT! thanks Narin for secondary confirmation

 

[BurlyEd]

According to who's definition of "clone"?

Is an EDGE a clone of a CycloDS? and if it is, so what? Does that make it undesirable?

I looked everywhere for FACTS about R4A.
I could find none, so I did my own research and reported my experiences, both objective and subjective.

No one here seems to care about facts, just using the word "clone" as many times as possible to condemn something you have never even seen.

Of course the 1.19 software is a hexedited version of the 1.18 version. But it works - with a SDHC card!

It may not last - neither did my M3 simply, my first R4 or my M3 Real.

By the way, the m3 simply is a clone of the first R4 - with a different jumper inside and

its just a hex edited version of the R4 firmware. Its a clone.

 

[Minox]

By the way, the m3 simply is a clone of the first R4 - with a different jumper inside and

The M3 Simply isn't a clone, it's a OEM product distributed by the M3 Team.

Spoiler

Clone != OEM Product

 

[Narin]

According to who's definition of "clone"?

Is an EDGE a clone of a CycloDS? and if it is, so what? Does that make it undesirable?

I looked everywhere for FACTS about R4A.
I could find none, so I did my own research and reported my experiences, both objective and subjective.

No one here seems to care about facts, just using the word "clone" as many times as possible to condemn something you have never even seen.

Of course the 1.19 software is a hexedited version of the 1.18 version. But it works - with a SDHC card!

It may not last - neither did my M3 simply, my first R4 or my M3 Real.

By the way, the m3 simply is a clone of the first R4 - with a different jumper inside and

its just a hex edited version of the R4 firmware. Its a clone.

Actually nothing was added to the firmware for SDHC support, its almost a byte to byte match of the R4 firmware. So they didn't edit the firmware to add in SDHC support, they only edited to change the flashcard's branding and name from R4 to R4 Advance. The only thing they did was took the R4 and changed the MicroSD slot to a MicroSDHC slot. So all this is really is just a small hardware upgrade but the same buggy R4. Problem is, don't expect anymore firmware updates for it, since the R4 clones only update when the real R4 updates (Which isn't happening anymore) and since the R4 is closed source, they simply can't take over with the Firmware updates. So the R4 clones are basically a waste of money at this point.

No, 'm not an R4 hater, I own one myself but I have been trying to spread the word to people to stay away from the R4 and all its clones, its a doomed flashcard while there are better ones out there.

QUOTE(Narin @ Aug 17 2008, 10:57 AM)

I suggest not getting the R4 and if you already have one, you really should think about getting a new flashcard, there are plenty of flashcards out there that are far cheaper and have better support, compatibility and features. The R4 has stopped being manufactured which means that it has reached the end of its life. You can expect only minor updates if any at all from the R4 team though right now, it doesn't look promising.

Several games, even some that came out over a year ago don't work on the R4. Also many newer games coming out have problems on the R4 either not running the game at all or the game is extremely buggy and freeze often. Also games with the new save type are not supported on the R4 so any games coming out with the new save type will not save. Also there are a few homebrew apps that have trouble on the R4 as well.

The R4 overall, is extremely limited and buggy. The cheat system has many flaws and can cause games to freeze or simply nt work when using cheats on some games. Also a few cheat types are not supported leaving you with a good many cheats not working on the R4. Also the R4 limits the number of cheats and games that gets displayed on the cheats page.

So basically, the R4 is on life support and has been for quite a long time now. Many newer flashcards have surpassed the R4 in many ways, including compatibility. The R4 is showing its age, thanks to hardware limitations (The R4 Firmware not being flashable), features like SDHC support and many others can never be added. The R4 was a fine cart when it first came out, but now its just an old, over prices flashcard.

The R4 has many clones as well, some supporting SDHC cards, these are not enhanced R4s nor improved, they simply had the hardware added to support SDHC cards while the loader/firmware they use is the exact same as the real R4DS byte to byte. This means that the clones have the same problems of the real R4DS and if the R4DS stops getting updated, so will the clones. So the R4 Upgrade V2, N5, R4DS III and so on are just all cheat knockoffs and should be avoided at all costs as the R4 Team is planning one last update that will brick the clones and possibly the DS that they are on.

Also I would like to point out, that I own an R4 myself and got it when it was one of the best flashcards on the market. Sadly thats not true anymore.

 

[teH XeRO]

lol i love these geek arguments...who the hell cares what it is. just dont buy it if it's a "clone." if you do like it, then buy it. otherwise no need to argue a point you will never have any real reason to try and prove because you most likely won't buy this r4a or whatever the hell it is anyway. so just drop it. lame.

 

[Narin]

lol i love these geek arguments...who the hell cares what it is. just dont buy it if it's a "clone." if you do like it, then buy it. otherwise no need to argue a point you will never have any real reason to try and prove because you most likely won't buy this r4a or whatever the hell it is anyway. so just drop it. lame.

Well, in my case I am simply trying to warn people that the over hyped flashcard, the R4 is a dead flashcard. Right now to those who aren't aware of the flashcard scene, when they think of a way to play games on the Nintendo DS by downloading them, they rhink of the R4DS because well, its the most well known flashcard out there. What happens is, they end up buying it and then down the road start whining because things don't work, when they will upgrade, etc and basically have wasted their money on it.

The R4 was a great flashcard of its time, but now its dated and well, dead. Production has stopped and the R4 team basically aren't releasing anymore updates for it. Even so, the best you can hope for is some minor compatibility updates for a couple games. Theres some games that have been left unplayable or buggy for years now. The R4's time in the spot light is now over, its time to move along and I'm just trying to let people know this before they make a mistake and get an R4 or its clone.

Even if you get a clone with SDHC support, you still will have the same problems as the real R4DS as I mentioned some above. Many newer games coming out are having problems on the R4 and what happens when some very good, popular games come out that totally won't work on the R4? Then you are out of luck and can't play those games. Theres also a new save type now and games coming out that use that save type won't be able to save on the R4.

So unless you want to patch a majority of the games coming out manually with patches just to make them playable (Albeit with bugs and glitches, frequent freezing, ect) which is a gamble at best since not every game can be patched to work, then well, get an R4. Though in my eyes, theres a line between liking something and getting a product that is buggy and with no hope of getting updated.

 

[Searinox]

I probably shouldn't care too much but is it true what they claim - that it works well with SDHC cards? I see something about it in your post but I'm not too clear on it...

If it is SDHC it'll never work with R4 firmware just like the supercard SD firmware doesn't work with supercard SDHC. If it's a SDHC-capable R4 then it's superior to the DSTT already cause they have the same features except the R4 fw sorts files.

The sky's the limit, if STT menu was already ported to the R4 the R4-A might work with it too, and it'll then stay up to date. Then ofcourse the question is why buy an R4 and not a DSTT in the first place... answer is simple - n00bs. Following recommendations to buy the R4 some may get the R4-A and subsequently get disappointed, when that happens they can switch to DSTT fw. It won't save every fool but still...

 

[Narin]

I probably shouldn't care too much but is it true what they claim - that it works well with SDHC cards? I see something about it in your post but I'm not too clear on it...

Yes, but there are around 3-4 R4 clones that have SDHC support, not just this one. All it basically is simply a hardware update, thats it. They replaced the old R4's MicroSD slot with a MicroSDHC compatible slot and thats all. It stills runs the same firmware and everything. It wasn't added in a firmware update or the such, its all hardware base. As I stated above, simply stay away from them. They aren't worth it.

Edit:
QUOTE(Searinox @ Aug 18 2008, 06:13 PM) If it is SDHC it'll never work with R4 firmware just like the supercard SD firmware doesn't work with supercard SDHC.

Also you are wrong, the firmware that these clones uses are byte for byte a copy of the R4 firmware that was hex edited to use the new flashcard's name and that is all. The firmware wasn't modified to add in SDHC stuff. Though well, we are using firmware wrong in this case. What you download and place on the MicroSD card is actually the R4 loader. It is used to load games, homebrew, ect. The firmware is actually hard coded onto the R4 hardware. So all they did was update the hardware to add in SDHC support while the loader, with all its bugs is still the same.

 

[BurlyEd]

I agree with everything Narin says. They are facts. Nothing to argue about.
I agree with his opinions as they match my own.
Narin's conclusion "Its a clone." however does not fit my definition of clone.
I consider a clone to be an exact copy of something from an unauthorized source and sold without licensing the rights.
This would be a patent or copyright issue in most of the world, but not for a "grey area" flash card in China!
Does anyone know who the R4A team is or where the R4A factory is? Does it matter?

I was an R4 fan, using a DSTT and looking for something better until I got my EDGE.
What I liked the best about the R4 was the Cheats Display.
Only the EDGE and the R4 show the entire cheat name and description.
Unfortunately the R4 IS old and the support team is in hiding.
The R4, R4A and I expect the R4 III are not compatible with Narin's cheats.
I LIKE Narin's Cheat files. They seem to work best with EDGE (I have not tried CycloDS because of price and power usage).

I am not trying to tell anyone to buy an R4A. But I have not seen anyone else who has reported using one.
I thought someone might be interested to know about them. I have tried one and I like it OK, despite its problems.
But I like my EDGE better. Even if it is also a clone.

Edit:
Narin,
The R4A will NOT boot from an R4 TF card with 1.18 software from one of my old R4s. I also expected that it would.
It also would NOT Boot from R4 III 1.19 software.

Also I have just noticed another difference from R4.
When I close the DS, I hear a very low clicking sound from the speakers in sync with the flashing yellow light on the hinge.
The clicking stops after a minute or so. ???

 

[Heran Bago]

I have owned and used: M3 simply (spring broke), R4 (spring broke), another R4 (spring still works), another R4 (no spring),
M3 Real (fell apart), AK2 (same shitty clips as M3R), DSTT (no problems, but slow and does not update the save file date),
SCDS1 (triple booted to DSTT menu so I can use Narin's usercheats), and EDGE (My Favorite!). I would rate them in exactly the
same order as I bought them and as listed above.

If you spend this much money on NDS piracy, you're doing it wrong.

 

[Narin]

I agree with everything Narin says. They are facts. Nothing to argue about.
I agree with his opinions as they match my own.
Narin's conclusion "Its a clone." however does not fit my definition of clone.
I consider a clone to be an exact copy of something from an unauthorized source and sold without licensing the rights.
This would be a patent or copyright issue in most of the world, but not for a "grey area" flash card in China!
Does anyone know who the R4A team is or where the R4A factory is? Does it matter?

I was an R4 fan, using a DSTT and looking for something better until I got my EDGE.
What I liked the best about the R4 was the Cheats Display.
Only the EDGE and the R4 show the entire cheat name and description.
Unfortunately the R4 IS old and the support team is in hiding.
The R4, R4A and I expect the R4 III are not compatible with Narin's cheats.
I LIKE Narin's Cheat files. They seem to work best with EDGE (I have not tried CycloDS because of price and power usage).

I am not trying to tell anyone to buy an R4A. But I have not seen anyone else who has reported using one.
I thought someone might be interested to know about them. I have tried one and I like it OK, despite its problems.
But I like my EDGE better. Even if it is also a clone.
Alright, I should have been more precise, by clone, I meant that the R4a Loader is a clone of the R4DS loader. While almost everything else is identical except for the hardware differences with the MicroSDHC slot. Even the website is a copy of the R4DS website. While it isn't a true clone (Due to the changes for SDHC support and the such), its close enough.

QUOTE(BurlyEd @ Aug 18 2008, 06:31 PM) Narin,
The R4A will NOT boot from an R4 TF card with 1.18 software from one of my old R4s. I also expected that it would.
It also would NOT Boot from R4 III 1.19 software.

Also I have just noticed another difference from R4.
When I close the DS, I hear a very low clicking sound from the speakers in sync with the flashing yellow light on the hinge.
The clicking stops after a minute or so. ???

As I stated before, the loader was hex edited to change the internal branding. Its common practice amongst those who make copies of another flashcard to add in a check so only a specific loader can be used on that flashcard to make it look like like a copy. So I believe the R4A firmware that loads the _DS_MENU_.dat loader checks to see if its actually the R4a loader. The chinese version of the R4DS does this, it only allows the chinese loader to run on the device unless you manually patch the English loader to fool the Chinese R4DS into thinking its the Chinese loader. Also another method they use is encrypting or decrypting the loader as well. The R4DS only works with the encrypted loader while many of its clones require the loader to be decrypted. This can easily be done with r4crypt.

Well now that clicking sound is unusual and could possible be a glitch. Why would they intentionally have the speakers beep when the DS is set to standby mode? It would only end up draining the batteries faster as well as be a bit annoying if you have to close your Nintendo DS quickly in a public area where silence is needed. I didn't delve into the loader too deeply, I just did a byte to byte comparison of the R4 loader and the R4a loader so I can't tell you if this was an intentional addition or not.

 

[kobykaan]

can confirm these CLONE KERNELS ...CAN indeed be run on REAL R4 cards by decryption then re-encryption using the r4/m3simply kernel patcher .. but again as above DOES NOT IMPROVE GAME COMPATIBILTY!

as they are the EXACT SAME HACKED kernel as the REAL 1.18 R4DS kernel!

 

[GH0ST]

I mostly agree also but i will never buy an Edge... nor an obsolet R4 clone ...

Edge is not a pure clone but a cheap rip-off and is not compatible with cyclods firmwares in anyway.

Of course price is cheaper since it is a low build ( 8$ ) with no devs costs ... There is no extra support also... the latest updates were 2 months ago only for minor glitches fixes

27 / 6 / 2008
EDGE OS v1.37 has been released. Changes include:
Game compatibility fix (2385)

11 / 6 / 2008
EDGE OS v1.36 has been released. Changes include:
Fixed a minor graphical problem with the cheat code list

10 / 6 / 2008
EDGE OS v1.35 has been released. Changes include:
Game compatibility fix (2343)...

I'm not complaining since rip is the rule ...ask Nintendo ... i saw clones since the first passcard build and heard nasty stories about moonshell... and now sakura ...

I'm not a pure Evo fanboy and i also flash for the Ace RPG since it is pretendly "open source" ( at least thanks Gbatemp Members for the support ;-)

I support developpers in general as much i can... i'm a former LM coder ... so cheap/expensive price is not a first argument for me ... since so far this market is pure LUXE ( hobby?) anyway ;-)

Team Cyclops had been successful in developing this innovation and introducing it to public. With the quality they give to the people, it can be considered as one of the best DS kits in the market today. With its capability to help the user to use his or her gadget better, Cyclo DS Evolution really rocks the world of gaming and touched the interest of the gamers not only here but in the whole world! ( from http://www.dsflash.com/cyclo-ds-evolution.htm )

It is the most important part for me since they keep an eye on their users for each release... and step by step but very effectively build a better card with fancy features

As far as i know EDGE had no extra features like ingame text reader, direct GBA saves and lack support for foreign langages ( like french german italian spanish dutch... I know some french users offered their help ... with no response ??? )

Out of the asian area no support so far :

QUOTE

FAQ
Q: Which languages does the EDGE support?
A: English, Indonesian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog

Of course a cheap but less popular card may lack firmware updates very soon but for the most part if you just want to run homebrew programs it is fine ;-)

... So wait and see ... until next episod ;-)

Edit : Power usage ? Do you really think a so called clone is better in power usage than an original one ? it is an opinion based on nothing tested i guess : it depends on many things also : SDHC sucks a little more power out of the battery than an SD, same with Wifi, full brightness and full sound and not to mention 3-in-1 rumbleling in slot 2 ... My CycloDS + G6 lite had a far better autonomy than my Ace RPG + 3-in-1 and was proven to be low ... search the Cevo forums with "battery" and dig ;-)

 

[BurlyEd]

I just did a comparison on the firmware from their site, its just a hex edited version of the R4 firmware. Its a clone.

Narin,

The "English-1.19" that I downloaded today from http://www.r4ds-a.com/ has _DS_MENU.DAT size: 2,449,920 Bytes, date:06/11/08 and boots my R4A on a 4GB TF.

The 1.18 R4 software from 24 Apr 08 is 1,410,048 bytes. It does not boot on R4A, but still does on R4.

A bit-for-bit compare shows no similarities between the files. When and where did you get your file?

The clicking sound while NDS is closed is new for 1.19. The light in the hinge blinks at least twice as fast on 1.19.
The 1.19 file is a MB bigger! It seems more that a simple hexedit. I suspect R4A changed the file since you downloaded yours.

Everyone else,

OK It is a clone - except that the hardware is different - and the software is different - and the packaging and labeling and name are different.
Now everyone put your fingers in your ears and scream CLONE CLONE CLONE CLONE CLONE CLONE until you can't hear me anymore.