Hacking R4: Original, fake or a N5 disguised?

[Garland]

Hi, folks! (And sorry by the poor english ^^'!)

Here's the matter: I just bought a NDS Lite / R4 flashcard and I found out that it can be a "fake" R4... or even a N5 in disguise :/

Can you help me to determine if it is a fake "R4"?


Pic: http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/1784/24122008100ih0.jpg


*On the box there's no link to sites. It's written only "R4 Revolution" and its funcionalities.
*The flashcard is gray, instead of black.
*It doesn't seems that it have SDHC support (at least it's not written on the box, and I can't test it)
*When I turned on the DS/R4 for the first time it shows that it has an "v. 1.18" kernel, installed on the shop where I bought it.
*I've installed the kernel from the official R4DS website and it works greatly.
*No CD. It came only with an USB MicroSD Card Reader (the SAME "T-flash" card reader that comes with N5, and this scares me!).
*I've installed the last version of the N5 kernel, and it freezes on the first "loading" screen.

Thanks for the help! =D

 

[DarkRey]

from your description it looks like an original R4.
but that picture of the box doesnt convince me at whole


p.s
which site did you download the firmware from?

 

[brissmas]

The packet you got it in shouldnt be like that but the card looks real.

 

[parshimers]

i am having a similar dilemma, mine was bought from realhotstuff(http://www.realhotstuff.com/r4ds-microsd-bundle-p-184.html). since detail seems to be key to this, i'll try and describe what i got as accurately as possible, i'll try to post pictures later.

- the box it comes in is very similar to all the r4 boxes, this one has no chinese text, and is oriented to the right side of the box. the text is" R4, Revolution for DS(NDSL/NDS).
- the box has the r4ds.com site listed on the front, which seems to link to the r4ds.cn site now.
- the box says a CD is included; i found no such thing. this may just be clumsiness on my part though. i wasnt watching for a fake as i opened it yesterday.
- it came with a set of screen protectors, which kind of puzzles me..
- the holder box inside the sleeve box has a grey r4 logo printed on the top of a flap, the r4 itself is underneath this.
- the v 1.18 firmware from r4ds.cn works fine on this, i have had no problems with it so far. if you want me to test something specific i would be happy to oblige.
- the sd reader is the common silver one, the microsd itself seems to be no-name but it functions perfectly as far as i can tell.
- the unit itself has a rather authentic looking r4 sticker on it, but it isnt hard to print stickers.
- the case seems slightly different, which worries me. it has no small dent on the top, and 2 small dents on the side. the bottom has a small groove where the front and back come together, it is flush.
- i havent opened it yet, the visible part of the pcb has gold contacts on brown, the rest of it is a dark or light green depending on if there's a circuit there or not.

i would appreciate it if someone could post or link me to some pictures of some authentic r4 units, being able to see the actual PCB would be a nice bonus. sorry if i make any newbie mistakes, i tried researching this thoroughly as possible before posting, but i haven't seen any cards that look exactly like this.

tl;dr:: if a supposed r4 unit loads and works with the 1.18 firmware from r4ds.cn, does that mean it's safe to assume it's highly unlikely to be a fuse-blowing clone?

 

[Garland]

p.s
which site did you download the firmware from?

I've downloaded it from http://r4ds.cn/ (I think it's the same kernel found at r4ds.net). I'm using it since Wednesday and it's work fine...

QUOTE(parshimers @ Dec 26 2008, 01:26 PM) tl;dr:: if a supposed r4 unit loads and works with the 1.18 firmware from r4ds.cn, does that mean it's safe to assume it's highly unlikely to be a fuse-blowing clone?

Hehe, Parshimers, we're with the same doubt...
You know, here in Brazil it's not easy to buy a NDS and I don't want to lose mine because of a cloned R4...

 

[InuYasha]

Funky looking box,looks real to me to bad I have the ugly gray usb connecter myself.....

 

[Legobot]

The box is different than mine was but does anyone know if they have updated the box in about a year?

 

[-GJ-]

R4 isn't being made anymore, and as far as I can tell, this one is fake.
The discription looks real, but when I see the picture, I'm almost 99% sure it's fake.

-The R4 card is waaay too lightgrey, it should be darker.
-The USB connector is not the one that's always shipped by the R4.
-The packaging is just... not the R4 packaging...

It should look like this (and must contain the same things);

 

[Garland]

Hmmm...
But if my FC is a "N5" disguised as a R4, the N5 kernel can work on it?

 

[domon_god1]

that just like mine, but the box and cardreader is new, if you want to know, just use r4ysauto+ysmenu as a ds games, its work perfectly if its real r4