Hacking R4i-B9S flashcart: tested and impression

[RedBlueGreen]

According to their website, they will release the flasher.
Now we push for the source! This is GPL3 code and I have sent an email requesting the source code
View attachment 101010
I had sent the same email to every email provided in regards to their team and only the promotional team replied

View attachment 101011

Of course I am going to ignore that little request to keep this confidential because quite honestly they are ignoring my GPL3 request. They are using GPL3 code, I requested that code from literally everyone and the answer I got was not the code. I know this most likely doesn't bother anyone, but to those it does concern, it is worth looking at.

Our public outrage over the things they've done has already shown to have worked, so I think we can push to correct one last wrong that they've committed.

So basically they're taking someone else's work (the actual RE work and firmware and necessary explot files), wrote some software to flash it (assuming they didn't use hardware) and are claiming it as their own and trying to keep it private?

 

[The Catboy]

So basically they're taking someone else's work (the actual RE work and firmware and necessary explot files), wrote some software to flash it (assuming they didn't use hardware) and are claiming it as their own and trying to keep it private?

Kind of looks like that.
I mean the entire FAQ they have there the early version of this thread and the Guide they are using is someone else's guide.
As well the flasher just looks like a modified version of the NTRBoot installer.

 

[RedBlueGreen]

Kind of looks like that.
I mean the entire FAQ they have there the early version of this thread and the Guide they are using is someone else's guide.
As well the flasher just looks like a modified version of the NTRBoot installer.

I hope someone who has one opens it up. I'd like to see if it really is just a normal R4 SDHC with a modified flasher. Especially if someone manages to reverse engineer it. Is the original flasher licensed under the GPL code? If it is aren't they required to make the source code of their modified flasher available publicly?

I doubt it's even a new chip. I'm thinking they took a bunch of unsold stock and flashed them with the modified NTRBoot flasher. Because let's face it, DS flashcards probably aren't selling that well. Even 5 year old smartphones can run DS games with the DraStic DS emulator. Only people who want an authentic experience are buying flashcards.

 

[The Catboy]

I hope someone who has one opens it up. I'd like to see if it really is just a normal R4 SDHC with a modified flasher. Especially if someone manages to reverse engineer it. Is the original flasher licensed under the GPL code? If it is aren't they required to make the source code of their modified flasher available publicly?

I doubt it's even a new chip. I'm thinking they took a bunch of unsold stock and flashed them with the modified NTRBoot flasher. Because let's face it, DS flashcards probably aren't selling that well. Even 5 year old smartphones can run DS games with the DraStic DS emulator. Only people who want an authentic experience are buying flashcards.

This cart is very much just backstock of the the R4i-SDHC flashed with NTRBoot
Pretty much everything in the 3DS scene is GPL3, this including all files/payloads associated with NTRBoot.

 

[Technicmaster0]

I don't think you understand the source code I am asking for. I am asking for the source to the NTRBoot code that they used, which is already an open-source GPL3 code. Them releasing this source code doesn't really hurt their market, as I can already port the code to other carts. This isn't like I am requesting the source code to some close-source setup that they made. I am requesting the source they edited from an already open-source project.
They aren't going to lose anything from releasing this code, as the NTRBoot code is already free and obtainable right now.

Maybe they have no source and just flash https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s0s42cypvpqv18r/AADy_bSUOFdfF3dSPxFq3hhla?dl=0 on their cards.

 

[RedBlueGreen]

Maybe they have no source and just flash https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s0s42cypvpqv18r/AADy_bSUOFdfF3dSPxFq3hhla?dl=0 on their cards.

What exactly is that?

 

[Technicmaster0]

What exactly is that?

A NTRBoot compatible flash file for r4i-sdhc.com cards (that you can't flash without hardware). It was made weeks (if not months) ago.

 

[The Catboy]

Maybe they have no source and just flash https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s0s42cypvpqv18r/AADy_bSUOFdfF3dSPxFq3hhla?dl=0 on their cards.

A NTRBoot compatible flash file for r4i-sdhc.com cards (that you can't flash without hardware). It was made weeks (if not months) ago.

If that is the case, then that's once again another community project that they are using without crediting the original author.
But I don't think that's the case, they are clearly using a modified NTRBoot flasher in their picture. Which only seems to hint that they were able to get the NTRBoot code and flasher working on their cart.

 

[thisisallowed]

If that is the case, then that's once again another community project that they are using without crediting the original author.
But I don't think that's the case, they are clearly using a modified NTRBoot flasher in their picture. Which only seems to hint that they were able to get the NTRBoot code and flasher working on their cart.

It looks quite different from the ntrboot flasher. But it has the linux font.

 

[The Catboy]

It looks quite different from the ntrboot flasher. But it has the linux font.

Note that I mentioned that it's modified. Obviously some more work was done to it, but it still appears to be the NTRBoot flasher.

 

[gnmmarechal]

I GUESS the R4i-SDHC team just intended to make the hacking of 3DS console much easier, and more easily to be understood. If you think you are professional enough, you could feel free to choose other methods to do the hack. But the point is that there are many other users who are newbies at this and totally not knowing how to do it.

No. They wanted to make money, as all who run businesses do. Making it easier would be just a bonus.

 

[Shadowhand]

Just got my b9s cart. Already unbricked. Expect a video soon.

 

[some1ne]

Here's the issue with the notion of "interpretation" and that is the fact that they even left it up for interpretation to begin with. Although technically they are correct that this is indeed a DS/DSi cart flashed with NTRBoot, they at no point made it clear that it can't play DS games. They even have "FAQ" section (a stolen one) and it doesn't include this information. This means it's either up to the user to find out this information on their own or ask them directly for this answer.
This is only made worse when you consider the cost of the cart. It cost more than the their other cart, which to an enduser makes it appear as though it has to do more that just install NTRBoot. They are basically banking on vaguely worded statements and lack of information in order to sell this cart. If they actually flat said in the FAQ, "It doesn't play DS games," then no one would buy it nor would we have seen as much spam created because of them. Why? Because no one wants a uni-tasking cart when the R4i Gold only costs like 1$ more and plays DS games.
I would also like to make this clear that I wasn't the only person who thought it played DS games. In fact a lot of the spam we got included playing DS games, which means their vaguely worded sentence worked. I just happen to be the second person pushing this fact because I think it's wrong to mislead the community like this. They are charging more for a single task cart, while giving the illusion that it's something more. If the cart was like 10$ (max) and was upfront in the FAQ, it wouldn't be so horrible, but instead it cost more only to do less.

It does play NDS games now, check their website. You can switch back and forth between ntrboothax and normal flashcart functionality:

 

[The Catboy]

It does play NDS games now, check their website. You can switch back and forth between ntrboothax and normal flashcart functionality:
View attachment 101450

I know

Kind of a rough mapping of their changes.
They started by telling users to spam sites to "promote their product," then name dropped the Temp directly. It also didn't include a time frame for how long the post most remain. That was removed and changed after we said users would be banned for doing so. They not only removed the name drop, but also added a "2 day" time frame requirement. They also no longer instruct the user on what to post. As it seems posts simply saying, "Hey I will buy this cart!" are accepted as "promoting it," as opposed to spamming the forum.
The cart was announced with a vaguely worded statement that made it sound like it played DS games. When asked directly, they said it didn't. This of course caused a lot of stirring in the community, to which I am pretty sure I was the loudest out of most. Which seems to have gotten a reaction out of them, as now a method to revert it back to the original R4i-SDHC has been announced.
There were other small changes here and there that went unnoticed and were mostly just small revisions. Basically just showing as the community reacted, they were reacting to our reactions..

 

[Ramses]

so this goes without saying at this point: should I even bother with this cart?

I want to buy this cart because it A) works out of the box B) I don't have another 3DS and the current DS to 3DS way of B9S is still kind of wonky C) i'm stumped as to what card I need, I see sites use different ones and I keep hearing some our fake and what not...

What do you all think should be my course of action? buy the cart or get another?

 

[Quantumcat]

Apparently you can flash it back to being able to play DS games so it *should* be as good as the R4i Gold but without the need to flash it. I say give it a go.

 

[thisisallowed]

Apparently you can flash it back to being able to play DS games so it *should* be as good as the R4i Gold but without the need to flash it. I say give it a go.

It does NOT however come with Wood firmware

 

[The Catboy]

Apparently you can flash it back to being able to play DS games so it *should* be as good as the R4i Gold but without the need to flash it. I say give it a go.

The only grumble I have, is that they have yet to release their NTRBoot code. But since it’s cheaper than the R4i Gold and they now support NDS ROMs, I will suggest it to people who want a pre-flashed B9S cart.

It does NOT however come with Wood firmware

But it should still still work with ysmenu

 

[RedBlueGreen]

Too bad their flasher can't be used to flash NTRBoot to other R4i SDHC cards.

 

[thisisallowed]

The only grumble I have, is that they have yet to release their NTRBoot code. But since it’s cheaper than the R4i Gold and they now support NDS ROMs, I will suggest it to people who want a pre-flashed B9S cart.


But it should still still work with ysmenu

woodr4>>>ysmenu imo