Setting up 9.0 - 9.2 N3DS/XL for CFW, including EmuNAND, Coldboot, CIA Installer

Nak123 · Mar 16, 2016

So I'm trying to get PastacFW to install on my n3ds, but I keep getting a black screen after pressing a to install, then I tried the mini pasta, which doesn't do anything and kicks me straight back into HBL. Then I skipped that step and tried installing FBI, failed to install. After skipping both those steps I tried to just run emunand thru HBL, it just kicks me back into HBL after a red screen aswell...

Any suggestions as to what I could be doing wrong?

wurstpistole · Mar 17, 2016

Nak123 said:
So I'm trying to get PastacFW to install on my n3ds, but I keep getting a black screen after pressing a to install, then I tried the mini pasta, which doesn't do anything and kicks me straight back into HBL. Then I skipped that step and tried installing FBI, failed to install. After skipping both those steps I tried to just run emunand thru HBL, it just kicks me back into HBL after a red screen aswell...

Any suggestions as to what I could be doing wrong?

That's the classic incomplete downgrade. Use safesysupdater and run downgrade again, making sure everything works out fine.

Reynaldi · Mar 17, 2016

where can you see the latest supported version for the cfw? as you edited yesterday that 10.7 is supported
thanks

wurstpistole · Mar 17, 2016

Reynaldi said:
where can you see the latest supported version for the cfw? as you edited yesterday that 10.7 is supported
thanks

I don't see it, I try it out. And then I edit it.

trespasser2 · Mar 18, 2016

Thank you for this awesome guide, I´ve now used it twice on my two N3DS and N3DS XL.

How can I use the regular 2.6 Payload and not Lesshax? I find the booting rate horrendous with this one. Thank you once again.

wurstpistole · Mar 18, 2016

trespasser2 said:
Thank you for this awesome guide, I´ve now used it twice on my two N3DS and N3DS XL.

How can I use the regular 2.6 Payload and not Lesshax? I find the booting rate horrendous with this one. Thank you once again.

It really doesn't make a difference. But if you absolutely want the original menuhax payload you need to rename boot.3dsx to something else, then name less.3dsx to boot.3dsx and then edit the homebrew launcher entry in boot.cfg to whatever you renamed it to.

kerorotamama1 · Mar 18, 2016

Followed the guide to a T, really loved it.

However, I followed it in order like I was supposed to, yeah? I ended up doing the spoof boot .cia for the region free menu, but I was still on 9.2 CFW at the time. So when I continued to follow the guide, I noticed that I couldn't update via System Settings anymore. So, I went and got the files to manually install the update. However, when I read the github on the sysUpdater, it said to not use the program if I'm running any sort of firmware spoofing...kinda afraid to continue, since I'm wary that that applies to me now.

Am I safe to continue? Or will I brick?

Rashid961 · Mar 18, 2016

Can you please help me? o3ds_cdn_firm doesn't seem to create any fimware.bin files. It only creates an empty folder. Help please

wurstpistole · Mar 18, 2016

kerorotamama1 said:
Followed the guide to a T, really loved it.

However, I followed it in order like I was supposed to, yeah? I ended up doing the spoof boot .cia for the region free menu, but I was still on 9.2 CFW at the time. So when I continued to follow the guide, I noticed that I couldn't update via System Settings anymore. So, I went and got the files to manually install the update. However, when I read the github on the sysUpdater, it said to not use the program if I'm running any sort of firmware spoofing...kinda afraid to continue, since I'm wary that that applies to me now.

Am I safe to continue? Or will I brick?

Nope it won't. You can't brick on emunand. Only thing that may happen is that your emunand bricks but if you backup it with Emunand9 you can just restore it if anything goes wrong.

You should really only do that region patch once you are on latest system software, not on 9.2 already,, maybe I must add that.

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

Rashid961 said:
Can you please help me? o3ds_cdn_firm doesn't seem to create any fimware.bin files. It only creates an empty folder. Help please

Sorry really can't help you with python or rxtools related issues. Please ask in the rxtools thread.

kerorotamama1 · Mar 18, 2016

wurstpistole said:
Nope it won't. You can't brick on emunand. Only thing that may happen is that your emunand bricks but if you backup it with Emunand9 you can just restore it if anything goes wrong.

You should really only do that region patch once you are on latest system software, not on 9.2 already,, maybe I must add that.

I can't access any of my apps anymore, since the apps want me to download the update. Is there a way to remove the patch?

wurstpistole · Mar 19, 2016

kerorotamama1 said:
I can't access any of my apps anymore, since the apps want me to download the update. Is there a way to remove the patch?

None that I know if but you could easily use sysupdater and an update pack from that iso site to manually update your emunand. See the tutorial on that, it is described how to do so. Just be sure to make emunand backup before in case anything goes wrong and then you're good to go

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

It only has 10.3 as far as I can see but just install that and then update to 10.7 via system settings.

kerorotamama1 · Mar 19, 2016

wurstpistole said:
None that I know if but you could easily use sysupdater and an update pack from that iso site to manually update your emunand. See the tutorial on that, it is described how to do so. Just be sure to make emunand backup before in case anything goes wrong and then you're good to go

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

It only has 10.3 as far as I can see but just install that and then update to 10.7 via system settings.

The thing is, since I was still on 9.2, every app is behind a update block. So I can't run them, and for some reason FBI loading from HBL gives me a gray screen full of lines and it stays like that each time. What do you suppose happened?

mon0 · Mar 19, 2016

Nice tutorial just waaay too much text

wurstpistole · Mar 19, 2016

kerorotamama1 said:
The thing is, since I was still on 9.2, every app is behind a update block. So I can't run them, and for some reason FBI loading from HBL gives me a gray screen full of lines and it stays like that each time. What do you suppose happened?

I have no idea seriously. I must really add that to the tutorial or change the order of the steps to only do that patch (which is, installing a newer home menu) when you are updated.

mon0 said:
Nice tutorial just waaay too much text

Okay. Try to rephrase it then, keeping it as detailed as necessary. Have fun.

mon0 · Mar 20, 2016

hehe, its totally cool dude! Might be only my personal taste... Partially its hard (for beginners) to follow cause theres a lot to read, and reread, go back, read again.. while on the other side you do provide good insight, no doubt. Keep it up man!

regnad · Mar 20, 2016

wurstpistole said:
PSA: At this stage I am not planning to include A9LH into the tutorial. Maybe later, when it's matured, brick-safe and idiot-proof to do.

Please read the whole guide first and especially the FAQ and Beginner's Advice section at the end! Many questions that pop up again and again are already answered there.

This is mainly valid for N3DS, but will in general also work for O3DS. Where needed I put O3DS alternatives in the explanations. Basically this tutorial will guide you from absolute scratch, e.g. formatting a suitable microSD to coldbooting CFW on EmuNAND where you can install and run unsigned titles. No exploitable game or flashcard is needed. The exploits are not 100% failsafe, so your N3DS can and probably will freeze a couple times. If you hang with a red screen when starting Homebrew Launcher or hang with a black screen when starting CFW, just press the power button for some seconds if that happens, the device will shut down and you can try again. So let's get started.

The tutorial is step by step. Just follow it closely from start to finish. If you see the little

icon, that means there is a helpful screenshot available for that step. Just click it to open the screenshot.

If you already have your microSD working in your 3DS or want to keep your contents, you of course skip this step. This only needs to be done if you set up a new microSD.

Find a microSD of desired size. I used a SanDisk 64GB Ultra SDXC but any good brand should do the job.

The card needs to be formatted to FAT32. If using a SDHC (up to 32GB) you can just use Windows' own right-click on drive format tool for that.

If you have a larger SDXC, Windows won't let you format it to FAT32, so use this tool called guiformat

Simply select your drive letter which is your microSD and click Start

Put the card in your N3DS and start it. This creates the \Nintendo 3DS folder.

Now your microSD is prepared correctly.

This step is adapted from Complete Custom Firmware Guide by @dark_samus3, How-to install a CFW on a 9.0-9.2 N3DS without CN/OOT by @VerseHell and More-or-less Catch-All Tutorial by @Sgt. Lulz

You will need the following:

Homebrew starter pack by smealum (scroll down to Preparing your SD card)

EmuNAND9 by @d0k3

FBI by @Steveice10 (newest version should be fine, if you have troubles, use 1.4.15)

PastaCFW *hax 2.x modified

if that doesn't work, try MiniPasta by @zoogie

TinyFormat by @javiMaD

dbs.zip from this thread's attachment

Extract the Starter Pack onto your microSD. In the \3ds folder you will find all "apps" that HBL can launch.

In the packages of Pasta, EmuNAND9, TinyFormat and FBI you will also find folders that have *.3dsx and *.smdh files. Copy them to the \3ds folder on your microSD to add them to Homebrew Launcher.

If you set up a fresh microSD, do the following two steps to create a working database.

Navigate to the \Nintendo 3DS folder on the microSD and open the folder that's all numbers and letters. Inside will be another folder that's all numbers and letters. Open that and you will see a folder called \extdata.

Create a new folder called \dbs there, next to the folder called \extdata. Put the two files that came in dbs.zip, called import.db and title.db, into the \dbs folder.

Don't do this if you already have a \dbs folder containing import.db and title.db in there!

Find FBI.cia in your FBI package and copy it to your microSD.

I like to keep them in a folder called \cia, but it really doesn't matter where you put .cia files, you can browse for them later.

Put the microSD back in your N3DS and start it.

If you set up a fresh microSD, you need to rebuild the database now. Go to System Settings, Data Management, Nintendo 3DS, Software. It will show a warning that the database files are corrupt and need to be rebuilt. Do this and exit System settings.

Without this, FBI will give you an invalid database error and you will not be able to install .cia files. You will need to do this again for SysNAND after unlinking, so keep this in mind.

Now you need to start HBL. Set up a working internet connection (don't worry, it won't update) and deactivate it using the little wrench icon on the top left of your touch screen. Then press L+R to bring up the camera, click the little checkerboard icon in the lower left and scan the QR Code you can find here. This will show an url, accept it and your browser will open. While the browser loads, press Home button, go to the little wrench icon again and activate your Internet connection. Then open the browser. Now the browserhax exploit will load and open up Homebrew Launcher.

This can take some tries, for me it works in about 9 out of 10 cases. If you get a red screen, just shut down your N3DS and try again.

You will be in Homebrew Launcher now. Scroll down to PastaCFW and start it. This will bring up your home menu again, but with Pasta patches applied, meaning you can install unsigned .cia files now.

Repeat the steps to get into Homebrew Launcher, open FBI and install the .cia of FBI. If you click your L Button now, you can change the install destination. Don't get confused here, NAND does not mean SysNAND! It means system files. Software like games or FBI in this case are installed to destination SD. Install the .cia of FBI to destination SD now.

This is necessary so that it gets copied over to EmuNAND in the following step. If for any reason you don't have FBI in your EmuNAND at the end, look at the Beginner's Advice at the end of the tutorial for a solution.

This is a N3DS tutorial, but I'll include it as it comes up again and again: If you happen to be on O3DS it's possible that you have crashes when entering the HBL a second time after Pasta was started. See this posting for a solution.

If you have any problems with Pasta and/or FBI.cia installation, just skip it and continue with EmuNAND setup and inject FBI into Health and Safety when you are finished! See FAQ on how to do that.

Now, if you at any point used Menuhax on your SysNAND (for example before downgrading from 10.3), you will have to kill it now again, otherwise it will cause problems later. If you did not use Menuhax, skip this step.

If you have Menuhax installed before creating EmuNAND, it will get taken over to EmuNAND and then cause problems when booting CFW (bootloop) or when updating EmuNAND (blackscreen or freeze on Preparing Home Menu)

So if you had Menuhax already, now is the time to go into Homebrew Launcher, open Menuhax Manager and delete resp. uninstall the Menuhax. Do that before continuing.

Enter Homebrew Launcher via Browser again and start EmuNAND9. Now create a NAND backup by navigating to EmuNAND Manager Options and Dump SysNAND to NAND.bin.

This takes about 8 to 10 minutes I'd say, let it sit and connect it to power if you are a bit low on battery.

Once that is done, press Select to unmount your microSD, take out the microSD and copy all contents of the card to your PC as the next step will delete everything on your microSD. Don't worry, you will restore your files afterwards.

Probably the most important file on your microSD now is your NAND backup in a file called NAND.bin. I can not stress this enough. Take that file, make copies in safe locations, burn it to a DVD-R, upload it to some cloud, I don't know, just never lose that thing. Thanks to the new downgrade exploits you won't need it for downgrades at the moment (but probably will once Nintendo fixes the exploits) but anyhow this file is your only way to recover your device if you screw something up so enormously that nothing but a hardmod can revive your N3DS.

Put the microSD back into your device and press B twice to return to EmuNAND9 main menu. This time choose Complete EmuNAND Setup and ignore the warning that starter.bin is missing by pressing A. Follow the on-screen instructions to format your EmuNAND. Doing so will delete everything on your microSD, which is correct.

This will again take around 8 to 10 minutes. Power down your N3DS afterwards.

Put the microSD back in your computer. Copy back everything from your backup to your microSD (except NAND.bin), overwriting existing files. Put it in your N3DS again and start it.

You may notice that the card is now seemingly around 2GB smaller than before. This is because EmuNAND is created in a hidden partition of your microSD.

If you run into any problems with EmuNAND9, you can use an alternative way with Gateway. Read the spoiler on how to do so:

Download the latest Gateway package from their homepage.

Inside you will find a folder called \GW_ultra_*** (depends on version number) which has a launcher.dat inside.

Copy that launcher.dat to the root of your microSD.

Then extract the GW_3dsx file to your microSD (it's just like other homebrew apps, the \GW folder needs to go into \3ds).

Backup your microSD contents now, then start Homebrew Launcher and launch Gateway.

Format Emunand, make a NAND backup, restore your microSD contents and continue with unlinking.

What you want to do now is unlink NANDs and that's easy. Basically, the 3DS now needs to be reset to factory default. To prevent any problems with your NNID not working anymore in EmuNAND (if you have one), we can use the homebrew tool TinyFormat to unlink. Using TinyFormat, the problem of NNID not being linked anymore will not appear. So go into Homebrew Launcher again, start TinyFormat, press Y and format your SysNAND.

if this doesn't work for you or you don't have / care about NNID, you can also unlink by formatting the device with System Settings. Go to System Settings, Other Settings, scroll to the last page and choose Format System Memory. Now remove your microSD and continue. When formatting is done, reboot the device and put your microSD back in. Do not forget removing your microSD, or it will delete everything on it.

After unlinking, start your N3DS again and go through initial setup.

Now your NANDs are unlinked and inside the \Nintendo 3DS folder on your microSD should now be two folders with letters and numbers. This is the proof that your NANDs are unlinked.

Find the folder that does not have the \dbs folder inside (this is the folder for your SysNAND as you just formatted it), and repeat the steps with import.db and title.db as described above.

The other folder should already have the \dbs folder, because you restored your backup to the microSD already.

Now that EmuNAND is set up correctly, software installation can begin.

This is adapted from RXtools CFW coldboot full installation guide for New3DS, from Browserhax & Homemenuhax to Rxtools by @ChrisN8

All three of the currently mostly used CFW support latest EmuNAND now. The choice is yours. In my tutorial you can choose between ReiNand, Cakes and rxTools. I will very briefly describe the differences.

ReiNand and Cakes are basically the same, with the only difference that Cakes also works on O3DS while ReiNand is N3DS only. The two of them are purely only patching signatures in EmuNAND; no additional features. They both run DS Carts and GBA VC from EmuNAND, but they don't support region free out of the box. You would need to patch region free yourself (see next section on that).

rxTools does not support DS Carts and GBA VC on N3DS, at least not at the moment, but it has region free. Furthermore it has its own menu, allowing you to do stuff like xorpad generation or NAND backups without the need for other homebrew apps.

Basically you can choose whichever you like depending on what you need. If you care for GBA VC/DS and don't mind running Free Multi Patcher to play out of region titles, go for ReiNand or Cakes. If you don't need GBA VC/DS but rather want region free, use rxTools. Consider that you can't just run a tool to patch in GBA VC/DS like you can patch region free. You can even set up all three of them and switch between them like you wish, they all use the same EmuNAND partition. There will not be any incompatibilities or disadvantages of having several CFW and switching between them.

You will need the following for all CFW:

CtrBootManager by @cpasjuste and my boot.cfg from this thread's attachment

lesshax payloads by @gameking66

ReiNand is only N3DS compatible. You need:

ReiNand CFW (not the a9lh version) with the correct firmware.bin file

from 3.2 upwards it's already included in the package, inside the \rei folder

ReiNand patches the version string in System Settings, it will say Rei before the version number

Cakes works on N3DS as well as on O3DS! You need:

CakesFW latest stable with several additional files

firmware.bin, and cetk go into \cakes folder

slot0x11key96.bin and slot0x25keyX.bin go into the root of your microSD

I can't link the files here, but check this paste for anything of use

You always download the most current firmware files from the official Nintendo servers, the file with the numbers needs to be renamed to firmware.bin

If you update your EmuNAND and Cakes stops working, redownload the firmware files from Nintendo

Cakes does not patch the version string in System Settings

rxTools works on N3DS as well as on O3DS. You need:

rxTools latest nightly with several additional files

Python 2.7 to build your firmware file

go into \tools and launch n3ds_cdn_firm.py or o3ds_cnd_firm.py depending on which device you're using

then copy that \firm folder into \rxTools and copy key_0x1B.bin and key_0x16.bin to the root of your microSD

I can't link the keyfiles here, but you could try googling for key_0x1b.bin pastebin mega

You can set EmuNAND as default boot option in rxTools menu if you like so that you don't have to choose it every time you start your device. To override it and get into the rxTools menu, hold L when starting rxTools from CtrBootManager

rxTools patches the version string in System Settings, it will say RX-E before the version number

Extract the CFW package onto the root of your microSD.

Now start your N3DS and repeat the dbs repair that was described in step 2 by going into System Settings, data management, Nintendo 3DS and repairing the database.

This is needed to be done again because you formatted your SysNAND.

Now set up an internet connection again, click the little wrench icon and choose to the option to change a theme.

You don't need to change it, just bring up the menu once and leave again, or change the theme if you wish.

This step is necessary to set up the theme engine, which MenuHax uses as an exploit.

Now go into Homebrew Launcher again, as it was described in step 2 - deactivate Internet, scan QR code, activate internet while browser is loading, and Homebrew Launcher will start.

This time choose MenuHax and install it. If you want to switch on your N3DS and have it boot into EmuNAND automatically, choose Type2.

I strongly recommend that, as it makes things way more convenient. If for whatever reason you don't want that, read the following explanation:

In short, Type1 will mean you have to hold a specific button to coldboot CtrBootManager and if you don't hold it, SysNAND will boot. Type2 is the opposite - CtrBootManager will coldboot if you do not hold a specific button and only boot SysNAND if you hold the button during boot. If you want to switch on your N3DS and automatically be in EmuNAND, use Type2. I recommend Type2 and I will write the following parts of the tutorial as if you chose Type2. If you want Type1, just keep in mind that you will have to hold your button every time you boot your device

You will have to set a button now that bypasses MenuHax, just press it and touch the bottom screen to confirm. This will set up the coldboot now.

If you don't hold the button you just set during booting, MenuHax will initiate.

If you hold it while booting, SysNAND will load.

Switch off your N3DS, switch it on and your top screen should glitch and throw you directly into Homebrew Launcher. Your device is now set to coldboot a file called boot.3dsx, which loads Homebrew Launcher. We need to change that now.

Switch your N3DS off again, put your microSD into your computer and find the menuhax payload on it. It starts with ropbinpayload_menuhax and then has your region (like EUR), a number corresponding to your system version (like 12288 for 9.2) and ultimately your device (new or old 3ds). Now find the file with the same name in the lesshax archive and copy that to your microSD, overwriting the existing one.

This modified payload on the one hand loads faster and without the screen glitches and on the other hand is set to boot a file called less.3dsx instead of boot.3dsx, which holds some advantages so you don't have to edit other stuff later on.

You want to add CtrBootManager now. Unzip the package and download the boot.cfg at the end of this thread under Attached Files. Replace the original boot.cfg with mine.

This sets up CtrBootManager to show ReiNand, Cakes and Homebrew Menu, and its set to boot ReiNand by default

Of course you can edit the boot.cfg to your likings, add more homebrew apps

Rename CtrBootManager's boot.3dsx to less.3dsx and then copy less.3dsx and boot.cfg to the root of your microSD.

Check if everything goes as it should by switching on your N3DS. After the screen glitches you'll be in CtrBootManager, showing ReiNand, Cakes and Homebrew Menu.

CtrBootManager is for now set to ReiNand as default. If you want to use Cakes, navigate to More, Settings and choose Cakes under the option Default.

Depending on which CFW you're using, things go a bit different now.

ReiNand will just show a short splash screen, then the screen goes black and you'll be in EmuNAND.

Cakes shows a small menu for the first time boot. Go to Configuration and activate Enable autoboot, then confirm with Start and enter Select Patches and activate both Enable EmuNAND and Disable signature checks, confirming with Start again. Then select Boot CFW. The next time you start Cakes, it won't show the menu anymore but go directly into EmuNAND. If you need to go to the menu again, hold L after selecting Cakes in CtrBootManager.

It is absolutely important to activate that Enable EmuNAND, if you don't to it, Cakes will boot to SysNAND!

rxTools will show a short "installation" screen for the first time (it only copies the firmware file somewhere else) and then show a boot option menu allowing you to boot into unmodified SysNAND, EmuNAND with signature patches Pasta mode, which is SysNAND with signature patches. You can set EmuNAND as default option with the d-pad so you don't have to choose an option every time you start your device. To override that option and enter the rxTools menu again, hold L when rxTools starts.

If nothing boots, power down your device and try it again. CtrBootManager is quite failsafe though, it only freezes one out of 20 or 30 times on my device which is a very good boot rate.

If you have the device rebooting after selecting CFW and then crashing to red/black screen, chances are you have Menuhax in your EmuNAND where it doesn't belong. To get into EmuNAND, hold your Menuhax button after selecting to start your CFW and once you are in EmuNAND, change themes once to remove Menuhax. Then Autoboot will work as it should.

So once boot goes through, you are in your EmuNAND. There are several ways to confirm this. Check if you can start FBI from home menu, if that works, you are definitely in EmuNAND. Furthermore, ReiNand will show a "Rei" before the version number in System Settings. Cakes doesn't do that.

At this point remember: If you enter system settings and leave again, your device will do a full reboot. Meaning if you do set menuhax to only boot when holding a button and you don't hold it now, this will bring you back to your SysNAND! This is again why I recommend type2 in menuhax, as it can not happen that way, it will just load up CtrBootManager again if you leave system settings.

If you ever want to install a .cia in SysNAND, for example GBA VC Games or DS flashcard whitelists, you will have to install FBI.cia in SysNAND again. This works as described in step 2, just boot Homebrew Launcher in the Boot Manager, start Pasta, go into Homebrew Launcher again via Internet Browser exploit, open FBI and install FBI.cia. Next time you enter your SysNAND with Pasta active, it will appear as a gift, just as before.

Well, and that's it. Your N3DS will now automatically load CtrBootManager through menuhax, then boot to EmuNAND and you will be able to install .cia via FBI on your home screen. I hope this helps someone as lost as I was at the beginning to get the device running.

But wait... there's more.

This is adapted from How to update EmuNAND on a N3DS by @Xenon Hacks

Latest supported version by rxTools, ReiNand & Cakes: 10.7

As long as the latest versions are supported by CFW you can update just by going into System Settings on your EmuNAND and updating there! Make an EmuNAND backup before just in case, see below on how to do that!

Keep in mind that for Cakes you may need to redownload the firmware files directly from Nintendo servers after updating EmuNAND. See CFW section for the download links.

Alternatively we can use sysupdater. This comes in handy if at some point you can't update in system settings anymore, like it has been with 9.5 previously, or you blocked all updates with Tubehax DNS / router configuration etc. So if you would like to update manually, here we go:

You will need the following:

Latest N3DS Update Pack from that iso site

search for update packs and you'll find the thread

be absolutely sure to download the correct packages! They are different for O3DS and N3DS.

sysupdater by profi200

Extract the update package and you will get a folder called \updates. Copy that folder onto your microSD.

Extract the sysupdater package and find the .cia file. Copy that onto your microSD.

Boot into Homebrew Launcher, start Emunand9 and create an EmuNAND backup.

select EmuNAND Manager Options and Dump EmuNAND to EmuNAND.bin

Now start your N3DS in EmuNAND and install sysupdater.cia with FBI.

I mean, it's clear you are in EmuNAND now, but be like one thousand percent sure you are. Otherwise you will update your SysNAND, which would be fatal.

Start sysupdater and press the A button to start upgrading.

Your device will then reboot. Once you are in EmuNAND again, check System Settings and it will state the new version number.

Congratulations, you are updated.

This is only needed for N3DS. On O3DS just use rxTools to have Region Free, DS and GBA working. Only do this once you are updated to 10.7, not on 9.x, or it may break or bug out your EmuNAND. There's now a neat little method to natively patch your home menu to be region free. So for example if you use ReiNand, this means GBA VC, DS Carts and region free all in one CFW - a first timer on N3DS. No more need to use rxTools for region free. I assume this will be included in the all the next CFW updates anyway, but in the meantime you can do it yourself, it's easy. It would be advised to make an EmuNAND backup before doing this, in case you mess something up. When you're good to go, follow these steps:

Go to that iso site and find the thread called [MEGA] Patched Home Menu/NS with region-free built in (arm9loaderhax or EmuNAND only)

Download the home menu for your region

no spoof means it might get updated via next System Update

spoof means the version number is patched high so it doesn't get updated

Place the cia on your microSD and install it using FBI, setting the destination to NAND

Reboot your device.

That's it, you can now play out of region games without using NTR or freemultipatcher.

ReiNand and Cakes finally made GBA VC working again in EmuNAND, but there are some things that need to be considered. First of all, the 3DS reboots into the GBA firmware when GBA VC is started and that is why GBA VC always needs to be installed to both SysNAND and EmuNAND. Secondly, there are only few legit VC games and these are the ambassador games that are unique to each region. Luckily there are methods to inject roms into the VC software, so virtually any game is possible, but you will need a special patch to play injected games.

You will need the following:

AGB_FIRM-PatchedV1-0004013820000202.cia from that iso site

make sure you grab the correct version, they are different for O3DS and N3DS!

Copy the patched AGB to your microSD and enter SysNAND with Pasta.

Open FBI and press L to select Destination NAND. Then try to install the AGB file. It will tell you that the title already exists and asks if you want to delete it. Do it. If installing the patched file then fails (like it did for me), just try installing again and it will finish.

Now change destination to SD again and install your GBA VC .cia file.

You need to repeat these two steps in EmuNAND now. So boot into your CFW, install the AGB to NAND and the GBA VC .cia to SD.

Now your GBA VC game should appear and can be started from Home Menu.

Keep in mind that GBA VC Games always need to be installed to SysNAND and EmuNAND.

Remember that for ReiNand and Cakes out-of-region files will need freemultipatcher to patch the home menu region free, otherwise they won't appear. This counts for legit ambassador games as well as for injected VC. You can also make your own injected GBA VC, see here for more.

Help I don't have FBI in my EmuNAND!
If you for some reason don't have FBI in your EmuNAND, because you forgot to restore your backup, accidentally installed it to destination NAND and not SD or similar, you can use this tutorial to inject FBI into Health and Safety app.

3D is not working in EmuNAND!
Feb 29 2016: This was fixed now in the latest builds of all CFW! If you are using an older build, update or read on: without the fix there is a 3D bug in EmuNAND, which shows you two offset images instead of a 3D image. This happens everytime you start your N3DS after it was completely shut down. Just close and open the lid of your N3DS once and it's fixed.

I can't enter eShop! Error 022-2634! My NNID doesn't work!
There are to ways to fix this. See this post or this post for the methods.

After updating EmuNAND it is stuck or freezes on Preparing Home Screen!
That is most likely a faulty Menuhax still in your EmuNAND. Restore your EmuNAND backup which you hopefully created before, enter Homebrew Launcher out of EmuNAND and uninstall Menuhax. Then update again.

Can I use various CFW next to each other?
A CFW like ReiNand, rxTools, Cakes only runs in the consoles' RAM. So yes, you can just use whatever CFW you like and even switch between them, just restart the console and select another one in CtrBootManager.

Some games don't appear in CFW or How do I run out-of-region titles that are not patched region-free?
ReiNand and Cakes don't patch region free yet, rxTools does. There's a new method out to patch your home menu region free permanently. See the newly added section Patching Home Menu Region Free for that.

How can I change themes?
Don't change themes via Quick Settings in SysNAND. This breaks MenuHax and you will have to set it up again. You can use Quick Settings to change themes in EmuNAND. To change themes in SysNAND, use CHMM in Homebrew Launcher. You can also find Themes as installable .cia files on the usual sources.

How can I get eShop access?
If you go to the latest EmuNAND, you can access eShop for now until a new firmware comes. If you are on a lower EmuNAND, check out Xenon Hacks' tutorial on how to spoof eShop access.

How do I update games?
If you have eShop access, you can update via eShop. Game updates are also available as .cia files on the pages and boards where you can find games. Just install them with FBI like you would install a game and your game is instantly updated and ready to go online again. If you are not on the latest EmuNAND, pay attention that some updates need to be cryptofixed for now to work. You can absolutely not update them with eshop, you will need the fixed .cia versions. You'll know when you run across one of those when your game just freezes with a black screen. If that happens, find a fixed .cia, install that and it will work again.

How can I generate xorpads?
Xorpads are needed to convert .3ds to .cia. The tool decrypt9 by d0k3 allows you to do that. Paste it to your \3ds folder and run it out of Homebrew Launcher.

DS Flashcard doesn't work in EmuNAND!
If your DS flashcard throws "An Error has occured", it was probably blocked by some update. You can patch the Whitelist to have it work again. Find a tutorial on how to do so on that iso site by searching for Proper Old DS Cart Enable. Remember that you only ReiNand and Cakes support DS out of EmuNAND, rxTools doesn't.

How can I move that whole stuff onto a new microSD?
To switch your whole setup to a new or bigger microSD, follow this tutorial by @Zaazu

How do I update my CFW?
Just replace your folders on microSD with the ones from newer packages. If new firmware files are needed, make sure to also replace them. Maybe make a backup of your old one before or rename it, in case something doesn't work.

How do I launch Homebrew Launcher out of EmuNAND?
To start Homebrew Launcher directly out of EmuNAND, use this .cia Launcher.

I have constant notifications asking me to update the firmware!
See last bulletpoint in Beginner's Advice.

Once your EmuNAND runs stable, make an EmuNAND backup. You can do this also with EmuNAND9 under EmuNAND Manager Options and Dump EmuNAND to EmuNAND.bin. With this done you can easily restore it in case you mess something up in EmuNAND.

If you have the space on your hard drive, I would suggest making occasional backups of your whole microSD in case it breaks. Do it like every two weeks or so. The tool HDD Raw Copy allows you to clone the whole microSD including all partitions (and so including EmuNAND) and you can restore it back completely.

Go into SysNAND and create three fake Internet connections. Just click manual setup, set the SSID to something that doesn't exist (like fake1, fake2, fake3) and type in any password. EmuNAND will take over those but you can change the first one to a working connection, so you will have Internet in EmuNAND but not in SysNAND. This will prevent avoidable dangers like updating your SysNAND by accident.

At the moment we can use the latest EmuNAND. If at any point we are locked out again like it was with 9.5 or if you want to prevent updating for some other reason, read the following advice.

Avoid putting your device to sleep while on EmuNAND and being connected to the internet. This can initiate an update download in the background, resulting in constant messages that ask you to update. If you by accident happen upon that message (like I did literally the same day I set up my N3DS), you can follow these instructions by d0k3 to get rid of it again. It's done in two minutes, but still easily avoidable.

If you have the knowledge how to do so, you could also block access to the update servers in your router. This will entirely take any chance your N3DS could ever receive an unwanted update while being in your home network, but will also block eShop access. But if you don't need that, go ahead and block them. Here are the server names.

For added security you can use TubeHax DNS to prevent update access. Find out how to set it on smealum's HomebrewLauncher page at the point that says YouTube.

If you have any contributions, please let me know.

03/16/2016 added home menu region free patch
03/04/2016 fixed rxTools links
02/23/2016 fixed Cakes links
02/17/2016 added lesshax payload
02/11/2016 rxTools added
01/28/2016 added new boot.cfg with theme offsets
01/23/2016 added GBA VC
01/21/2016 started adding screenshots
01/20/2016 replaced unlinking with TinyFormat
01/18/2016 added Cakes, updated ReiNand
01/14/2016 switched to ReinNnd, added 10.3 EmuNAND update
01/12/2016 added FAQ, added microSD backup
01/07/2016 replaced the tool for formatting microSD with an easier one
01/06/2016 minor additions and improvements
01/04/2016 overhauled formatting, added Gateway as alternative for EmuNAND setup and older rxTools build as alternative if something doesn't work
12/29/2015 replaced Gateway EmuNAND setup with EmuNAND9
12/27/2015 switched to latest rxTools Nightly (12-05)
12/19/2015 replaced FBI injection into H&S with installation to SysNAND
12/12/2015 initial release

I have one rather minor problem after following this guide. More often than not the BootManager flashes between the normal menu and a screen saying Err: Cannot Load Arm9 Payload.

Is there some way to fix this? It doesn't prevent me from choosing CFW, but it's annoying.

wurstpistole · Mar 20, 2016

regnad said:
I have one rather minor problem after following this guide. More often than not the BootManager flashes between the normal menu and a screen saying Err: Cannot Load Arm9 Payload.

Is there some way to fix this? It doesn't prevent me from choosing CFW, but it's annoying.

As you can see from the very first sentence, above the tutorial: I don't have A9LH, it is not part of the tutorial, I do not intend to include it yet and as such I do not know why you have problems with arm9. It's not part of my tutorial.

regnad · Mar 20, 2016

wurstpistole said:
As you can see from the very first sentence, above the tutorial: I don't have A9LH, it is not part of the tutorial, I do not intend to include it yet and as such I do not know why you have problems with arm9. It's not part of my tutorial.

My 3DS doesn't have A9HL either. I have no intention of using that exploit. I followed this guide, and I have EmuNAND and Cakes.

I have no idea why BootManager is looking for it, and I'd like it to not do this if possible.

wurstpistole · Mar 20, 2016

Then I would say you accidentally installed the a9lh version of ctrbootmanager.

regnad · Mar 20, 2016

wurstpistole said:
Then I would say you accidentally installed the a9lh version of ctrbootmanager.

I figured it out!

It was set to ReiNAND as default still, but I have Cakes.

Apparently it tries to load A9LH if it can't find the CFW it has set to default?

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