It appears that users are being banned from 3DS online services, en masse. There's no direct cause right now, and seemingly no linking factor. This post is meant as an announcement for users, to be wary, and that GBAtemp will keep you updated as soon as more info rolls in. If you have been banned, please post in the thread below, and we will try to keep tabs on the situation. To be extra sure, it can't hurt to turn off your 3DS's wireless capabilities, so you might as well do that for now.

Edit 1: it appears that e-Shop access isn't restricted if you are banned.

Edit 2: A caller to Nintendo reported that the company said this ban is due to "unauthorized software usage".

Edit 3: @LinkSoraZelda is collecting info. Contact him if you are banned.

Edit 4: Click and fill this out if you were BANNED.

Edit 5:

[11:28:19 PM] Clector: Curiously the page of that error in Nintendo Support website used to have this:Error Code: 002-0102 Situation: You receive the error code 002-0102 when attempting to connect online. What to Do: If you continue to experience this issue, please contact Nintendo by calling 1-800-255-3700. Representatives are available from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Pacific Time, 7 days a week.
[11:28:44 PM] Clector: Now it says this: What to Do: If you are experiencing this error code, your Nintendo 3DS family system has been banned due to unauthorized system modifications, play of unauthorized versions of one or more games, and/or connecting to the official game servers in violation of our terms of service. This ban is effective immediately and requests to remove the ban will not be processed.

Thanks to @Joom

Edit 6: Aurora Wright is taking another poll here

Edit 7: Not a lot is known but

There are bans happening, they are happening in all regions.
All models in the 3ds family seem to be candidates for banning.
There is no indication they will be anything other than permanent.
A game or DLC may end up being a cause but there is no one game or DLC that ties banned users together.
The cause or causes are as yet unknown, though it does seem to be related to modifications. Reports of unmodified consoles being banned are as yet unproven.
The banning is tied to something you can modify, thus you can unban. Doing it while the causes are unknown is likely only going to burn a working token though.
There are semi public tokens out there, Nintendo knows how to browse a forum as well as you so don't be surprised if they also get banned.
It does not seem to be limited to a given base firmware version, it does not seem to be limited to any one custom firmware type. There is some speculation that older hacking methods are not being hit as hard but nothing to confirm this yet.
The data collection could have happened this morning, or it could have been months in the making.
A simple check to see is checking your friends list, by itself it will not ban you.
Some are turning their wifi off. It is doubtful this will be of much use and being banned does not seem to come with any downsides that wifi being off will not also mimic.
You may have escaped a ban thus far but it could happen at any point. It could be that they stop in the future, it has happened on other consoles, but you would be living in hope rather than any particularly well founded logic.
The bans are done on the side of Nintendo's servers rather than your 3ds so there is also that.

If you hack your devices/games then their online functionality may be troubled. This has been known for decades, Nintendo seems to have finally caught up with that.

Please continue to share information with the thread or the links in previous edits.

Update 5/30

HOW TO HELP AVOID BANS (we think)​

If I was to guess from the information we have gathered since the ban wave, it seems likely that they are looking for TitleIDs that don't exist. Homebrew shows up in the activity log as the Download Play app, and fake CIA's show up as just ??????. That last one is what I'm guessing they are looking for.

If you are not banned yet or before you unban yourself, go into your friends list, choose settings, and turn off the option to "show friends what game you are playing." This will prevent you from playing games online with friends, so turn it back on when you wanna game with someone, but ALWAYS keep it off when running custom CIAs. Next, go into system settings -> internet settings -> spotpass, and turn off BOTH options. One is auto download software, the other sends system information to Nintendo. Also, make sure you don't have your favorite title set to something stupid like FBI or any other non-Nintendo CIA.

Its VERY likely that these options are what tipped off Nintendo, but we aren't 100% certain yet. The amount of banned people that had one of these options turned on was over 80% for each. If I was to assume that some of those people overlap, its very possible (but not confirmed) that 100% of banned people in the survey had at least one of those options turned on. I personally had all of them off and I have TONS of reasons for Nintendo to ban me.... yet I am not banned (yet).

Another bit of advice: Only run custom CIAs when offline, and after you close them, run a "legit" game like Smash Bros. or something before shutting down or going back online. This way your most recent title won't show up as a fake CIA

Current Theories as to what causes a ban
​

* SpotPass Settings: 8 users out of 46 users that were banned have SpotPass completely shut off, or SpotPass only (no friends list visibility)
* Firmware Version (Luma, Nintendo): Literally all reports ranged from 10.2+, I can get exact numbers for this if you'd like, but all firmwares were affected.
* Firmware Type (A9LH, B9S): 44 of the 126 B9S users that answered were banned, pattern was mirrored for A9LH users as well.
* Homebrew Titles such as FBI, HBL, Luma Updater, Themely, and freeShop: Literally about 98% of users both banned and unbanned had some combination of these applications installed. However the common ones were: FBI, HBL, LumaUpdater and NTR.
* Save Modification: Equal amounts of users on both sides have reported save modification in some form, either with PKSM or another save editor
* System Transfers: 188 users said that they had not previously system transfered, 61 of those users were banned; 16 users said they transferred from a hacked console, only three of them received a ban; 13 said they transferred from a stock system and likewise were banned. The rest of our sample did not answer this question.
* Activity Log Information: A majority of those who have not been banned have said they had NOT cleaned their activity logs. I can get exact numbers for this too on request.

This information is just what I've found. Like I said, there could be variables or things we haven't even checked for yet. But these are things that I feel should be disproven, at least with the current dataset we have.

• From the information that we've gathered from some people that have used a packet sniffer such as WireShark, the following data is sent to Nintendo's online gaming servers as soon as the 3DS connects to the internet:
  • Amount of time spent online (timer stops when either the system is disconnected from the internet, or connection drops out, then starts the timer again in a new session when it reconnects to the internet).
  • The game being played and amount of time spent on it during that session.
  • The console's unique hexadecimal ID used in the LocalFriendCodeSeedB, along with it's RSA-signed signature.
  • The console's serial number in which is broadcasted from the SoC and is hard coded in the SoC.
  • Friend Code generated on the Nintendo 3DS system, if one has been generated.
  • Internet connection status (either online or offline).
  • The Nintendo Network ID, if there is one linked to it.
  • Even if the sending of SpotPass Information is switched off, or even hiding your currently playing games. It does not prevent the system from sending currently playing information to Nintendo's online gaming servers, it only hides it from your friends in your friend list (like being invisible on the forum, while mods and admins can still see you). Why? Because even people without a Friend Code on their system have been getting banned too!

• The following data is NOT sent to Nintendo's online gaming servers:
  • The data from the Nintendo 3DS's Activity Log. Oddly enough, while Nintendo does explicitly state that they collect Activity Log data, they're actually referring to their own server's Activity Log, which always tracks every console's online activity, and keeps a record of them that is stored forever. And is only collected in increments of data through a timer and a currently playing list.
    
  • Games or apps that have not been played, regardless if they're legitimate or not. You only get tracked when you're online and using that game or app.
  • Using games or apps while offline. Even though it is stored on the 3DS console's Activity Log, that data is NOT sent to Nintendo's online gaming servers.
  • Custom Firmware. Though we can't rule out the possibility of them releasing a 3DS update in the future that adds such function to collect MD5 hashes of files and FIRM data and send them to Nintendo online gaming servers (which would also be updated in a maintenance).

• Things that people think what happens with consoles, but really doesn't:
  • "LocalFriendCodeSeedB is transferred to the system upon doing a system transfer". This is false, the LocalFriendCodeSeedB remains on the system and does not move to another system.
  • "The console generates a LocalFriendCodeSeedB upon first startup". Again, this is false, the LocalFriendCodeSeedB is made during the manufacturing process at Foxconn. It is generated at the factory, flashed to the NAND flash memory storage, then created as an account on Nintendo's online gaming server and Nintendo eShop server immediately when being manufactured. It is absolutely impossible to generate a LocalFriendCodeSeedB and be able to connect to Nintendo's online gaming server and/or Nintendo eShop server, even if you knew the RSA generation key for it. You'd end up with Error Code 002-0102 "This console's online services have been restricted by Nintendo" if you even tried (the error can either mean two things: The hexadecimal ID doesn't exist on the server, or the request to access the hexadecimal ID has been denied which in other words... banned). So a LocalFriendCodeSeedB generator will NEVER happen! Because it's not worth doing, if it can't connect.
  • Switching off "Currently Playing" information. Once again, this does not hide your online activity from Nintendo's online gaming server, it only hides it from your friends.
  • Switching off SpotPass. Nope, this too doesn't hide your online activity from Nintendo's online gaming server, it only opts-out of receiving SpotPass data, sorry.

So pretty much the bottom line is, if anyone has been using custom apps and/or titles not installed through Nintendo eShop while online in the past, guess what? You're screwed! And it is only a matter of time before your console's unique hexadecimal ID in the LocalFriendCodeSeedB is banned from Nintendo's online gaming server. This will mean, your console can't access the Friend List or play any online functions in games.

If you have been online while using custom apps and/or titles not installed through Nintendo eShop and haven't been banned yet, that's because Nintendo hasn't caught up to you yet. They're still going through each unique hexadecimal ID's Activity Log on their server, and by Activity Log, I mean the Activity Log on their server, not the 3DS console's activity log. And it will be only a matter of time before you're banned too.

Thanks to @Platinum Lucario @MadMageKefka and @ShadowEO !

 

[Reaga]

Im reading these and seeing some of the precautions, and just wondering "well, you might as well just not install hacks instead"

my favorite quote that describes the kind of protection that people want:

"whats the safest way to go skiing? don't ski."

Meh, I haven't been banned yet. And I'm blatantly using hacks.

 

[TimX24968B]

Meh, I haven't been banned yet. And I'm blatantly using hacks.

I haven't had a reason to even pick up my 3ds within the past few months, anwyay.

 

[petethepug]

This thread is like, over 90000 replies.
To much reading for me.

I wouldn't even be able to find my own post in here if I searched all the pages lol.

 

[DChronos]

I just picked my 3DS up for the first time in months and see this, is this still happening or what?

 

[petethepug]

I just picked my 3DS up for the first time in months and see this, is this still happening or what?

It kind of is still, but everything in here is just speculation. No ones knows how a ban is triggered,
The bans come in go as they please. The latest ban wave was May 2017 and just kind of stopped from there.

I wouldn't be worried to be completely honest, just make sure you turn off "Show friends what your playing" in friends list, and turn off the obvious setting in system settings "Send System Information to Nintendo." & "Send Gameplay Information to Nintendo" if you have any titles that have that function .

In other words your good for the most part, if you do get banned there's a way around it to so there's literally no risk for playing online.

 

[RustInPeace]

The bans come in go as they please.

On that note, one of my N3DS XLs got re-banned this morning. I'm guessing like the other two, being a special case, it'll be a 28 day one. I guess I was online for too long (didn't feel like that to me), because previous bans happened after keeping a console online through Pokemon SM's Festival Plaza for well over 4 hours. It's funny too because yesterday I was getting tired of continuously putting the console to sleep only to go back online to do a GTS request. Look what happens for doing that less. If my other N3DS serving a ban currently is also temporary, it's due to be done on Sunday morning. My dream of having all 3 N3DS XLs unbanned continues to be just that.

 

[DChronos]

It kind of is still, but everything in here is just speculation. No ones knows how a ban is triggered,
The bans come in go as they please. The latest ban wave was May 2017 and just kind of stopped from there.

I wouldn't be worried to be completely honest, just make sure you turn off "Show friends what your playing" in friends list, and turn off the obvious setting in system settings "Send System Information to Nintendo." & "Send Gameplay Information to Nintendo" if you have any titles that have that function .

In other words your good for the most part, if you do get banned there's a way around it to so there's literally no risk for playing online.

I only turned my 3DS on to get the pokemon Sun and Moon mystery gift codes dealt with, which I had no problem with before when using httpwn.... now it says a system update is required so I can't, then I came here to find out about that latest update stuff for homebrew just to get it done and thought about making a backup, updating, then restoring the backup... then I see this.

Last time I used my system was probably in February, also just to get a mystery gift.

Thing is, I checked and saw that I had the "show Friends what I'm playing" thing on, which I must have done about then, so it was on when I opened HBL and turned my internet on for the 30 seconds I turn it on for just before running httpwn and closing HBL.

Here I was hoping I could just update to the b9s or whatever since I think I'm still on 11.2... but now I don't know for sure if I even want to let my 3DS update to the latest firmware for the pokemon mystery gifts.


EDIT: Also, this is my main 3DS I have everything on, hence why I'm so worried. I thought things were good to go after a9lh and I wouldn't need to worry anymore.

 

[petethepug]

I had no problem with before when using httpwn.... now it says a system update is required

That's normal, it happened to me as well on my 3ds. Others have reported it happening to,
Its been patched and there might be a fix coming out.

Thing is, I checked and saw that I had the "show Friends what I'm playing" thing on, which I must have done about then, so it was on when I opened HBL and turned my internet on for the 30 seconds I turn it on for just before running httpwn and closing HBL.

Again, its not because you didn't have that disabled. Its just because Nintendo patched a vulnerability or something, online services should still work its just that some will be limited.

Here I was hoping I could just update to the b9s or whatever since I think I'm still on 11.2... but now I don't know for sure if I even want to let my 3DS update to the latest firmware for the pokemon mystery gifts.

Its really up to you if you want to update, all I heard about on FW's above 11.4 is that Nintendo patches some more stuff with CTR-HTTPWN on some reddit thread I saw, I haven't been on 11.5 so I can't say for sure if this is true at all.
If you do want to update to the latest firmware but want to go back in time to your old firmware eventually, make a nand backup using GodMode9 of your current FW and then update your 3ds to the latest FW.

If you don't want to update you can also just use PKSM to get the Pokémon Mystery Gift, I think they have those in the application.

On that note, one of my N3DS XLs got re-banned this morning. I'm guessing like the other two, being a special case, it'll be a 28 day one. I guess I was online for too long (didn't feel like that to me), because previous bans happened after keeping a console online through Pokemon SM's Festival Plaza for well over 4 hours. It's funny too because yesterday I was getting tired of continuously putting the console to sleep only to go back online to do a GTS request. Look what happens for doing that less. If my other N3DS serving a ban currently is also temporary, it's due to be done on Sunday morning. My dream of having all 3 N3DS XLs unbanned continues to be just that.

The bans are only 30 days?
I thought they lasted forever, no?

 

[RustInPeace]

T

The bans are only 30 days?
I thought they lasted forever, no?

I should've emphasized the term "special case," I don't actually qualify for these permabans, weirdly. 28 days for me, and apparently just me alone.

 

[DChronos]

That's normal, it happened to me as well on my 3ds. Others have reported it happening to,
Its been patched and there might be a fix coming out.

Again, its not because you didn't have that disabled. Its just because Nintendo patched a vulnerability or something, online services should still work its just that some will be limited.

Its really up to you if you want to update, all I heard about on FW's above 11.4 is that Nintendo patches some more stuff with CTR-HTTPWN on some reddit thread I saw, I haven't been on 11.5 so I can't say for sure if this is true at all.

My 3DS is still on 11.2, I hadn't updated from the latest a9lh from around february, either, or maybe it was march or april. At the time, b9s was announced but hush hush and there was only a guide to prep your system for it, now I see it's officially out?

Still, I would want to use httpwn to avoid other potential dead-end updates but still have the ability to use the online stuff without the forced update, especially for Pokebank.

If you do want to update to the latest firmware but want to go back in time to your old firmware eventually, make a nand backup using GodMode9 of your current FW and then update your 3ds to the latest FW.

The reason I wanted to do that is because the last I knew, 11.3+ firmware killed the ability to downgrade to be able to install cfw, but again, the guide now says he latest firmware can have cfw installed. I'm still checking it out. I also joined the dischord server to try asking 2 quick things there.

 

[Khim09]

Can I hit you with my squeaky hammer instead?

if it's squeaky then I wouldn't mind, lol.

Wow. 499 pages of responses. I'm going to say this in the nicest way possible but, you need a life.

But I really wanted to learn how to avoid ban without uninstalling every HB and CFW.

 

[Skyline969]

Have there been any reports of people being banned strictly from using Ninjhax/other game-based entrypoints to launch emulators and other homebrew without ever installing CFW, running HANS, using save editors, or anything of that ilk?

 

[Reaga]

My 3DS is still on 11.2, I hadn't updated from the latest a9lh from around february, either, or maybe it was march or april. At the time, b9s was announced but hush hush and there was only a guide to prep your system for it, now I see it's officially out?

Still, I would want to use httpwn to avoid other potential dead-end updates but still have the ability to use the online stuff without the forced update, especially for Pokebank.




The reason I wanted to do that is because the last I knew, 11.3+ firmware killed the ability to downgrade to be able to install cfw, but again, the guide now says he latest firmware can have cfw installed. I'm still checking it out. I also joined the dischord server to try asking 2 quick things there.

Well, 11.2 can install CFW anyway, right? What are you waiting for? And get B9S, it's basically unpatchable. Once the CFW is on, they can't realistically remove it.

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

Have there been any reports of people being banned strictly from using Ninjhax/other game-based entrypoints to launch emulators and other homebrew without ever installing CFW, running HANS, using save editors, or anything of that ilk?

None so far. All bans have been on CFW systems utilizing .cia homebrew applications and/or cheating online. So far regular HBL is safe, in fact that's why the suggested precautions have been suggested.

They suggest turning off displaying the latest title played to friends, sending spotpass info to Nintendo, and some prefer to inject the HBL cia into Health and Safety so it doesn't show.

This is because running HBL through Ninjhax/OoThax/whatever just shows you using the app in question (Cubic Ninja, OoT, etc). Using .3dsx apps shows as DS download play, but .CIA apps show themselves and (more importantly) their non-registered Title ID.

So no, your use of Ninjhax and .3dsx apps is not likely to get you banned unless you run up to Nintendo and tell them you do it.

 

[Khim09]

Well, 11.2 can install CFW anyway, right? What are you waiting for? And get B9S, it's basically unpatchable. Once the CFW is on, they can't realistically remove it.

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

This is because running HBL through Ninjhax/OoThax/whatever just shows you using the app in question (Cubic Ninja, OoT, etc). Using .3dsx apps shows as DS download play, but .CIA apps show themselves and (more importantly) their non-registered Title ID.

So no, your use of Ninjhax and .3dsx apps is not likely to get you banned unless you run up to Nintendo and tell them you do it.

Meaning to say it is safer to use .3dsx than the .cia HB?

 

[Reaga]

Meaning to say it is safer to use .3dsx than the .cia HB?

In theory, yes. They can't prove you aren't actually really into a particular Download Play game. That said, not all HB can be limited to .3dsx, there's some functions a .3dsx can't really access all that well. At least that was the case when I first looked up the difference, maybe the onset of B9S has changed that.

 

[Khim09]

In theory, yes. They can't prove you aren't actually really into a particular Download Play game. That said, not all HB can be limited to .3dsx, there's some functions a .3dsx can't really access all that well. At least that was the case when I first looked up the difference, maybe the onset of B9S has changed that.

I see, thanks. But at least I can minimize usage of .cia HB and sacrifice some seconds of my life launching DL Play > close DL Play > HBL

 

[Reaga]

I see, thanks. But at least I can minimize usage of .cia HB and sacrifice some seconds of my life launching DL Play > close DL Play > HBL

You're not really launching Download Play (though you could inject the HBL into there if you want and aren't actually going to use the original app). It's just what the usage statistics sent to Nintendo shows for some reason when using a .3dsx app like the HBL-version of PKSM.

But yeah, if a ban worries you inject HBL into an app (I still recommend Health and Safety, that's even less useful than Download Play), and then launching H&S will launch the HBL. So you're really just sacrificing the initial injection time.

 

[Khim09]

You're not really launching Download Play (though you could inject the HBL into there if you want and aren't actually going to use the original app). It's just what the usage statistics sent to Nintendo shows for some reason when using a .3dsx app like the HBL-version of PKSM.

But yeah, if a ban worries you inject HBL into an app (I still recommend Health and Safety, that's even less useful than Download Play), and then launching H&S will launch the HBL. So you're really just sacrificing the initial injection time.

I see, will try to do that. How I am launching the HBL is to run DL Play > Press combo to inject HBL temporary > Close DL Play > Launch DL Play again (DL Play becomes HBL til I close)

Well your suggestion injecting HBL to H&S will save me more time than to repeat DL Play process every time I want to launch HBL.

edit: Do we have .3dsx version of savedatafiler?

 

[Reaga]

I see, will try to do that. How I am launching the HBL is to run DL Play > Press combo to inject HBL temporary > Close DL Play > Launch DL Play again (launched HBL)

Well your suggestion injecting HBL to H&S will save me more time than to repeat DL Play process every time I want to launch HBL.

edit: Do we have .3dsx version of savedatafiler?

I never actually bothered to inject because I'm not to worried about the ban. I lose Smash and Pokemon online play, the former of which I own for the Wii U as well and the latter of which I've stopped caring for competitively as this gen's competitive scene is a cluster ****. So if I get banned, oh well most of my 3DS play is offline anyway.

So I'm unaware on whether injection is temporary, permanent, or both. But beyond that, you seem to have the right idea.

 

[Khim09]

I never actually bothered to inject because I'm not to worried about the ban. I lose Smash and Pokemon online play, the former of which I own for the Wii U as well and the latter of which I've stopped caring for competitively as this gen's competitive scene is a cluster ****. So if I get banned, oh well most of my 3DS play is offline anyway.

So I'm unaware on whether injection is temporary, permanent, or both. But beyond that, you seem to have the right idea.

I wanted to stay online on Pokemon, don't wanna experience ban (though there's a way around to unban, but still.) because I really love hosting live events and giving away 5IV starters, 6IV Dittos, etc.

Thank you for your suggestion.

edit: done injecting HBL to H&S.