which means i cant have the menuhax autoboot setup if i stay on this firmware? or is there another way for that on 8.10You can't install menuhax on 8.1, but you can use the browser entry point to install CFW. It's what I did when I was on 7 point something. You can use the tutorial that Woody8275 linked.
You could use sysupdater to just update to 9.2.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-upgrade-your-old3ds-from-4-1-8-1-to-9-2-0-20.389187/
Will save you an extra step and the frustration of trying to downgrade.
makes sense but i cant seem to get browserhax to work on 8.10 freezes at gray screen
i can get the yellow screen to pop up but it freezes at the next oneTry these steps:
1. Open browser settings and clear cookies, reset savedata.
2. Close browser and turn off wifi.
3. Hit L + R to open camera, tap the QR button, and scan the code here. Let it load the browser and it will say connection error.
4. Hit home, turn on wifi, and open browser again. Should load a webpage. Zoom in close and look in the top left and there will be a slider bar. Tap it on the far right end.
If it doesn't work, reboot and repeat all the steps. It can be tricky on old3ds.
i can get the yellow screen to pop up but it freezes at the next one
been trying for liek a hour now really frustratingI was helping my brother and I think he kept having the same issue. Just had to keep trying. I saw somewhere someone suggested to spam A as its loading the exploit but I dunno if that actually helps. Could try recopying the boot.3dsx back onto the SD. May have got corrupted somehow.