I am 99% positive that all refurbished 3DS or 3DS XL at GameStop have 6.x or newer.
When someone trades in a 3DS, they send it to a GameStop facility where they update it, wipe the memory, then repackage it with some accessories and call it refurbished or recharged. I actually went there several months ago (like, back in September? Or whenever the Gateway came out) and asked them to check one in the store for me, it was on 6.1 or so. And the guy told me they're all around the same age so they'd all be updated.
I suppose your only chance if you want a refurbished unit is if someone traded it in a year ago, then it would have been "updated" to 4.5 or so.
However, if they won't let you check the firmware in the store, just buy it and take it back to a different store (or wait until a different person is at the register at your store, you don't want to piss someone off). They have a 30 day guarantee on all their refurb systems and their policy says you can return it for any reason - if they give you a hassle about it though, just tell them you bought it as a Christmas gift for your brother and it turns out he already bought one himself. Something like that. Don't mention firmware. (Though when the guy at my local store let me check the firmware without buying it, I told him what a Gateway 3DS was, since obviously he realized I wanted low firmware for hacking purposes)
If you're after a regular 3DS and not an XL, definitely go after a bundle if you can find one new in box. Those have a lesser chance of being re-released.
--Edit--
They don't. But Target has XLs on sale for $150 this week, which is actually less than a refurbished 3DS at GameStop (You might want to be careful though, I got a 6.1 from Target, it was the last blue one the had in stock... definitely check that before buying)
When someone trades in a 3DS, they send it to a GameStop facility where they update it, wipe the memory, then repackage it with some accessories and call it refurbished or recharged. I actually went there several months ago (like, back in September? Or whenever the Gateway came out) and asked them to check one in the store for me, it was on 6.1 or so. And the guy told me they're all around the same age so they'd all be updated.
I suppose your only chance if you want a refurbished unit is if someone traded it in a year ago, then it would have been "updated" to 4.5 or so.
However, if they won't let you check the firmware in the store, just buy it and take it back to a different store (or wait until a different person is at the register at your store, you don't want to piss someone off). They have a 30 day guarantee on all their refurb systems and their policy says you can return it for any reason - if they give you a hassle about it though, just tell them you bought it as a Christmas gift for your brother and it turns out he already bought one himself. Something like that. Don't mention firmware. (Though when the guy at my local store let me check the firmware without buying it, I told him what a Gateway 3DS was, since obviously he realized I wanted low firmware for hacking purposes)
If you're after a regular 3DS and not an XL, definitely go after a bundle if you can find one new in box. Those have a lesser chance of being re-released.
--Edit--
All right. Thanks. Hopefully I'll get lucky. I didn't know Walmart and Target sold refurbished 3ds's. I'll let ya know tomorrow if I got the right one.
They don't. But Target has XLs on sale for $150 this week, which is actually less than a refurbished 3DS at GameStop (You might want to be careful though, I got a 6.1 from Target, it was the last blue one the had in stock... definitely check that before buying)