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3DS Hacks Guide
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<li><ahref="#information-and-notes"id="markdown-toc-information-and-notes">Information and Notes</a></li>
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<h3id="required-reading">Required Reading</h3>
<p>The file <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">boot.firm</code> is what is launched by boot9strap itself after it finishes loading off of NAND. In this case, we are using Luma3DS by <ahref="https://github.com/LumaTeam/">LumaTeam</a> to patch the device, allowing it to run homebrew software.</p>
<p>On this page, we will make critical system file backups and install the following homebrew programs:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>FBI</strong><em>(installs CIA formatted applications)</em></li>
<li><strong>Checkpoint</strong><em>(backs up and restores save files for 3DS and DS games)</em></li>
<li><strong>Universal-Updater</strong><em>(a homebrew app store for downloading homebrew from the 3DS over Wi-Fi)</em></li>
<li><strong>GodMode9</strong><em>(multipurpose tool which can do NAND and cartridge functions)</em></li>
<li><strong>Homebrew Launcher Loader</strong><em>(launches the Homebrew Launcher)</em></li>
</ul>
<pclass="notice--warning">It is not recommended to skip downloading any of these applications, as many of them will be used later on this page. At the end of this page, your SD card will be cleaned up by removing unnecessary installation files.</p>
<pclass="notice--warning">If your <strong>New 3DS</strong> was on version 2.1.0 before following this guide, you should <ahref="godmode9-usage#restoring-a-nand-backup">restore your NAND backup</a> before continuing. This likely doesn’t apply to you unless you were following this guide in 2017.</p>
<pclass="notice--info">If your previous CFW setup was EmuNAND-based and you wish to move the contents of your EmuNAND/RedNAND to SysNAND, follow <ahref="move-emunand">Move EmuNAND</a> before following this page. If you don’t know what an EmuNAND is, this doesn’t apply to you.</p>
<h3id="what-you-need">What You Need</h3>
<ul>
<li>The latest release of <ahref="https://github.com/astronautlevel2/Anemone3DS/releases/latest">Anemone3DS</a> (the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.cia</code> file)</li>
<li>The v3.7.4 release of <ahref="https://github.com/BernardoGiordano/Checkpoint/releases/tag/v3.7.4">Checkpoint</a> (the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.cia</code> file)</li>
<li>The latest release of <ahref="https://github.com/mariohackandglitch/homebrew_launcher_dummy/releases/latest">Homebrew Launcher Wrapper</a> (the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.cia</code> file)</li>
<li>The latest release of <ahref="https://github.com/Universal-Team/Universal-Updater/releases/latest">Universal-Updater</a> (the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.cia</code> file)</li>
<li>The latest release of <ahref="https://github.com/Steveice10/FBI/releases/latest">FBI</a> (<strong>both</strong> the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.cia</code> and <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.3dsx</code> files)</li>
<li>The latest release of <ahref="https://github.com/d0k3/GodMode9/releases/latest">GodMode9</a> (the GodMode9 <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.zip</code> file)</li>
</ul>
<h3id="instructions">Instructions</h3>
<h4id="section-i---prep-work">Section I - Prep Work</h4>
<p>In this section, you will copy the files necessary to follow the rest of the instructions on this page.</p>
<ol>
<li>Power off your device</li>
<li>Insert your SD card into your computer</li>
<li>Create a folder named <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">cias</code> on the root of your SD card if it does not already exist</li>
<li>Copy all of the CIA files (<codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Anemone3DS.cia</code>, <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Checkpoint.cia</code>, <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">FBI.cia</code>, <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Homebrew_Launcher.cia</code>, and <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Universal-Updater.cia</code>) to the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">/cias/</code> folder on your SD card</li>
<li>Create a folder named <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">3ds</code> on the root of your SD card if it does not already exist
<ul>
<li>This folder stores homebrew applications and data; it is different from the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Nintendo 3DS</code> folder that the device automatically generates</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Copy <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">FBI.3dsx</code> to the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">/3ds/</code> folder on your SD card</li>
<li>Create a folder named <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">payloads</code> in the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">luma</code> folder on your SD card if it does not already exist</li>
<li>Copy <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">GodMode9.firm</code> from the GodMode9 <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.zip</code> to the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">/luma/payloads/</code> folder on your SD card</li>
<li>Copy the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">gm9</code> folder from the GodMode9 <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.zip</code> to the root of your SD card</li>
<li>Reinsert your SD card into your device</li>
<li>Power on your device</li>
</ol>
<p>The screenshots below indicate the minimum SD card layout that is required to follow this page. You may have extra files or folders on your SD card, depending on your previous setup or the method that you followed.</p>
<h4id="section-ii---cfw-check">Section II - CFW Check</h4>
<p>As an additional safety measure, we will perform an additional check for custom firmware. If custom firmware is not installed by this point for any reason, the next section may render your console unable to be hacked without external hardware.</p>
<ol>
<li>Power off your device</li>
<li>Hold the (Select) button</li>
<li>Power on your device while still holding the (Select) button</li>
<li>If the check was successful, your device should have booted into the Luma3DS configuration menu</li>
<li>Press (Start) to save and reboot</li>
<li>Power off your device</li>
</ol>
<pclass="notice--danger">If you do NOT boot into the Luma3DS configuration menu, custom firmware was not installed on your device. Join <ahref="https://discord.gg/MWxPgEp">Nintendo Homebrew on Discord</a> and ask, in English, for help.</p>
<h4id="section-iii---updating-the-system">Section III - Updating the System</h4>
<li>The updater may display a message saying “Your system is up to date” instead of updating. This is normal if you are already up to date; continue to the next section</li>
<li>If this gives you an error, set both your DNS settings and Proxy settings to “Auto”</li>
<p>In this section, you will temporarily replace Download Play with Homebrew Launcher (which we need to launch FBI). Download Play will automatically go back to normal once you reboot your device.</p>
<ol>
<li>Launch the Download Play application (<imgsrc="https://3ds.hacks.guide/images/download-play-icon.png"alt=""height="24px"width="24px"/>)</li>
<li>Wait until you see the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Nintendo 3DS</code> and <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Nintendo DS</code> buttons</li>
<li>Press (Left Shoulder) + (D-Pad Down) + (Select) at the same time to open the Rosalina menu</li>
<li>Select “Miscellaneous options”</li>
<li>Select “Switch the hb. title to the current app.”</li>
<li>Press (B) to continue</li>
<li>Press (B) to return to the Rosalina main menu</li>
<li>If your device is stuck on the loading splash screen, you are missing <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">boot.3dsx</code> from the root of your SD card</li>
<p>In this section, you will sync your 3DS internal clock with the actual time and dump the sound firmware (which is necesssary for some homebrew software to use sound properly).</p>
<ol>
<li>Press (Left Shoulder) + (D-Pad Down) + (Select) at the same time to open the Rosalina menu</li>
<li>Select “Miscellaneous options”</li>
<li>Select “Dump DSP firmware”</li>
<li>Press (B) to continue</li>
<li>Select “Nullify user time offset”</li>
<li>Press (B) to continue</li>
<li>Press (B) to return to the Rosalina main menu</li>
<p>In this section, you will use a script to copy some of Luma3DS’s files to internal memory so that they can be accessed, even without an SD card inserted.</p>
<ol>
<li>Power off your device</li>
<li>Press and hold (Start), and while holding (Start), power on your device. This will launch GodMode9
<ul>
<li>If you do not boot into GodMode9, ensure that <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">GodMode9.firm</code> is in <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">/luma/payloads/</code> and that <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">payloads</code> is correctly spelled</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>If you are prompted to create an essential files backup, press (A) to do so, then press (A) to continue once it has completed</li>
<li>If you are prompted to fix the RTC date&time, press (A) to do so, then set the date and time, then press (A) to continue</li>
<li>Press (Home) to bring up the action menu</li>
<li>Select “Scripts…”</li>
<li>Select “GM9Megascript”</li>
<li>Select “Scripts from Plailect’s Guide”</li>
<li>Select “Setup Luma3DS to CTRNAND”</li>
<li>When prompted, press (A) to proceed</li>
<li>Press (A) to unlock SysNAND (lvl1) writing, then input the key combo given</li>
<p>In this section, you will make backups of files that can be used to recover from software bricks or to recover data.</p>
<ol>
<li>Select “Backup Options”</li>
<li>Select “SysNAND Backup”</li>
<li>Press (A) to confirm
<ul>
<li>This process will take some time</li>
<li>If you get an error, look for your issue in the <ahref="troubleshooting#finalizing-setup">troubleshooting guide</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Press (A) to continue</li>
<li>Press (B) to return to the main menu</li>
<li>Select “Exit”</li>
<li>Press (A) to relock write permissions if prompted</li>
<li>Navigate to <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">[S:] SYSNAND VIRTUAL</code></li>
<li>Press (A) on <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">essential.exefs</code> to select it</li>
<li>Select “Copy to 0:/gm9/out”
<ul>
<li>If you see “Destination already exists”, press (A) on “Overwrite file(s)”</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Press (A) to continue</li>
<li>Press (Home) to bring up the action menu</li>
<li>Select “Poweroff system” to power off your device</li>
<li>Insert your SD card into your computer</li>
<li>Copy <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><date>_<serialnumber>_sysnand_##.bin</code>, <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><date>_<serialnumber>_sysnand_##.bin.sha</code>, and <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">essential.exefs</code> from the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">/gm9/out/</code> folder on your SD card to a safe location on your computer
<ul>
<li>Copy these backups to multiple locations (such as online file storage, an external hard drive, etc.)</li>
<li>These backups will save you from a brick and/or help you recover files from the NAND image if anything goes wrong in the future</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Delete <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><date>_<serialnumber>_sysnand_##.bin</code> and <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><date>_<serialnumber>_sysnand_##.bin.sha</code> from the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">/gm9/out/</code> folder on your SD card after copying it
<ul>
<li>The other backup files are negligible in size and may be kept on your SD card for ease of access</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>If you have it, copy the <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">/luma/backups/</code> folder on your SD card to a safe location on your computer</li>
<li>Reinsert your SD card into your device</li>
<li>Power on your device</li>
</ol>
<hr/>
<pclass="notice--success">You’re done! Custom firmware is now fully configured on your device.</p>
<pclass="notice--info">Hello! We’re looking for feedback on the overall experience of following our guide. If you’d like to help out, check out the survey <ahref="https://forms.gle/vZNoc4QLCz5MEXCK7">here</a> (only available in English). Thanks!</p>
<h3id="information-and-notes">Information and Notes</h3>
<divclass="notice--info">
<p>Here are some key combos that you should know:</p>
<ul>
<li>Holding (Select) on boot will launch the Luma3DS configuration menu.</li>
<li>Holding (Start) on boot will launch GodMode9, or if you have multiple payloads in <codeclass="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">/luma/payloads/</code>, the Luma3DS chainloader.</li>
<li>By default, pressing (Left Shoulder) + (Down D-Pad) + (Select) while in 3DS mode will open the Rosalina menu, where you can check system information, take screenshots, enable cheats, and more. This can be changed from the Rosalina menu.</li>
<li>Holding (Start) + (Select) + (X) on boot will make the notification LED show a color for debug purposes. See the <ahref="https://github.com/SciresM/boot9strap/releases/tag/1.4">changelog</a> for a list.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<pclass="notice--info">See <ahref="https://3ds.eiphax.tech/tips.html">here</a> for some suggestions on things to do with custom firmware.</p>
<pclass="notice--info">For information on using GodMode9’s various features, check out the <ahref="godmode9-usage">GodMode9 Usage</a> and <ahref="dumping-titles-and-game-cartridges">Dumping Titles and Game Cartridges</a> pages.</p>
