Installing boot9strap (menuhax)

For support in English, ask for help at Nintendo Homebrew on Discord.
If you appreciate this guide, we accept Donations.
Technical Details (optional)

We use BannerBomb3 to install menuhax67, which lets us access the Homebrew Launcher. From there, we launch nimdsphax which launches SafeB9SInstaller.

See here for information about nimdsphax and here for information about menuhax67.

What You Need

  • The latest release of SafeB9SInstaller (direct download)
  • The latest release of boot9strap (direct download)
  • The latest release of nimdsphax (direct download)
  • The latest release of Luma3DS (the Luma3DS .zip file)

Section I - Prep Work

  1. Power off your console
  2. Insert your SD card into your computer
  3. Copy boot.firm and boot.3dsx from the Luma3DS .zip to the root of your SD card
  4. Create a folder named boot9strap on the root of your SD card
  5. Copy boot9strap.firm and boot9strap.firm.sha from the boot9strap .zip to the /boot9strap/ folder on your SD card
  6. Copy SafeB9SInstaller.bin from the SafeB9SInstaller .zip to the root of your SD card
  7. Create a folder named 3ds on the root of your SD card if it does not already exist
    • This folder stores homebrew applications and data; it is different from the Nintendo 3DS folder that the console automatically generates
  8. Copy the nimdsphax folder from the nimdsphax .zip to the /3ds/ folder on your SD card
  9. Reinsert your SD card into your console

Section II - menuhax67

In this section you will use the menuhax67 exploit installed earlier to launch nimdsphax, which will load SafeB9SInstaller.

  1. Power on your console
  2. Tap on the small HOME Menu settings icon in the top left of the bottom screen ()
    • If the console freezes for a while and then crashes, make sure you have Launcher.dat on the root of your SD card
  3. If the exploit was successful, your console will have booted into the Homebrew Launcher
  4. Launch nimdsphax from the list of homebrew
  5. If the exploit was successful, you will have booted into SafeB9SInstaller
    • If your console freezes on a red screen, hold the POWER button until it turns off, then retry this section

Section III - Installing boot9strap

In this section, you will install custom firmware onto your console.

  1. When prompted, input the key combo given on the top screen to install boot9strap
  2. Once it is complete, press (A) to reboot your console
  3. Your console should have booted into the Luma3DS configuration menu
    • Luma3DS configuration menu are settings for the Luma3DS custom firmware. Many of these settings may be useful for customization or debugging
    • For the purpose of this guide, leave these options on the default settings (do not check or uncheck anything)
    • If your console shuts down when you try to power it on, ensure that you have copied boot.firm from the Luma3DS .zip to the root of your SD card
  4. Press (Start) to save and reboot

Section IV - Removing menuhax67

In this section, you will trigger the BannerBomb3 exploit a second time so that you can uninstall the menuhax67 exploit you installed in Section II. This will allow you to use the HOME Menu settings normally again.

  1. Launch System Settings on your console
  2. Navigate to Data Management -> DSiWare -> SD Card (image)
  3. Use the D-Pad to navigate and press the (A) button to select “Uninstall *hax”
    • Your console will automatically reboot
  4. Power off your console
  5. Insert your SD card into your computer
  6. Navigate to Nintendo 3DS -> <ID0> -> <ID1> -> Nintendo DSiWare on your SD card
  7. Delete F00D43D5.bin from your Nintendo DSiWare folder and from your computer. This file will not be needed anymore

At this point, your console will boot to Luma3DS by default.

  • Luma3DS does not look any different from the normal HOME Menu. If your console has booted into the HOME Menu, it is running custom firmware.
  • On the next page, you will install useful homebrew applications to complete your setup.

Continue to Finalizing Setup