Installing boot9strap (safecerthax)

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Technical Details (optional)

For technical details on the exploit that you will be using on this page, see here.

Compatibility Notes

safecerthax is compatible with all Old 3DS and Old 2DS consoles in all regions on system versions 1.0.0 through 11.14.0.

This exploit will not work on the New 3DS, New 3DS XL, or New 2DS XL. Please ensure that the console you are modding is an Old 3DS, Old 3DS XL, or Old 2DS before continuing.

What You Need

Instructions

Section I - Hardware Button Check

In this section, you will see whether your shoulder buttons are working on your console. This will determine whether your console is compatible with this method.

  1. Power on your console
  2. Once you see the HOME Menu, press the (Left Shoulder) and (Right Shoulder) buttons at the same time
    • The camera applet should appear
  3. Power off your console

If the camera did NOT appear, you cannot follow this method. If this is the case, stay on your current firmware and ask Nintendo Homebrew on Discord for help.

Section II - Prep Work

In this section, you will copy the files needed to trigger the safecerthax exploit.

  1. Insert your SD card into your computer
  2. Copy boot.firm and boot.3dsx from the Luma3DS .zip to the root of your SD card
    • The root of the SD card refers to the initial directory on your SD card where you can see the Nintendo 3DS folder, but are not inside of it
  3. Create a folder named boot9strap on the root of your SD card
  4. Copy boot9strap.firm and boot9strap.firm.sha from the boot9strap .zip to the /boot9strap/ folder on your SD card
  5. Copy SafeB9SInstaller.bin from the SafeB9SInstaller .zip to the root of your SD card
  6. Reinsert your SD card into your console
  7. Power on your console

Section III - safecerthax proxy

In this section, you will change your Internet connection settings to use a proxy network designed to exploit the System Update feature of your console.

If you haven’t already, make sure you have a working Internet connection set up on your console.

A visual guide is available for this section here.

  1. Launch the System Settings application
  2. Navigate to Internet Settings -> Connection Settings
  3. Click on your network connection slot and navigate to Change Settings -> Next Page (right arrow) -> Proxy Settings
  4. Set “Proxy Settings” to “Yes”, then click Detailed Setup
  5. Set the Proxy Server to ssloth.nintendohomebrew.com, and the Port to 8080
  6. Click OK, then click Save
  7. When prompted, click “Test” to perform the connection test
    • The test should succeed

  8. Click “OK” to continue

  9. Power off your console

Section IV - safecerthax

In this section, you will enter Safe Mode (a feature available on all 3DS family consoles) where safecerthax will be triggered, which will launch you into the boot9strap (custom firmware) installer.

  1. With your console still powered off, hold the following buttons: (Left Shoulder) + (Right Shoulder) + (D-Pad Up) + (A), and while holding these buttons together, power on your console
    • Keep holding the buttons until the console boots into Safe Mode (a “system update” menu)
  2. Press “OK” to accept the update
    • There is no update. This is part of the exploit
  3. Press “I accept” to accept the terms and conditions
  4. The update will eventually fail, with the error code 003-1099. This is intended behaviour
  5. Press “OK” to close the error message
  6. If the exploit was successful, you will have booted into SafeB9SInstaller
    • If the console freezes or crashes, force power off the console, then retry this section

Section V - 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

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.

Section VI - Restoring default proxy

In this section, you will restore the Internet settings back to normal.

  1. Launch the System Settings application
  2. Navigate to Internet Settings -> Connection Settings
  3. Click on your network connection slot and navigate to Change Settings -> Next Page (right arrow) -> Proxy Settings
  4. Set “Proxy Settings” to “No”
  5. Click OK, then click Save
  6. When prompted, click “Test” to perform the connection test
    • The test should succeed
  7. Power off your console

Continue to Finalizing Setup